1400-1600 Under Danish Rule
The King of Denmark came to rule over Norway, and thus became King of Iceland. He forced the Icelandic church to become Lutheran.
In the 14th century the Norwegian and Danish royal families were united, and the Norwegian crown was absorbed by the Danish. Over the next few centuries English and German fishermen fished intensively off Iceland; their power sometimes exceeded that of the king himself. Twice during the 15th century Iceland was struck by epidemics. On each occasion, up to half the population may have perished.
In the first half of the 16th century the King of Denmark and Iceland decreed that the Icelandic church should convert to Lutheranism. In Iceland the Reformation was accompanied by prolonged conflict, which ended in 1550 when Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop, was executed. After the Reformation, royal power in Iceland grew.
The Key Object of this Time Period: Guðbrandur’s Bible
15th- and 16th-Century Exhibits
Highlights of the Exhibition
- Interaction with Europe - English and German Centuries
- Black Death - Epidemics and Plagues
- Authority and Land Ownership - Church Wealth and Power
- Unruly Reformation - Skálholt and Hólar
- Lutheran Cultural Pioneer - Guðbrandur Þorláksson