Nobility in Iceland

They had refused to accept Harald I Halfdanson as their high king, instead abandoning their chieftain seats and petty kingdoms and heading west.

In the following centuries Iceland was ruled by a handful of aristocratic families, each controlling their respective part of the island, mainly the Sturlungar, the Ásbirningar, the Oddaverjar, the Haukdælir, the Vatnsfirðingar, and the Svínfellingar.

Jón Loftsson, Böðvar Þórðarson, Ormur Jónsson, Oddur Gissursson, and Gissur Hallsson are described as men ‘whom God has given the power over the people of Iceland’ in a letter of 1179 or 1180 by Eysteinn Erlendsson, Archbishop of Norway.

In 1220, Snorri Sturluson, an adopted son of Jón and a member of the Sturlunga family, became a vassal of Haakon IV Haakonson of Norway.

Unlike his uncle, Sturla worked actively for bringing Iceland under the Norwegian Crown, warring on chieftains who refused to accept the King's demands.

It is known that approximately 20–30 Icelandic men had the title of knight (Norwegian: ridder) in the following centuries, among others Eiríkur Sveinbjarnarson in Vatnsfjörður († in 1342) and Arnfinnur Þorsteinsson († in 1433).

During the second half of the 13th century continental European court culture began to gain influence in Norway.

[8] On 1 July 1620 at the Althing, Jón Magnússon the older let a letters patent of 1457 be read, given to his ancestor Björn ‘the Wealthy’ Þorleifsson from Christopher of Bavaria in his capacity as King of Norway.

There were also non-noble bishops, for example Pétur Nikúlásson biskup á Hólum (1391–1411), originally a Danish monk.