{"product_id":"jon-orkelsson-vidalin-77018-65527","title":"Jon Thorkelsson Vidalin #77018","description":"Jón Þorkelsson Vídalín. Printed picture of Rev. Jón Þorkelsson Vídalín. Ideal for framing. The picture would have been included with the children's newspaper Æskan in 1915.\u003cbr\u003e Jón Þorkelsson Vídalín (March 21, 1666 – August 30, 1720) was a bishop of Skálholt, a scholar, a great preacher, and the foremost Latin poet of his time.\u003cbr\u003e He studied at his uncle, Páll Björnsson in Selárdalur. He then sailed and studied at the University of Copenhagen, a contemporary of Árni Magnússon, and graduated from there with a degree in theology. He then served for two years as a sailor in the Danish navy and must have expected to rise quickly in rank, but when that did not happen, his mother bought him free through the intermediary of the bailiff Kristofer Heidemann. \u003cbr\u003eHe then returned to Iceland in 1691, reportedly poor. The following year he became a teacher at Skálholt School and in 1693 the cathedral priest in Skálholt. He then became a priest in Görður and was elected bishop of Skálholt in 1697 (consecrated in 1698), just six years after he returned home. On that occasion he presented Þingvellir Church with a bell that now hangs in the bell tower there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Jón Vídalín was a great orator and teacher. He is best known for his work Vídalínspostilla, a home reading apostilla, with one sermon for each feast day of the year, intended for reading in homes. The apostilla was one of the most widely read books in Iceland for two centuries and had a significant influence on Icelandic culture, religious life and literature until the 20th century. Jón was, along with Hallgrímur Pétursson, one of the most prominent representatives of Lutheran orthodoxy (Pietism) in Iceland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eJón is said to have been humble and not very fond of show, generous to the poor and often took in schoolboys and other promising young people without worrying about payment, but not a good financier. He was enthusiastic about progress, tried growing cabbage and encouraged innovations such as reindeer husbandry and salt production. He was considered somewhat of a drinker and there were stories about his drinking habits in the Alþingi and elsewhere. He was also a big-tempered man and, for example, had arguments and even legal battles with Odd Sigurðsson, a lawyer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Bishop Jón died in Biskupsbrekka on Uxahryggjaleið in the late summer of 1720. He had been on his way west to Staðarstaður to attend the funeral of his brother-in-law, Reverend Þórður Jónsson, but fell ill and could not make it any further. A cross was erected on the site a few years ago in memory of Jón, but it should be noted that Jón Þorkelsson Thorcillius was the first person to suggest in 1745 that a memorial be erected to Jón in Biskupsbrekka.","brand":"Bókin.is","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51121102061896,"sku":"OSC-65527","price":6900.0,"currency_code":"ISK","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0916\/4029\/9848\/files\/77018.jpg?v=1754714885","url":"https:\/\/www.bokin.is\/en\/products\/jon-orkelsson-vidalin-77018-65527","provider":"bokin.is","version":"1.0","type":"link"}