Guðmundur Arason

Guðmundur Arason (1161 – March 16, 1237) was an influential 12th and 13th century Icelandic saintly bishop who took part in increasing the powers of the Catholic Church in medieval Iceland. His story is recorded in several manuscripts, most notably Prestssaga Guðmundar góða. He is often referred to as Guðmundur góði (Gudmundr or Gudmund the Good)

Guðmundur was born an illegitimate child in 1161, in Grjótá in Hörgárdalur, Iceland. He was ordained as priest in 1185 at the age of 24. A decade later, he had become one of the most influential clergymen in the Icelandic commonwealth, culminating in his election as bishop of Hólar (the northern one of the two Icelandic bishop seats) in 1203.

He served for some time as house priest to Kolbeinn Tumason, an Icelandic chieftain. In his years as a simple priest, he did not exhibit any interest in strengthening the Church as an institution, and did not seek wealth or other worldly goods. However, he acquired a reputation as pious and devout man, and even as a miracle-worker.

Upon his appointment as bishop, he was committed to continuing the work of his predecessors: namely, preserving the power structure of the Church. However, things quickly went awry. He was amongst the clerical visionaries who praised the virtue of poverty and believed the Church had been led astray by the acquisition of wealth. Both his contemporaries and later generations compared him with Thomas Becket. Guðmundur was generous with the Church's holdings, and soon a great number of impoverished dependents settled around Hólar. His generosity aroused the ire of local chieftains, and tensions escalated, leading to disputes concerning the judicial powers of the see. Guðmundur wanted the see to remain independent from the chieftains who had elected him, and made the first documented attempt in Iceland to maintain the judicial powers of the church over its own members.

Kolbeinn Tumason, chieftain of the Ásbirningar clan, had played an important part in Guðmundur's election, but in 1205 a dispute arose between the two. The cause of the dispute was a charge made by Kolbeinn against a priest who owed him money. According to church policy, the church had exclusive judicial powers in such matters. In the autumn of 1208, Kolbeinn travelled with a body of men to Hólar to carry out a sentence against a priest guilty of impregnating a woman. Kolbeinn's men clashed with the bishop's followers in what is known as Víðinesbardagi ("The Battle of Víðines") -- Kolbeinn and several of his men died in the conflict, which went in favour of the bishop. By 1209, Guðmundur's position was untenable and he was forced to flee the bishopry of Hólar.

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