The position originated in Norway in the Middle Ages, where it was used as a noble title, and the sýslumaður was granted a fief called a sýsla (plural: sýslur) in which he was responsible for collecting tolls, taxes and fines, upholding the law and military defences.
[2] As Norse influence spread, so did the sýslumaður system, reaching into Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as Orkney and Shetland.
[3] Today, a sýslumaður or sysselmann (often translated into English as 'district commissioner', 'sheriff', 'magistrate', or 'governor') handles a variety of governmental responsibilities in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Svalbard archipelago in Norway.
Appointed by the King of Norway, it was possible for a single sýslumaður to oversee up to a quarter of the island through representatives stations through his assigned sýslur.
[4] In 1375 a group of prominent Icelanders declared they would no longer accept non-native sýslumenn, nor royal amendments not sanctioned by the Alþingi.