Sighvatur Sturluson

Who he is

Name

Sighvatur Sturluson

Title

Chieftain (goði) of the Snorrungagoðorð, the Sturlungar's inherited chieftaincy

Since

Holds the chieftaincy his father Hvamm-Sturla held (died 1183); at Hjarðarholt since spring 1197

Born

About 1170 (thirteen when his father died in 1183); killed at Örlygsstaðir in 1238

Family

Son of Hvamm-Sturla and Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. Married in summer 1197 (the wedding feast at Tunga below Skálholt) to Halldóra Tumadóttir, sister of Kolbeinn Tumason and stepdaughter of Sigurður Ormsson. Sons born by 1 January 1200: Tumi (summer 1198) and Sturla (1199). His mother Guðný lives at Hvammur.

Confidence

high

Íslendinga saga: Sighvatur set up house at Hjarðarholt "at the same time as the burning of Önundur" (spring 1197), the farm handed over by the priest Magnús Guðmundarson under an agreement made with Hvamm-Sturla; he "took the inherited chieftaincies that Sturla had held" and later managed the Snorrungagoðorð "alone"; he lived at Hjarðarholt "some winters" and then bought Sauðafell and moved there in the cattle-death winter (Nautfellisvetr), which the saga tells after the events of 1201.

What it holds

• Hjarðarholt in Laxárdalur
• The Snorrungagoðorð, the chieftaincy of the Dalir, which he manages alone for the brothers
• Thingmen and friends in the Kjós (Kjósverjar) since his suit against Sæmundur's thingman Markús

How it was acquired

The chieftaincy by inheritance from Hvamm-Sturla; Hjarðarholt under the agreement with the priest Magnús Guðmundarson (1197). He built his stake from a forty-hundred inheritance, buying and selling Galtardalstunga and half of Staðarhóll and lending money at interest.

Allies and rivals

Allies: his brother-in-law Kolbeinn Tumason and Sigurður Ormsson. Rivals: Sæmundur Jónsson and the Oddaverjar (the Kjós suit, the Glæðir dispute); Þorvaldur Snorrason of Vatnsfjörður, who "remained at odds with Sighvatur for a long time" after Sighvatur reconciled the man who killed Þorvaldur's follower Þórður Kollason in the Althing booths (year not pinned, 1198 or 1199). His brother Snorri is on Sæmundur's side.

How things stand that morning

At Hjarðarholt with Halldóra and their two sons; holds the Snorrungagoðorð; bound by oath to Sigurður Ormsson in the Glæðir dispute.

Wealth

Farms and cattle of the Dalir; money lent at interest; the support of the rich widow Helga Gyðudóttir of Brjánslækur (the saga).

Military

Thingmen of the Dalir; a hard fighter (wounded in the foot at the 1196 Althing fight).

Threats

• The Oddaverjar's resentment
• Þorvaldur of Vatnsfjörður's enmity

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. Spring 1200Sigurður Ormsson's stepson Arnór Tumason rides to Sighvatur and Kolbeinn for help against Sæmundur; they cannot gather men in time for the spring assembly.Depends on: The killing of Kári and Snorri's suit. Stopped by: An earlier settlement.
2. Late June 1200Bishop Páll's award gives the Glæðir property to Sæmundur; Sighvatur is the most displeased of all.Depends on: The arbitration agreed in spring. Stopped by: A breach of the truce.

Places of note

• Hjarðarholt: Sighvatur's farm.
• Hvammur: The Sturlungar's ancestral farm, where their mother Guðný Böðvarsdóttir lives; its land is Snorri's bride-price.
• Sauðafell: Bought later (after 1201); not yet his.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Íslendinga saga chapters on 1196-1201 (Vigfusson's chapters 8-11 and 23).

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