Nobility in Iceland

Nobility in Iceland(Icelandic:aðall;Norwegian:adel) may refer to the following:

• Icelanders who belonged to thearistocracyof theIcelandic Commonwealth.
• Icelanders who belonged to theNorwegian nobility.
• Icelanders who belonged to theDanish nobility.

Aristocracy of the Icelandic Commonwealth

In this painting, painted in 1850 and depicting an imagined event, NorwegianIngólfr Arnarsonis depicted taking possession of the site ofReykjavík.
Painter: Johan Peter Raadsig

Coat of arms of the Earldom of Iceland;a variant of theCoat of arms of the Kingdom of Norway.

Original page from theKing’s Mirror

Icelandic–DanishHenrich Hielmstierne,a member of theDanish nobility

Main articles:Icelandic CommonwealthandAge of the Sturlungs

During theNorsesettlement of Iceland,beginning in ca. 874 and lasting until ca. 930,chieftainsandaristocraticfamilies fromWesternandNorthernNorwayarrived to the island. They had refused to acceptHarald I Halfdansonas theirhigh king,instead abandoning their chieftain seats andpetty kingdomsand heading west. One of these seats wasBorginLofoten.

In the following centuriesIcelandwas ruled by a handful of aristocratic families, each controlling their respective part of the island, mainly theSturlungar,theÁsbirningar,theOddaverjar,theHaukdælir,theVatnsfirðingar,and theSvínfellingar.

During this time a rich amount of poetry and literature was created, among others by poetSighvatr Sturlusonand by poet and historianSnorri Sturluson.The aforementioned families are extensively described in historical literature, for example in theSturlunga saga.

Norwegian nobility

Main articles:Norwegian nobilityandHird

Between 1262 and 1814,Icelandwas a part of theKingdom of Norway.The process that turned Iceland into a province had begun already in the 12th century. In the 12th and the 13th centuries several Icelandic men travelled to and were included at the Royal Court in Norway.

Jón Loftsson,Böðvar Þórðarson, Ormur Jónsson, Oddur Gissursson, and Gissur Hallsson are described as men ‘whom God has given the power over the people of Iceland’ in a letter of 1179 or 1180 byEysteinn Erlendsson,Archbishop of Norway.Illustrating the growing connection between Iceland and Norway, Jón's mother wasÞóra Magnúsdóttir,a daughter of KingMagnus III Olafson of Norway.

In 1220,Snorri Sturluson,an adopted son of Jón and a member of theSturlungafamily, became avassalofHaakon IV Haakonson of Norway.In 1235 Snorri's nephewSturla Sighvatssonalso accepted vassalage under the King of Norway. Unlike his uncle, Sturla worked actively for bringing Iceland under the Norwegian Crown, warring on chieftains who refused to accept the King's demands. However, Sturla and his fatherSighvatr Sturlusonwere defeated byGissur Þorvaldsson,the chief of theHaukdælir,andKolbeinn the young,chief of theÁsbirnings,in theBattle of Örlygsstaðir,losing their position as the mightiest chieftains in Iceland.

In 1262, following theOld Covenant,the independent republic became an earldom under the Kingdom of Norway. Gissur Þorvaldsson of the Haukdælir was createdEarl of Icelandin 1262, indicating and imposing that he should rule Iceland on behalf of Norway's king.

It is known that approximately 20–30 Icelandic men had the title of knight (Norwegian:ridder) in the following centuries, among others Eiríkur Sveinbjarnarson inVatnsfjörður(† in 1342) and Arnfinnur Þorsteinsson († in 1433).The first noble titles are known since 1277.These titles were normally not inherited, but rather expressed each person's function and rank as the King's servant.

The medieval aristocracy to which some Icelandics belonged was originally known as thehird.This was divided into three classes, of which the first had three ranks. The first class washirdmannwithlendmannas the 1st rank,skutilsveinas the 2nd rank, and ordinaryhirdmannas the 3rd rank. Below them were the classesgjestandkjertesvein.The hird's organisation is described in theKing’s Mirrorand theCodex of the Hird.

During the second half of the 13th century continental European court culture began to gain influence in Norway. In 1277, KingMagnus VI Haakonson of Norwayintroduced continental titles in the hird: lendmen were now calledbarons,and skutilsveins were calledridder.Both were then styledHerr(English:Lord). In 1308, KingHaakon V Magnusson of Norwayabolished the lendman/baron institution, and it was probably also during his reign that the aristocracy apparently was restructured into two classes:ridder(English:knight) andvæpner(English:squire).

It is difficult to determinate exactly how many knights and squires there were in the 14th and the early 15th century in Norway. When King Haakon V signed a peace treaty with the Danish king in 1309, it was sealed by 29 Norwegian knights and squires. King Haakon promised that 270 more knights and squires would give their written recognition.

On 1 July 1620 at theAlthing,Jón Magnússon the older let aletters patentof 1457 be read, given to his ancestor Björn ‘the Wealthy’ Þorleifsson fromChristopher of Bavariain his capacity asKing of Norway.Jón was the last Norwegian nobleman in Iceland. The era of the nobility in Iceland ended in 1660 with the introduction ofabsolutismin Norway (and inDenmark).

In addition to the secular aristocracy there was a clerical one. Positions within the church were occupied mainly by members of the mightiest families in Iceland and in Norway. Both bishops in Iceland after 1262 had ‘seat and vote’ in the NorwegianCouncil of the Kingdom.There were also non-noble bishops, for example Pétur Nikúlásson biskup á Hólum (1391–1411), originally a Danishmonk.The Archbishop of Nidaros hadsetesveinsin Iceland. Two are mentioned in a list from 1533, whereof ‘Oluff Lagmand’, i.e. Ólafurlögmaður.This aristocracy ended with theIcelandic Reformation.

Danish nobility

Main article:Danish nobility

A fewIcelanders(who formally were Norwegians until 1814) or Icelandic-rooted Danes have been ennobled or noble inDenmark.Prominent are the familiesHielmstierneandRosencrone.