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ABSTRACT
It is a common supposition that Iceland became a part of Norway over a period of few years following 1262, that this was done through the adoption of a document known as The Old Covenant (ON. Gamli sattmali) and that the most important part of this transition was that the Icelanders now accepted the Norwegian king as their own king. Some of these statements must be subject to qualification. In fact, different parts of Iceland became subject to the Norwegian king at various times, the Old Covenant had no legal status neither in Iceland nor the Norwegian kingdom at large, and the Norwegian king had already been accepted as the ruler of most of Iceland before 1262.This article will demonstrate that the incorporation of Iceland into the Norwegian realm involved three distinct but interconnected issues: The introduction of government into Iceland, the introduction of regular taxation and, finally, the adjustment of Icelandic laws to reflect the laws of the Norwegian kingdom. The focus will not be on the events of a single year or a period of few years, but on a longer period of transition, from 1220 to 1281, of which the adaption of Jonsbok was the final act. The adoption of a new law code changed the nature of the government that had been introduced in Iceland, which became more centralized than anyone might have expected. With the adoption of Jonsbok at the Icelandic parliament in 1281, the incorporation of Iceland into the Norwegian kingdom was finalized. The new law code defined the status of the king and the new government of Iceland and harmonized Icelandic laws with the laws of other parts of the kingdom, although Iceland retained some of its separate legal tradition.
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Notes
1. See for instance Karlsson, Iceland’s 1100 Years, 82–86; and Jóhannesson, The History of Iceland, xiii.
2. See the critical reading by Boulhosa, Icelanders and the Kings of Norway, 87–153. For a more optimistic view of the document, see Þorláksson, „Er Gamli sáttmáli tómur tilbúningur?“; and Sigurðsson, “The Making of a ̒skattland̓̓,” 185–87.
3. Grímsdóttir, “The Works of Sturla Þórðarson.”
4. Bragason, “Sagas of Contemporary History,” 432–33.
5. Antonsson, “Árna saga biskups as Literature and History.”
6. Karlsson, Goðamenning, 147–65. See also Vésteinsson, “A Divided Society,” 122–28; and Sigurðsson, Chieftains and Power in the Icelandic Commonwealth, 196–97.
7. Jakobsson, “Hvers konar þjóð voru Íslendingar á miðöldum?“ 129–34.
8. Árnason, “Morality and Social Structure in the Sagas of the Icelanders.”
9. For arguments for a more precise dating, see Janson, Templum Nobilissimum, 34–39.
10. ‘et in hoc beatissima, quod nunc omnes induerunt christianitatem. … Episcopuum suum habent pro rege; ad illius nutum respicit omnis populous; quicquid ex Deo, ex scripturis, ex consuetudine aliarum gentium ille constituit, hoc pro lege habent.’ Quellen des 9. und 11. Jahrhunderts, 486, 488.
11. Quellen des 9. und 11. Jahrhunderts, 300.
12. Ibid., 346, 348.
13. The question of Norwegian hegemony in Iceland has been ignored by most Icelandic historians, as it did not fit the view of the image of Medieval Iceland as an independent ‘commonwealth,’ see Gustafsson, “Islands kristnande – en kritisk undersökning“, 28.
14. Íslenzk fornrit I, 22. The translations are those of the author of the article, unless stated otherwise.
15. Íslenzk fornrit I, 4–6.
16. Ibid., 14–18.
17. Ibid., 19–21.
18. See Jakobsson, “Iceland, Norway and the World,” 79.
19. Diplomatarium Islandicum I, 64–70.
20. Boulhosa, Icelanders and the Kings of Norway, 86.
21. Grágás, 479–80.
22. See Jakobsson, “The Early Kings of Norway, the Issue of Agnatic Succession and the Settlement of Iceland.”
23. See Jakobsson, “Royal Biography,” 390–95.
24. Íslenzk fornrit XV, 324.
25. For a recent analysis of their relationship see Bagge, “Håkon og Skule“ 1217–1240.
26. Helle, “Anglo-Norwegian Relations in the reign of Håkon Håkonsson (1217–63).”
27. Sturlunga saga I, 270.
28. Íslenzk fornrit XXXI, 230.
29. Ibid.
30. For further discussion of the new status of Snorri, see Þorláksson, “Snorri Sturluson the Aristocrat Becomes lendr maðr“. Orning and Wærdahl prefer the term “vassal“ to “liegeman“, see Orning, Unpredictability and Presence, 346; and Wærdahl, The Incorporation and Integration of the King’s Tributary Lands into the Norwegian Realm, 51.
