Jón Hákonarsson

Wealthy Icelandic farmer, born around 1250. Grandson of Gissur Galle Björnsson, who was a valued retainer of the last Norwegian king of male descent, Håkon V Magnusson, who died in 1319. From his seat at Vididalstunga in northern Iceland, he followed with great concern the developments within the Norwegian royal house and their impact on Norwegian and Nordic politics.

Due to close dynastic ties with Sweden and Denmark, the political focus in the 14th century shifted south and east, away from the Norwegian territories in the British Isles and the Atlantic, including Iceland. After the death of King Håkon VI Magnusson in 1380, the situation became critical. Already in 1376, the young heir to the throne, Olav IV Håkonsson, had been elected King of Denmark after his maternal grandfather Valdemar IV Atterdag. Olav and his Danish mother, Queen Margrethe, then moved to Denmark, where, due to his young age, he was completely under her influence.

In this critical situation, Jon Håkonsson began the work on the great manuscript that is today known as the Flateyjarbók. To pen the work for him, he employed the priests Jon Tordsson and later Magnus Torhallsson, both associated with the nearby Tingeyri Monastery. It is believed today that the work was intended as a gift for Olav IV Håkonsson, with the aim of imparting to the young king important knowledge about his Norwegian ancestors and the history of the Norwegian realm. This was to counterbalance the increasingly strong influence from both neighboring kingdoms and the German Hanseatic League, which at the time dominated the Baltic Sea region. This important work took place within the time window between the ravages of the Black Death in Norway (1349–1350) and the plague's ravages in Iceland (1402–1404). However, the work never reached the king, who died in 1387, only 17 years old. Instead, the work was expanded and kept in Iceland. Fortunately, it has survived to this day.