Klængur Þorsteinsson

Klængur Þorsteinsson ( German Klangur Thorsteinsson ) (* 1102, † February 28, 1176 ) was Bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland.

Origin

The bishop came from one of the most prestigious families of Iceland, the Reyknesingar family. His mother was born on the rich Reykhólar on Breiðafjörður.

Election and consecration

Actually, after the sudden death of Magnús Einarsson, a certain Hallur Teitsson had been elected as the next bishop of this bishopric. He was, however, died in 1150 in Holland.

Then Klængur Þorsteinsson was chosen. He came from the north of Iceland and had been a priest at the renowned yard and episcopal Hólar í Hjaltadal.

On April 6, 1152 he was ordained by ASKEL, Archbishop of Lund in Sweden at the site of the archbishop 's seat as Bishop of Skálholt.

Work of the Bishop

Bishop Klængur was known for his scholarship and his talent as a poet.

But fame he gained through the vast church, which he had built after his ordination in Skálholt. As we now know, there was a stave church in Norwegian style. Their wood was imported on two ships from Norway. It was not completed until after the death of Bishop Klængur. Their dimensions were: 48.5 m in length, 22 m in width and 13.5 m in height. This church was long regarded as the most important building in Iceland until it burned down in 1309 due to a lightning strike.

Finally, he is also considered the founder of the monastery and Þykkvabæjarklaustur Flatey (which was later moved to the Helgafell Stykkishólmur ).

As the successor he chose himself Thorlákur Þórhallsson.