How the Icelandic Reformation reshaped religion and society in the 16th century

For centuries, Iceland’s religious life revolved around the Catholic Church, which held both spiritual and secular power. This changed dramatically in the 16th century, when the Icelandic Reformation (Icelandic: Siðaskiptin á Íslandi) led to the enforced replacement of Catholicism with Lutheranism by the Danish monarchy. The resulting transformations touched nearly every aspect of Icelandic life, leaving a legacy that shaped the nation’s society and culture for years to come.

Religious and political pressures from abroad

Although King Christian III of Denmark declared Lutheranism his kingdom’s official faith in 1536, Iceland’s transition did not begin immediately. Lutheran ideas had already seeped in through trade with German merchants and the Hanseatic League. Germans fishing near Iceland’s coast even raised a Lutheran church in Hafnarfjörður by 1533, and Icelandic students who travelled to study in Hamburg returned influenced by these new religious ideas.

Iceland’s two leading Catholic bishops, Ögmundur Pálsson in Skálholt and Jón Arason in Hólar, were initially fierce rivals. However, the threat from Denmark united them against religious reform. For years, with Denmark distracted by its own civil strife, these bishops maintained a largely Catholic society in Iceland, wielding both religious authority and political influence.

From resistance to upheaval

The tide turned in 1538 when Denmark’s decree introducing the new Lutheran order reached Iceland. Bishop Ögmundur and his allies denounced the changes, threatening excommunication for supporters of what they saw as ‘heretical’ beliefs. When Danish officials backed by soldiers began seizing church property and monasteries, violent resistance broke out. For a time, the country was split between Lutheran reformers, who gained influence in Skálholt, and steadfast Catholics in Hólar.

One remarkable development was the translation of the New Testament into Icelandic by Oddur Gottskálksson, who is said to have conducted his work in the solitude of a farm barn in Skálholt. Printed in 1540 in Roskilde, this was the earliest preserved printed work in the Icelandic language, a significant intellectual advance linked to the Reformation’s arrival.

Ögmundur’s declining health and eventual arrest by Danish forces in 1541 left Gissur Einarsson, a Lutheran sympathiser, able to push reform in Skálholt. Yet resistance persisted in the north, where Jón Arason remained a determined Catholic leader.

Catholicism suppressed, Danish power entrenched

The final, dramatic episode unfolded in 1550, when Jón Arason and his sons led a last attempt to restore Catholicism by force, even managing to order the Icelandic parliament (Althing) to readopt the old faith. However, Jón and his sons were captured at Sauðafell and quickly beheaded in Skálholt. This event marked the effective end of resistance; the day of their execution, 7 November 1550, is widely considered the decisive moment of the Icelandic Reformation.

Afterwards, Catholicism was outlawed. The lands and assets of the church were seized by the Danish king, who gained an even firmer grip on Iceland. With monasteries dissolved and the social welfare network dismantled, a small upper class emerged to manage royal estates, while much of the general population faced deepening poverty. Legislation, too, became more severe, notably with the enactment of Stóridómur, a harsh law code in 1564.

Many features of the old church lingered, with Latin remaining the official language of church services until 1686. Nonetheless, doctrine and daily life changed significantly as Lutheranism took root, often reluctantly among the population. Icelandic Catholic clergy and adherents either converted, departed for places like Scotland or faced marginalisation for generations.

TopicsDanish ruleIcelandic historyIcelandic ReformationJón ArasonLutheranism