Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mythology; his relative Sturla Þordarson compiled the
Book of Settlements Expanded
,
accounts of the original landowners and their lives; and it was during this period that
the
sagas
were composed, romanticizing the nobler events of the early
Commonwealth.
Meanwhile the war continued, and by 1246 only two chieftains were
left standing: Gissur Þorvaldsson, who held the south of the country; and Sturla's
brother
Þordur
, who
controlled the north. Rather than fight, they let King Hákon
decide who should govern; the king chose Þordur, who ruled Iceland until 1250,
sharing power with the two bishops - also Norwegian appointees. In the end, the
bishop at Hólar denounced Þordur for putting his own interests before Norway's, and
the king replaced him with Gissur who, after a further decade of skirmishes, finally
persuaded Icelanders that the only way to obtain lasting peace was by accepting
Norwegian sovereignty
. In 1262, Iceland's chieftains signed the
Gamli sáttmáli
or
Old
Treaty
, which allowed Iceland to keep its laws and promised that the Norwegian king
would maintain order, in exchange for taxes and replacing the chieftainships with
government officials. While the treaty didn't give Norway absolute control of the
country, and demanded a return for Icelandic obedience, it marked the beginnings of
seven centuries of foreign rule.
Decline, the English Century and the Reformation
With the Alþing discredited by over forty years of conflict, Iceland turned to Norway
to help draft a new constitution. The
Jónsbók
of 1280 was the result, a set of laws that
were to remain partly in force until the nineteenth century. The country was to be
overseen by a
governor
, with twelve regional
sheriffs
acting as local administrators; all
officials would be Icelanders, though appointed by Norway. The Alþing would still
meet as a national court, retaining some legislative power, but its decisions would have
to be approved by the king.
The new system should have brought a much-needed period of stability to Iceland,
but it was not always administered as planned - officials often abused their position,
leading to several
revolts
, such as when the brutal governor Smiður Andrésson was
killed by farmers in 1361. Meanwhile, the Danish “lady king”
Margrete I
had absorbed
the Norwegian throne under the
Kalmar Union
of 1397, thereby placing Iceland in
Denmark's hands.
The English Century
While all this was going on, the underlying struggles between landowners, the Church
and the king were escalating, typified by events during what is known as the
English
Century
. At the time there was growing demand in Europe for dried
cod
, which after
1400 became a major Icelandic export, exchanged for linen, wine and grain.
Fishing
- formerly a secondary income - boomed, providing a new source of funds for coastal
landowners. Soon English and German vessels were vying for trade with Iceland and
even beginning to fish themselves; the English gained the ascendancy after setting up a
base on the Westman Islands (where they also indulged in kidnapping and piracy), and
managing to get an English bishop -
John Craxton
-
appointed to Hólar in the 1420s.
Denmark, alarmed at England's rising influence and the taxes it was losing through
uncontrolled trade, appointed its own
Jón Gerreksson
as bishop at Skálholt, although
1420s
1532
1602
1661
English bishop is
appointed in Hólar í
Hjaltadalur
The English lose
influence in Iceland after
battle in Grindavík
The Danish Trade Monopoly
puts stranglehold on
commerce with Iceland
The Danish king, Frederick
III, declares absolute rule
over Iceland
