Walking through the historic town of Hólar in northern Iceland, we stumbled across a large and impressive statue of Guðmundur Arason.  Arason served as the Bishop of Hólar from 1203 until his death in 1237 and is seen as a Catholic Saint to Icelanders today.  His life was recorded in the Guðmundar saga biskups, which is an Icelandic bishops’ saga solely pertaining to Arason’s.

Guðmundur Arason

Born in the Hörgárdalur valley in 1161 as an illegitimate child, Guðmundur Arason started out life with some heavier obstacles than most.  He overcame those obstacles and by age 24 in the year 1185, was ordained as a Catholic priest.  In Arason’s early years with the church, he served as Kolbeinn Tumason’s (one of the most powerful 12th century Icelandic chieftains) official house priest.

As the years progressed, Arason became known for his piousness and ability to perform miracles. In 1203, with a lot of help from his former employer, Tumason, Arason was elected by the chieftains as the bishop of Hólar, the religious capital of northern Iceland.  While serving, unlike other bishops, Arason saw the wealth of the Catholic church as a blight to the religion, so he gave away a large amount of the church’s wealth to the poor and destitute.  During this time, many people moved their families to Hólar to have access this newfound generosity.  The Icelandic chieftains started to have issues with Arason’s generosity.  Arason, on the other hand, maintained that the Church was not under the governance of the chieftains.

Things took a turn between the chieftains and Arason in 1205, just two years after Arason’s election as the bishop.  Tumason, one of Arason’s most fervent supporters in his election, got into an argument with the Arason regarding a priest that owed him money.  Arason and the church protected the priest.  In 1208, things went to a head when Tumason marched on Hólar to carry out a sentence against another priest who had improper relations with a woman.  This battle became known as Víðinesbardagi (“The Battle of Víðines”), and led to Tumason’s defeat and his death in battle.

With the ire of all of the major Icelandic chieftains now on him, Arason had to flee Hólar in 1209 just a year later.  The Archbishop ordered Arason to spend some time in Norway.  By 1218, he was allowed to return to Iceland.  Again, the church’s charity under Arason caused a massive migration of poor people to Hólar. This time, Tumason’s son quickly scattered the poor people and took Arason prisoner.  After Tumason’s death, Tumi Sighvatsson took over the chieftain position and tried to exert dominance over Hólar.  Arason’s supporters killed Sighvatsson and Arason was forced to flee to Norway again.  He finally returned to Iceland until his death in 1237 at age 76.

In the town of Hólar, there is a statue dedicated to Arason along the road, Biskupssetur að Hólum.

The Isle of Drangey

One of the most famous folk tales pertaining to Guðmundur Arason takes place on the Isle of Drangey in northern Iceland.  As the poor were flocking to live around the wealth of the Catholic Church at Hólar, the church’s resources ran thin.  One spring, to help supplement the food, Arason sent some of his men to the Isle of Drangey within the Skagafjörður peninsula, which was a popular place to go and collect eggs from the nesting birds.  Although this was already known to be a dangerous spot and way to procure food, there were too many casualties among Arason’s men.  It was said that the ropes they descended with were cut by unknown forces.  Arason went north to Drangey to consecrate the island, lowering himself among the cliffs with a rope, blessing the cliff edges with prayers and holy water.  

As Arason descended down one of the most dangerous sections of cliff faces, known as Heiðnaberg (or Heathen Cliff), a hand emerged out of the cliff face with a knife and began to cut the rope that Arason was hanging from.  Due to the strength of Arason’s blessings, the knife was not able to cut completely through the rope.  Finally, a troll (or devil, depending on the source) came out from the cliff face and said to Arason, “Spare us, God’s servant! Stop your blessings! Even the evil ones need a place to live, after all!”.  Arason listened.  He called his men (and all future foragers) from that section of cliff face, and left the rock unblessed.

Besides preventing numerous further deaths from the most dangerous section of cliff, many see this as Iceland’s first nature preserve.  The birds are allowed to nest safe from the egg foragers that scour the cliffs.

Guðmundur góði (Gudmund the Good) Iceland’s National Saint

Guðmundur Arason’s piousness, ability to perform miracles, and generousness with the poor made him legendary during his day.  In 1315, his remains were moved and interred at Hólar.   Today, Guðmundur Arason is regarded as Iceland’s national Saint, though he has not been formally recognized as such by the Roman Catholic Church.  This may be attributed to the fact that he fathered children during his lifetime. 

Today, tourists and pilgrims can visit the location of a spring along the southern coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula where, in 1230, Guðmundur Arason was visited by the Virgin Mary.  She blessed the water.  Today, an inscription and statue of the Virgin Mary marks the spot.  It was established there in 1989.

See Also…

There is so much history within Hólar.  Besides the stateue of Guðmundur Arason, visitors can see the Hólar Cathedral, the statue and bell tower dedicated to Jón Arason, the Hólar Bishop’s Office, and the Icelandic turf house, Nýibær (New Farm).

Where is it Located?

The statue of Guðmundur Arason, Iceland’s National Saint, is located in the town of Hólar, Iceland, approximately 1 hour 30 minute drive from Akureyri.