Gripla - 2019, Blaðsíða 239
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written information on this matter, although it must still have been com-
mon knowledge among most older Icelanders and even in limited circles
in Copenhagen at the time Athanasia was composed.
Conclusion
A writer composing a eulogy is quite naturally encouraged by the genre
itself to exaggerate the good qualities and deeds of the person being
praised, and an objective treatment of the subject matter can hardly be
expected. This certainly applies to Arngrímur Jónsson and his Athanasia.
Nevertheless, in the case of Guðbrandur Þorláksson, whose life was char-
acterized by many great achievements but also by highly controversial
actions, it cannot have been easy for Arngrímur to find the golden mean in
his choice of material. A wrong decision could easily have exposed him not
only to criticism but also to ridicule. As far as can be seen, Arngrímur did
not write anything that was not true, but naturally enough he made elabo-
rate use of Guðbrandur Þorláksson’s many talents and accomplishments in
his composition, with frequent references to the Bible and classical antiq-
uity to illustrate the divine profundity of the bishop’s life. The emphasis
is on describing Bishop Guðbrandur’s prophetic vocation, vocatio, his true
Christian qualities, such as benignitas “benignity,” munificentia “munifi-
cence,” and above all pietas “piety,” which comprises all other virtues. He is
a wise man, sapiens, and the sword, gladius, of God, as his name signifies,
the king’s sworn servant who founded the golden age, seculum aureum, of
the Icelandic Church. Still, Guðbrandur is no saint and Arngrímur does not
intend to represent him as such. He is a human being with all the accompa-
nying faults, which Arngrímur knew better than most people, although he
did not want to mention them. In my view Arngrímur manages to solve his
dilemma in a most elegant fashion not only through his attempts to conceal
facts but also by making an important issue of Guðbrandur’s tombstone.
He quotes a part of the inscription where Guðbrandur himself emphasises
that he is a peccator “sinner,” and although we do not know exactly what
the bishop had in mind in using this word, peccator alludes to sins, peccata,
in general, a description which would certainly fit some of his actions in
the eyes of the Church. The inscription is echoed in the final chapter of
Athanasia in the general Christian acknowledgement of our sins for which
TO TELL THE TRUTH – BUT NOT THE WHOLE TRUTH