The kindred of Oddi on the Rangárvellir, of Norwegian royal blood through Jón Loftsson's mother, a daughter of King Magnus Barefoot.
Its head Sæmundur Jónsson is counted the foremost man in Iceland; his brother Ormur holds Breiðabólstaður in Fljótshlíð and his brother Páll is bishop of Skálholt. The kindred rules Rangárþing, the plains between the Þjórsá and the Jökulsá on Sólheimasandur, and keeps thingmen far beyond it, in the Kjós and in Borgarfjörður. On 1 January 1200 Sæmundur is in a live feud with Sigurður Ormsson of the Svínfellingar over the Glæðir inheritance in Síða.
Who rules
- Name
- Sæmundur Jónsson of Oddi
- Title
- Head of the kindred
- Since
- Since his father Jón Loftsson died on 1 November 1197
- 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.