The Haukdælir, the old kindred of Haukadalur in Biskupstungur who gave Skálholt to the see, rule Árnesþing, the great plain between the Þjórsá and the Hellisheiði.
Their head is the aged lawspeaker Gissur Hallsson; the working chieftain is his son Þorvaldur at Hruni. They are pulled two ways this winter: Gissur's daughter is the wife of Sigurður Ormsson and mother of Kolbeinn Tumason, but Þorvaldur has married Sæmundur Jónsson's niece and backs Sæmundur's offer in the Glæðir dispute.
Who he is
- Name
- Gissur Hallsson
- Title
- Chieftain and head of the Haukdælir; lawspeaker of the Althing since 1181
- Since
- Head of the kindred after his father Hallur Teitsson; lawspeaker since 1181
- Born
- About 1125 (not pinned); dies 1206
- Family
- Married to Álfheiður Þorvarðsdóttir. Sons: Þorvaldur Gissurarson at Hruni (born about 1155), the kindred's working chieftain, first married to Jóra, daughter of Bishop Klængur of Skálholt (sons Guðmundur, Klængur, Björn, Einar and Teitur; birth years not pinned), and by 1199 married to Þóra the younger, daughter of Guðmundur gríss and of Sæmundur Jónsson's sister Sólveig; Hallur (lawspeaker 1203-09, later an abbot), married to Herdís, sister of Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson; Magnús, a priest at Tunga below Skálholt (bishop of Skálholt 1216-37). Daughters: Þuríður (Þórdís in one passage), widow of Tumi Kolbeinsson, mother of Kolbeinn Tumason and now wife of Sigurður Ormsson of Svínafell; Kolfinna, once wife of Ari the Strong. Gissur Þorvaldsson, the later earl, is not born until 1208-09.
- Confidence
- high
The genealogies of Sturlunga saga: Gissur "lived at Haukadalur after his father", was stallari to King Sigurd Munn (Sverre's claimed father), travelled often abroad, was honoured at Rome more than any Icelander before him, and wrote a book, Flos peregrinationis. Íslendinga saga: "Þorvaldr Gizurarson lived at Hruni."
What it holds
- Haukadalur in Biskupstungur, the family seat with its church and old school
- Hruni in the Hreppar, Þorvaldur's farm
- Tunga below Skálholt, the priest Magnús Gissurarson's farm (where Sighvatur Sturluson's wedding feast was held in 1197)
- The chieftaincies of Árnesþing held by the kindred (which and how many is not pinned)
How it was acquired
Ancestral: the Haukdælir descend from Ketilbjörn the settler and held a chieftaincy in Árnesþing from the tenth century; Bishop Gissur Ísleifsson (1082-1118) gave Skálholt to the see.
Allies and rivals
At the Althing fight of 1196 the Haukdælir stood with the Ásbirningar, the Svínfellingar and Guðmundur dýri against the Oddaverjar and the Sturlungar. Since then Þorvaldur's marriage has drawn him to the Oddaverjar. Þorvaldur Snorrason of Vatnsfjörður is his kinsman and lodges in his booth at the Althing. Þorvaldur "was not then a friend of the Sturlungar" (1197).
How things stand that morning
Gissur is lawspeaker and lives at Haukadalur; Þorvaldur leads the kindred's thingmen from Hruni and stands with Sæmundur and Bishop Páll in the Glæðir dispute, against his sister's husband Sigurður Ormsson.
Wealth
Farms of Biskupstungur and the Hreppar; Gissur's learning and the lawspeaker's fee.
Military
Thingmen and kinsmen of Árnesþing.
Threats
- Being caught between Sæmundur and Sigurður Ormsson
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.
- Late June 1200Gissur presides at the Althing as lawspeaker, the Althing that hears Bishop Páll's award in the Glæðir case.Depends on: Normal course. Stopped by: His death or illness (he lives to 1206).
Places of note
- Haukadalur: Gissur's seat.
- Hruni: Þorvaldur Gissurarson's farm.
- Tunga: The priest Magnús Gissurarson's farm "above Skálholt" (identified with Bræðratunga: approximate).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Sturlunga saga genealogies and Íslendinga saga; the lawspeaker list.
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. Þingvellir and its parish are left with the commonwealth (the Althing's place).
Primary sources for Haukdælir
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.
- The Icelandic annals to 1578 (compiled from the late 13th century onward from older notes). Year-by-year notices that fix Icelandic chronology. Read online
- The saga of the Sturlungs: the compilation of contemporary Icelandic sagas, Sturla Þórðarson and other authors, compiled by Þórðr Narfason (the component sagas between about 1200 and 1280; compiled about 1300). The only contemporary narrative of Iceland. Read online
- The sagas of the Icelandic bishops: Páll of Skálholt, Guðmundr of Hólar and Þorlákr (Páls saga about 1211 to 1216; Þorláks saga about 1200 to 1210; the oldest Guðmundar saga in the 13th century). Páls saga is the life of Bishop Páll Jónsson of Skálholt (1195 to 1211), of the Oddaverjar, and tells how he had the churches and priests of his diocese counted, about 220 churches and 290 priests, how he furthered the cult of his uncle Þorlákr, whose relics were raised in 1198 and whose feast the Althing adopted in 1199, and how he dealt with the chieftains. Read online
- The Grey Goose laws: the law of the Icelandic Commonwealth (law first written down in 1117 to 1118; the surviving manuscripts Konungsbók (about 1250) and Staðarhólsbók (about 1270)). The law under which Iceland was run in 1200: the goðar and their thingmen, the local and quarter things and the Althing, the Fifth Court, the lawspeaker, outlawry, compensation and the Christian law section with the tithe. Read online
Sources and studies
- Sturlunga saga, ed. Gudbrand Vigfusson (Oxford 1878), vol. 1: Islendinga saga, Sturlu saga, Gudmundar saga dyra and the genealogies (full text searched)
- Lawspeaker (list of Icelandic lawspeakers)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.