31. In 1241, Sturla did not want to share three farms with his stepsons Klængr and Ormr, following the death of their mother Hallveig Ormsdóttir, the church estates at Reykholt and Stafholt and ‘he claimed that Bersastaðir had been bought from him’ (ON. kvað ok Bersastaði af sinni eigu keypta, Sturlunga saga I, 452). This must refer to his trade with the king, the farm for a status as a liegeman. It is a common statement among Icelandic scholars that King Hákon claimed possession of Bersastaðir following the death of Snorri, but no attempt has been made to explain why the king could make such a claim, except that it must surely have been erroneous; see for inst. Gíslason, Bessastaðir. Þættir úr sögu höfuðbóls, 30.
32. See for inst. Karlsson, Goðamenning, 353–54.
33. See Jakobsson, Auðnaróðal, 159–60, 165, 170, 172.
34. Jakobsson, Auðnaróðal, 172–77.
35. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 25.
36. Jakobsson, “Hákon Hákonarson: Friðarkonungur eða fúlmenni?“ 173–74.
37. Karlsson, Goðamenning, 352–53.
38. On the context of Skúli’s rebellion, see Bagge, “Håkon og Skule 1217–1240,” 189–93.
39. Sturlunga saga I, 444. Flouting a ban against sealing without the leave of the king does not seem to have been a serious offence in itself, see Orning, Unpredictability and Presence, p. 206.
40. Sturlunga saga I, 412–16, 439. On the oath of fidelity in 13th century Iceland, see Cattaneo, “The Oath of Fidelity in Iceland,” 29–31.
41. See Jakobsson, “Views to a Kill.”
42. Sturlunga saga I, 447, 452–54.
43. For further analysis of the Icelandic civil war, see Jakobsson, “The Process of State–Formation In Medieval Iceland.”
44. Sturlunga saga II, 68–69.
45. Sturlunga saga II, 81.
46. Sturlunga saga II, 81–84; and Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 122, 136.
47. See Sigurðsson, “The Making of a ̒skattland’,” 182–83.
48. See for instance, Karlsson, Goðamenning, 353.
49. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 136.
50. Sturlunga saga II, 94; Sturlunga saga I, 473–74.
51. For a further discussion, see Karlsson, Goðamenning, 283–85, 356.
52. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 152; and Sturlunga saga II, 86.
53. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 153.
54. Ibid., 156.
55. Ibid., 161.
56. See Sigurðsson, “The Wedding at Flugumýri in 1253.”
57. See Jakobsson, Auðnaróðal, 222–32.
58. On the power strategies of Þorgils skarði, in comparison to his first cousin once removed Þórðr kakali, see Pálsson, “Forming Bond with Followers in Medieval Iceland.”
59. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 170.
60. Ibid., 170–71.
61. Sturlunga saga I, 524.
62. Sturlunga saga II, 209, 211; and Íslenzk fornrit XXIII, 204.
63. See Jakobsson, Auðnaróðal, 242–43.
64. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 203.
65. Sturlunga saga I, 524.
66. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 207.
67. Sturlunga saga I, 528.
68. See the discussion by Wærdahl, The Incorporation and Integration of the King’s Tributary Lands into the Norwegian Realm, 98–99.
69. Sturlunga saga I, 529.
70. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 222–23.
71. Ibid., 223.
72. Boulhosa, Icelanders and the Kings of Norway, 87–153.
73. Þorláksson, “Er Gamli sáttmáli tómur tilbúningur?“. See also Þorláksson, “Aristocrats Between Kings and Tax-paying Farmers,” 267–69.
74. Islandske annaler indtil 1578, 135.
75. Íslenzk fornrit XXXII, 273.
76. Imsen, “From tributes to taxes.”
77. Sturlunga saga II, 227–34.
78. See Samsonarson, “Var Gissur Þorvaldsson jarl yfir öllu Íslandi?“
79. Islandske annaler indtil 1578, 331–32, 483. For a further discussion of the earliest governors of Iceland, see Kristinsson, “Embættismenn konungs fyrir 1400,“ 114–19.
80. Diplomatarium Islandicum I, 620, 622.
81. Jónsson and Boulhosa, “Tithe and Tribute in Thirteenth-Century Iceland.”
82. For some background on the work of King Magnús and his efforts, see Sunde, “Above the law: Norwegian Constitutionalism and the Code of 1274”; and Horn, “Fra landskapslov til landslov: En studie av tekstorganiseringen i norrøne middelalderlover.”
83. Islandske annaler indtil 1578, 138–39; and Íslenzk fornrit XVII, 43.
84. Íslenzk fornrit XVII, 63, 65.
85. See, in particular, Magnúsardóttir, “Icelandic Church Law in the Vernacular 1275–1550.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sverrir Jakobsson
Sverrir Jakobsson is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands). He has written several books on history, such as Auðnaróðal. Baráttan um Ísland 1096–1281 (2016), Kristur. Saga hugmyndar (2018), and The Varangians. In God´s Holy Fire (2020).