Studia Islandica - 01.06.1937, Blaðsíða 50

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his grandsons gradually took possession of most of the more
important churches in the district. To their power and wealth
was added noble ancestry. Of old the Oddaverjar had traced
their pedegree of the S'kjöldungar (the ancient Kings of Den-
mark) but, in addition, the mother of Jón Loftsson was a natu-
ral daughter of Magnús berfætt, King of Norway. Pride and
independance are characteristic of many who lived during the
days of the Old Icelandic republic, and there were many reasons
why the Oddaverjar should have a pi'onounced feeling of superi-
ority. This sense of importance is best seen in the disputes be-
tween Jón Loftsson and Bishop Þorlák the Saint. When íhe
Bishop claimed the church lands under his own authority, taking
shelter behind the Archbishop’s command, Jón said that he was
determined not to submit to him, and that the Archbishop was
of no more importanee than his own ancestors, Sæmund the
learned and his sons, or than previous bishops. The proud spirit
of this family was, nevertheless, always kept within the limits
of moderation, and we hear of no outrage nor crudity commit-
ted by them, even though this age was not a peaceful one. Cul-
turally they stood in the van; Sæmund’s learning was famous,
he had studied in France (indeed many of them had spent
shorter or longer periods abroad, so that they were not exactly
home-bred) and his sons kept a school. Bishop Pál too was a
great scholar, and we could go on enumerating them thus.
Such men as these cannot have remained inactive among
the Icelanders of the 12th. and 13th. centuries, who wrote so
prolifically. Nor can they have written much without some of
their work bearing the imprint of their family pride.
The first of the Icelandic history writers known to us was
none other than Sæmund the learned who wrote a book about
the Kings of Norway, no doubt brief and probably in Latin.
That is the very beginning. But among the first works written
in Icelandic were the genealogies. Now there is in existence a
genealogy from the Oddaverjar to the Skjöldungar, preserved
in varying forms but fundamentally the same, and certainly
old, as is indicated by the fact that it is found both in Njála
and in the oldest version of Landnáma. Ari the learned traced
his pedegree to the Ynglingar (the ancient Kings of Sweden).
The pedegree of the Oddaverjar is parallel to this and seems