Marteinn was born in Staðarstaður on the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the poet Einar Ölduhryggjarskáld and Ingiríður Jónsdóttir. Marteinn's family had a tradition of serving as priests. His father, Einar, was a priest in Staðarstaður from about 1500 until his death in 1538, and Ingiríður's brother,, had served as bishop of Skálholt from 1491 to 1518. Marteinn's siblings included the sheriffs and Brandur Einarsson, known as Gleraugna-Pétur and Moldar-Brandur respectively, as well as a sister, Guðrún, the wife of the magistrateDaði Guðmundsson. Marteinn spent nine years studying in England, where another of his sisters lived after marrying an Englishman, before returning to Iceland to work as a merchant in Grindavík.
Bishop
In 1533, Marteinn became a priest, serving in Staðarstaður after his father's death. He was an early supporter of the Reformation, and in 1548, Marteinn was elected bishop of Skálholt after the death of Gissur Einarsson, the first Lutheran bishop in Iceland. Despite an effort by the Catholic bishopJón Arason, the primary opponent of the spread of Protestantism in Iceland, to have named bishop instead, Marteinn was consecrated in Denmark as bishop of Skálholt on 7 April 1549. Upon his return to Iceland that summer, Marteinn was arrested by Jón's sons, Ara and Björn Jónsson, who detained him at Ara's farm at Möðrufell. Marteinn remained detained until after the Battle of Sauðafell in 1550, where Daði Guðmundsson defeated Jón Arason, ending organized Catholic resistance to the Reformation, at which time he formally took control of the bishopric of Skálholt. In 1555, Marteinn published the first Icelandic hymnal, Lítið Psálmakver. Marteinn served as bishop until 1557, when he resigned in protest of claims by the king decision to appropriate church tithes. He returned to Staðarstaður where he served as a priest until his retirement in 1569.
Personal life
Marteinn was married to Ingibjörg, whose father's name is unknown. They had four sons and two daughters. Marteinn lived out his retirement in where he published a collection of psalms and was considered a good painter, although none of his paintings are known to survive. He died in 1756.
Fiction
Marteinn appears in Ólafur Gunnarsson's 2003 historical novelÖxin og jörðin, which is set amid Jón Arason's struggle against the Icelandic Reformation.
