The old kindred of Haukadalur in Biskupstungur, who gave Skálholt to the see, rules Árnesþing, the great plain between the Þjórsá and the Hellisheiði.
Its head is the aged lawspeaker Gissur Hallsson; the working chieftain is his son Þorvaldur at Hruni. The kindred is pulled two ways this winter: Gissur's daughter is the wife of Sigurður Ormsson and the mother of Kolbeinn Tumason, but Þorvaldur has married Sæmundur Jónsson's niece and backs Sæmundur's offer in the Glæðir dispute.
Who rules
- Name
- Gissur Hallsson of Haukadalur
- Title
- Head of the kindred; lawspeaker of the Althing since 1181
- Confidence
- high
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Put together from the records of its chieftains, which give the sources.
On the map: A kindred had no border. An Icelandic chieftain ruled people, not ground: his followers (thingmen) chose him, could leave him and lived scattered among other chieftains' men. The colour marks the districts where the kindred's chieftains held their power and most of their followers, as the sagas show them.
Primary sources for this realm
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.