Jöns Gerekesson

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Jöns Gerekesson (as Archbishop latinized to Johannes Gerechini), died 1433, was a disliked archbishop of Uppsala Sweden 1408-1421, and a disliked Archbishop of Iceland 1426-1433.

It is not known when Jöns Gerekesson was born, but judging by the fact that he was about 30 in 1408, he must have been born about 1380. It is known that he came from the Danish family Lodehat. His uncle Peder Lodehat was Bishop in Roskilde, Denmark and chancellor to the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian queen Margareta.

Jöns studied at the University of Cologne and then worked as a canon in Aarhus before he became chancellor to the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian king Eric of Pomerania. At the death of the previous Archbishop of Uppsala, the King selected Jöns as a suitable new Archbishop, despite protests from the cathedral chapter.

Jöns was of Danish descent, had no connection to Uppsala and was from start not trusted by the cathedral chapter. It is questionable if Jöns ever wanted to work for the Church, or if he took the job for his own honour.

He certainly did not excel in his duties as archbishop. Mostly he cared about his own pleasures, and left his duties to the chapter. He held frequent parties with plenty of women, and lived a life of luxuries and abundance. This led to his money running out, and he was forced to take bribes and borrow money, leading to him being heavily in debt, which in return forced him to embezzle Church property.

What also made him unpopular was his abusive treatment of subordinates Churchmen, such as monks. In addition, he took a young woman from Stockholm as a mistress who was already engaged, and she bore him two children. This latter case was not liked by the Catholic Church; celibacy was the recommended lifestyle for archbishops.

Finally, the chapter complained to Pope Martin V and, after an investigation, the Pope in 1421 dismissed Jöns from his office.

Curiously, in 1426 Jöns entered the duties of bishop of Skálholt, Iceland (but he was not formally ordained until 1430). However, three years after being ordained, the Icelandic people also had had enough of him, and they put him in a sack and drowned him.