SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

The Language of Dunstanus saga 345
are we, on the contrary, to doubt the explicit attribution,
in the text itself, of Dunst to broder Arne Laurencii - and
transfer this work to Bergr too? As I have hinted at
before, we have no reason whatsoever to consider the
latter solution. But, after all, neither alternative seems
to be necessary. The facts could be accounted for
otherwise, by reference to the Icelandic situation of the
authors in question, Bergr Sokkason and Ami Laurentiusson,
and the relations between them.
It appears from Laurentius saga biskups, here our main
source, that Bergr was a close friend of Laurentius,
Ami's father. All three of them became monks and
entered the monastery of pingeyrar together in Lent 1317.
As was mentioned above, Bergr became prior of Munkapvera
in 1322. In the same year Laurentius was elected
bishop of H6lar, the northern diocese in which both
pingeyrar and Munka-Iwera were situated. Miss Fell
has given a summary of what we know about Ami's
biography. In Laurentius saga, written by the Bishop's
assistant and friend Einar Hafiioason (d. 1393), Ami is
mentioned in connection with the school his father
established at H6lar, and is said to have been hinn bezti
klerkr ok versificator, ok kenndi morgum. klerkum. 23 But
later we hear from the same source that Ami's way of life
was very much i m6ti klaustrligum lifnaoi and caused his
father distress. I cite Miss Fell: "During a severe illness
of Ami's his father found opportunity to lecture him
severely on his conduct, pointing out that if he returned to
Norway [where he was born and where as a grown man he
had accompanied his father on travels] he would indulge
in heavy drinking and other dissipation, and his talents
would be lost to the church" (p. LXII). Ami is said to
have repented and promised to obey the paternal
exhortation. But the author ends his passage on this
episode by stating sadly that Ami's life went on in the
.. Biskupa sogur I (1858), 850.