West Iceland - Iceland - page 348

Upper Borgarfjörður
SNORRI STURLUSON
The chieftain and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) is one of the most important fig-
ures in medieval Icelandic history, and in fact, he was one of the main chroniclers of
Norse sagas and histories. Snorri was born at Hvammur near Búðardalur (further north);
was raised and educated at the theological centre of Oddi near Hella; and later married
the heir to the (historic) farm Borg á Mýrum near Borgarnes. He eventually left Borg and
retreated to the wealthy church estate at Reykholt. At the time, Reykholt was home to
60,000 to 80,000 people and was an important trade centre at the crossroads of major
routes across the country. Snorri composed many of his most famous works at Reykholt,
including Prose Edda(a textbook of medieval Norse poetry) and Heimskringla(a history
of the kings of Norway). Snorri is also widely believed to be the hand behind Egil's Saga,a
family history of Viking skald(court poet) Egil Skallagrímsson.
At the age of 36 Snorri was appointed lögsögumaður(law speaker) of the Alþing
(Icelandic parliament), and he endured heavy pressure from the Norwegian king to pro-
mote the king's private interests. Instead, Snorri busied himself with his writing and the
unhappy Norwegian king Hákon issued a warrant for his capture - dead or alive. Snorri's
political rival and former son-in-law Gissur Þorvaldsson saw his chance to impress the
king and possibly snag the position of governor of Iceland in return. He arrived in Reykholt
with 70 armed men on the night of 23 September 1241 and hacked the historian to death
in the basement of his farmhouse.
Reykholt
Incredibly unassuming, Reykholt ( www.reykholt.is ) is a sleepy outpost (just a few farm-
steads really) that on first glance offers few clues to its past as a major medieval settle-
ment. It was home to one of the most important medieval chieftains and scholars, Snorri
Sturluson (also killed here), and today the main sights revolve around him.
Sights
Snorrastofa MUSEUM