Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1957, Page 39
CHAPTER I
19
court-meeting at Akrar in SkagafjorSur, and adds that if the
Bishop thinks it necessary for AJ, his representative, to be pre-
sent, “then I should wish him to be at home”. From this it would
seem to follow that AJ lived at Akrar in his first years in Skaga-
fjorSur, something which is all the more probable because we
know that he owned this farm1. Possibly AJ was parson of Mæli-
fell already before 1611. He seems to have been living there in
1618 (Bréfab. Gbr.P. 644), but for the rest it is not possible to
determine his place of residence in these years. Later he became
parson of Miklabær, by 1624 at least, for in that year he made
Illugi Ingjaldsson, his sister’s son, his curate there. He himself
then took over the episcopal duties during Bishop GuSbrandur’s
illness. Possibly he had at one time held both livings, allowing
one to be served by a curate. AJ lived at Miklabær while he acted
as bishop and until 1630; he issued an episcopal letter from
there, for example, 22/3 1626 (AM fase. LXXIV 20), and he
was still there 11/4 1630 (Bishop Gisli Oddsson’s Visitation-
Book, AM 248 4to, fol. 82r—83r). In the same spring, however,
he moved back to MelstaSur2, and Olafur Jonsson took over
Miklabær.
There may have been more than one reason for AJ’s changes
of residence. We have already mentioned his illness, which may
have been one cause. An influential factor must certainly also
have been that Bishop GuSbrandur, who was now over sixty and,
as it seems, ailing, wished to have his coadjutor nearer Hålar
and for this reason found him a parish in SkagafjorSur. This
view is supported by the faet that, shortly after Bishop GuS-
brandur’s successor took up his duties, AJ moved from the di-
strict and returned to his old living.
Except his literary work, to which we shall return in the next
chapter, we know little of AJ’s activity in these years. Books
published by him between 1610 and 1624 (other than Anatome,
Epistola and Apotribe, printed in the present edition) are his
Grammatica Latina (1616) and four Icelandic works (see below
1 AJ issued a deed at Akrar 25/11 1607 (Lbs. dipi. 28); cf. also a note in Fitja-
annåll (Annålar II 157), where AJ is said to have lived at Akrar before moving
to Miklabær; no dates are given.
2 AJ wrote a letter to Worra from MelstaSur 17/8 1630; see Bibi. Arnam. VII 22“.