fjorn-the-skald:fjorn-the-skald:An Icelandic Pilgrim amid the Crusades: Nikulás BergssonDuring the m
fjorn-the-skald:fjorn-the-skald:An Icelandic Pilgrim amid the Crusades: Nikulás BergssonDuring the mid-twelfth century, an Icelander named Nikulás Bergsson went on a pilgrimage that took him over 4,000 miles away from his home in northern Iceland to Jerusalem in the Holy Land. We don’t know much about him, but it is clear that he was a lettered Benedictine monk.[1] Around the year 1153, however, Nikulás left his home to venture out towards the Holy Land.[2] By 1155, perhaps thanks in part to the prestige he gained through such a pilgrimage, he had returned to northern Iceland to become the abbot of the newly formed monastery at Munkathverá, where he remained until his death in either 1159 or 1160.[3] Before departing the mortal world, though, Nikulás recounted his pilgrimage to his fellow monks, who fashioned his account into an itinerary that details Nikulás’ journey across the western medieval world.Table of Contents:The Medieval World of Nikulás BergssonThe Holy Land before Nikulás: Crusades and JerusalemPilgrimage in the Medieval North and BeyondPilgrimage and Prestige in Medieval IcelandPilgrimage in The Tale of Audun from the WestfjordsThere and Back Again: Nikulás’ Pilgrimage to JerusalemAn Interactive Digital Map of Nikulás Bergsson’s PilgrimageWhy Does it Matter, though?The Medieval World of Nikulás BergssonDuring the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Iceland was still growing into its new Christian shoes. Although the island had voluntarily converted to Christianity around the year 1000,[4] they did not have a bishop until 1055, when Ísleifr Gizursson was elected so by the Althing, or the Icelandic national assembly.[5] Likewise, the island did not have its first official episcopal see until 1082, which was firmly established by Bishop Gizurr Ísleifsson at Skálholt in southern Iceland. Shortly thereafter, around 1106, Gizurr permitted the establishment of another episcopal see in northern Iceland, which was established at Hólar under Bishop Jón Ögmundarson (who also attempted to change the names used for the days of the week). But it was over 100 years after conversion before Iceland saw its first monastery, which was established in northern Iceland at Thingeyrar in 1133.[6]In short, the development of Christianity in Iceland was slow in catching up to the rest of the medieval West. By the time Nikulás Bergsson came into the scene, for instance, Iceland had only just begun to establish opportunities for a monastic life on the island. Yet, even so, it is worth stressing how unique the Icelandic church was: there was a general lack of friction between secular and ecclesiastical life because the Icelandic Church (and its property) remained in the hands of Icelandic chieftains and prominent farmers until 1297.[7] In other words, despite the fact that Nikulás was a Benedictine monk, secular and sacred were never too far apart in his experience. While it is possible that Nikulás’ early life was characterized by quiet, pious work in the monastery at Thingeyrar, as Joyce Hill suggests,[8] it is just as likely (if not more so) that he was a well-to-do laymen who received a formal education via the cathedral school located at Hólar and only retired to monasticism later in life, which would have been at Munkathverá with his appointment as abbot there. In short, we don’t know enough about Nikulás to have confidence in the details of his early life. All we do know is that he came from a society where secular and sacred were closely bound, and that he left this society to venture out into the rest of the medieval world, headed for the Holy Land.READ MORE IN THE HALL: https://fjorns-hall.com/2019/04/25/an-icelandic-pilgrim-amid-the-crusades-nikulas-bergsson/Behold! a visual gallery of what this humble blog post can offer the knowledge-seeking wanderer! Much medieval history lies beyond the door of this post. -- source link