The volume, dedicated to Jón Halldórsson, bishop of the southern Icelandic see of Skálholt in the years 1322–39, consists of essays written under the headings: “Educational and Cultural Context”; “Dominican Exempla and Saga Literature”; “Manuscripts and Illuminations”; “Music and Liturgy”; and “Manuscript Practice and Multiple Careers.” The editors Gunnar Harðarson and Karl G. Johansson state that the book is meant to present “new perspectives on the figure and legacy of Bishop Jón Halldórsson and his milieu via a multidisciplinary approach” (p. 3). They have succeeded admirably.
The first essay, “Canon, Dominican and Brother: the Life and Times of Jón Halldórsson in Bergen,” by Christian Etheridge, depicts Jón Halldórsson's youth in Bergen, his studies at the Universities of Bologna and Paris, and his subsequent return to Bergen, where he was ordained a priest and joined the Dominican order. As the author concludes, Jón matured intellectually in the international city of Bergen,...
