Þórður Sturluson

Who he is

Name

Þórður Sturluson

Title

Chieftain (goði), eldest son of Hvamm-Sturla

Since

Holder of Ari the Strong's inheritance since Ari died in Norway (1188)

Born

1165 (eighteen when his father died in 1183); dies 1237

Family

Son of Hvamm-Sturla Þórðarson (died 1183) and Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. He took Ari the Strong's inheritance with Ari's daughter Helga; they parted, and he took Hróðný Þórðardóttir, formerly the wife of Bersi the Wealthy. Brothers: Sighvatur (Sighvatur Sturluson) and Snorri (Snorri Sturluson). Sisters married into the west (Vigdís to Gellir Þorsteinsson of Flatey, Steinunn to the priest Jón Brandsson). His son Sturla, the historian, is born in 1214. Uncle: Þórður Böðvarsson, who stood with the Oddaverjar in 1196.

Confidence

medium

Íslendinga saga: "Þórðr Sturluson inherited Ari's estate and Helga his daughter." Ari the Strong's seat was Staður (Staðarstaður); that Þórður lives there on 1 January 1200 is the usual reading but is not stated for that winter in the passages checked.

What it holds

• Staðarstaður (Staður á Ölduhrygg), a church estate, with Ari the Strong's inheritance
• A share of the Þórsnesingagoðorð: about 1197 half of it went to the priest Þorgils Snorrason of Skarð, son of the lawspeaker Snorri Húnbogason (the saga's wording on who held the other half is unclear: not pinned)

How it was acquired

Through his marriage to Helga, Ari the Strong's daughter, after Ari died in Norway in 1188.

Allies and rivals

Friendly with Sæmundur Jónsson ("he liked his arguments" in the Kjós case); close to Bersi the Wealthy; his brothers.

How things stand that morning

Holds Staðarstaður and his share of the Snæfellsnes chieftaincy. Wounded in the back at the Althing fight of 1196, he is at peace this winter.

Wealth

Church farm, fishing and seal and bird rights on the Snæfellsnes coast.

Military

Thingmen of Snæfellsnes.

Places of note

• Staðarstaður: Þórður's seat, a church farm.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Íslendinga saga; the exact share of the Þórsnesingagoðorð in 1200 is unclear in the text, and his residence that winter is inferred.

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 Sturlungar

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