Magnates and their honours · The commonwealth: other chieftains · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Guðmundur dýri

Guðmundur dýri is the leading chieftain of western Eyjafjörður.

In spring 1197 his men burned his rival Önundur Þorkelsson in his house at Langahlíð in Hörgárdalur; the burning was settled at the Althing of 1197 under Jón Loftsson's arbitration, Guðmundur and Kolbeinn sharing the payment, Guðmundur buying the land of Langahlíð, and some burners being sent abroad for three years. He is probably still at Bakki and still a chieftain on 1 January 1200, but within a few years he hands his chieftaincies to his son Þorvaldur and becomes a monk at Þingeyrar.

Who he is

Name
Guðmundur Þorvaldsson, called dýri ("the worthy")
Title
Chieftain in Eyjafjörður (Vaðlaþing)
Since
A chieftain since the 1180s (not pinned)
Born
Not pinned; dies a monk at Þingeyrar in 1212
Family
Brother of Ásgrímur, father of Þorvarður the Wealthy; half-brother of Þórður Þórarinsson of Laufás. His son Þorvaldur takes over his chieftaincies when he enters the monastery and later gives them to Sigurður Ormsson. Hallur Kleppjárnsson of Hrafnagil is said to be married to a daughter of his (the reading is not certain).
Confidence
medium

Guðmundar saga dýra: he lived at Bakki in Öxnadalur, "often at Bakki or at Auðbrekka"; after the last troubles of his saga "he lived at Bakki only a short time" and then went west to Þingeyrar and became a monk. Íslendinga saga, describing the north about 1202, has his son Þorvaldur already disposing of his chieftaincies.

What it holds

  • Bakki in Öxnadalur
  • Auðbrekka in Hörgárdalur
  • Langahlíð in Hörgárdalur (bought under the 1197 settlement)
  • Chieftaincies in Vaðlaþing (names not pinned)

Allies and rivals

At the 1196 Althing fight he stood with Kolbeinn Tumason and the Haukdælir. Enemies: the kin of Önundur Þorkelsson; his burning is settled but not forgotten.

How things stand that morning

Probably at Bakki and still holding his chieftaincies (not pinned: the year he entered Þingeyrar is not given in the texts checked; it falls between the end of his saga, about 1200, and his death in 1212).

Wealth

Farms of Öxnadalur and Hörgárdalur.

Military

Thingmen of western Eyjafjörður.

Threats

  • The Önundur kin
  • Age

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. Summer 1200 (if the three-year terms ran from 1197)The men sent abroad for three years under the 1197 settlement of the burning may come home.Depends on: The terms of 1197 (the start of the exile is not pinned). Stopped by: Their staying abroad.
  2. Between 1200 and 1212 (not pinned)Guðmundur gives up his chieftaincies to his son Þorvaldur and becomes a monk at Þingeyrar.Depends on: His own choice. Stopped by: Nothing in play.

Places of note

  • Bakki: Guðmundur's seat.
  • Langahlíð: Where Önundur Þorkelsson was burned in spring 1197 (approximate position).

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Guðmundar saga dýra (in Sturlunga saga) is detailed for the 1180s-1190s but gives no years; Íslendinga saga dates the burning to the spring after Markús's killing (1197).

On the map: A chieftain's power was over thingmen, not ground, and a farmer could in principle change chieftain; the polygon draws the district where his thingmen and farms lay that winter, from the saga evidence, not a border.

Primary sources for Iceland

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Sources and studies

  1. Sturlunga saga, ed. Gudbrand Vigfusson (Oxford 1878), vol. 1: Islendinga saga, Sturlu saga, Gudmundar saga dyra and the genealogies (full text searched)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.