Thorfinn of Hamar

Thorfinn of Hamar (d. 1285) was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.

Although he did achieve a fair amount of fame as a saint, comparatively few details of his life are clearly known. He was born at Trondheim, and may have been a Cistercian monk there before becoming bishop of Hamar.

He and several other bishops of the area disagreed with the sitting king Eric II of Norway regarding a number of issues, including episcopal elections. As a result, Thorfinn left the country, possibly as an exile. After a brief stay in Rome, he took refuge in the Cistercian abbey of Ter Doest near Flanders. He died there in 1285.

One of the monks at Ter Doest at the time, Walter of Muda, wrote a poem praising the character of Thorfinn.

He is regarded as a saint with a feast day of January 8.

References

*Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. "The Penguin Dictionary of Saints". 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.