Ebook: The Saga of Bishop Thorlak. Þorláks saga byskups

Born in 1133 on the southern part of the island, Thorlak became a priest by the age of 18. He traveled to Paris to study for several years, before returning to Iceland in 1161, and by 1178 he was the bishop of Skálholt, the most important ecclesiastical position on the island. He served as bishop for 15 years, until his death on December 23, 1193.

Soon after his death, stories of his miracles started to emerge throughout Iceland. Five years later, his remains were moved back to the Cathedral at Skálholt in 1198. The story of his life and sainthood are told in "Þorláks saga" ("The Saga of Bishop Thorlak"), which was composed in the first decade of the thirteenth century, and is one of the first hagiographical writings from medieval Iceland.

Despite the several editions of the Icelandic text, this is the first translation of the saga into English to be published since 1895. The syntax of the original is sometimes tortuous and the expression often oblique. This translation aims to make the sense as clear as possible whilst retaining the flavour of the author's style. While David Clark has mainly been responsible for the translation and Ármann Jakobsson for the introduction and notes, the two have collaborated closely throughout the project.