Eyrbyggja Saga says of him "He was a very shrewd man with unusual foresight, a long memory and a taste for vengeance.
"[2] Njál's saga says of him "Snorri was reckoned the wisest man in Iceland, not counting those who were prescient".
[4] However, the sagas develop a "dense and plausible" historical context,[5] with the authenticating details[6] and precision necessary for the narrative.
[7] The world within which the local and detailed stories of the individual sagas exist can be confirmed by archaeology and comparison with histories in other languages.
[10][11] "Vast in conception", the grand sweep of the saga's action spans well over a century from AD 890 to 1030.
The male protagonists are splendid figures who die heroic deaths, while the women are strong characters who engineer much of the action".
One of Snorri's daughters Þuríðr died in 1112 at the age of 88, and was one of the informants for Ari Þorgilsson, co-author of the first version of Landnámabók.
His mother Thordis later married her late husband's brother Börkr the Stout, and moved to his property at Helgafell.
Some time after coming back, Snorri demanded his inheritance from his uncle and stepfather Börkr.
In the ensuing case Snorri and Arnkell each backed their own families, and Geirrid was cleared of the charge.
He and his foster brothers the Thorbrandssons attacked and killed Arnkel whilst he was working on his farm.
This led to a change in the law that decreed that women (and men under sixteen) could not raise a manslaughter action.
[24] In his later years Snorri successfully led the fight against Ospak Kjallaksson, a farmer who had assembled a gang who had taken to attacking and robbing his neighbours.
Snorri and the Lawspeaker Skapti Þóroddsson, both then got their men to separate the two sides, and so stop the fighting.