Saint Thorlak was a 12th-century Icelandic bishop who served as the leader of the Skálholt diocese from 1178 until his death in 1193. Born into an agrarian family in Fljótshlíð, he pursued extensive religious studies in Paris and Lincoln before returning to his homeland. He established Iceland's first Augustinian monastery at Þykkvabær and was later officially recognized as the patron saint of Iceland by Pope John Paul II in 1984.