He edited and published at least 80 books while he was bishop, including the Bible in Icelandic and the Icelandic Lawbook or legal code. He is also noted for having drawn the first good map of Iceland, in 1590.
He had at least one child, a daughter named Steinunn, born in 1571 to Guðrún Gísladóttir.
He is pictured on the now obsolete Icelandic 50 króna banknote.