Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1957, Page 41

CHAPTER I
21
position with the Bishop, and partly in the law-suits described
earlier and the ill-will they had engendered towards both the
Bishop and AJ as his assistant and catspaw. We shall not pursue
the matter further here; reference may be made to the introduc-
tion and notes to Apotribe. The whole matter was scarcely as
serious as AJ appears to have thought: there is no doubt that the
accusations brought against him were fabricated and there is no
sign that they made any breach in his friendship with Bishop
GuSbrandur. At the same time, however, Apotribe gives in its
own way a more personal picture of AJ than most of his other
works. His indignation is doubtless genuine enough, even when
one has the rhetorical form in mind, and we receive a sharp im-
pression of a man with a well-developed self-esteem, who is
proud of the work he has accomplished, especially in the literary
domain. In this AJ was fully justified, and his indignation at
this slanderous and underhånd attack was probably increased by
a feeling that his countrymen did not rate him at his true worth
(see e.g. III 55).
In the spring of 1624 (see III 154) Bishop GuSbrandur had
a stroke which made him an invalid for the rest of his life. AJ
at once took over the administration of the diocese, as a result
of a letter from the Governor (2/7 1624, see MorSbréfabækl-
ingar Gbr.f*. 262-3), and received royal confirmation of his posi-
tion as acting bishop in the following year (order of 8/11 1625,
see Kane. Brevb. 1624-6, p. 531; confirmed further 31/3 1626,
see 1. c. 621). This order was undoubtedly procured as a result
of the mission to Copenhagen of Porlåkur Skulason, Bishop GuS-
brandur’s daughter’s son and his successor, who was sent abroad
in the summer of 1625—another of his objects was to obtain
medical advice for Bishop GuSbrandur. The Governor, it is true,
had already committed the care of the diocese to AJ, but there
were various quarrels over the stewardship of the see between
the Bishop’s daughter, Halldåra, and his son-in-law, Ari Magn-
usson, which ended with the retirement of the latter (see PE61.
Mom. IV 98-9). Halldåra GuSbrandsdottir was Porlakur Skula-
son’s patroness and she and AJ seem to have been on good terms.
One can therefore regard these royal orders as part of their
efforts against Ari Magnusson. We know nothing to suggest that