Nobility in Iceland

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

• Icelanders who belonged to the aristocracy of the Icelandic Commonwealth.
• Icelanders who belonged to the
  Norwegian nobility
  .
• Icelanders who belonged to the Danish nobility.

Aristocracy of the Icelandic Commonwealth

During the

In the following centuries Iceland was ruled by a handful of aristocratic families, each controlling their respective part of the island, mainly the Sturlungar, the Ásbirningar, the Oddaverjar, the Haukdælir, the Vatnsfirðingar, and the Svínfellingar.

During this time a rich amount of poetry and literature was created, among others by poet Sighvatr Sturluson and by poet and historian Snorri Sturluson. The aforementioned families are extensively described in historical literature, for example in the Sturlunga saga.

Norwegian nobility

Between 1262 and 1814, Iceland was a part of the Kingdom 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.

It is known that approximately 20–30 Icelandic men had the title of knight (Norwegian: ridder) in the following centuries, among others Eiríkur Sveinbjarnarson in Vatnsfjörður († in 1342) and Arnfinnur Þorsteinsson († in 1433).^[2][3] The first noble titles are known since 1277.^[4] These titles were normally not inherited, but rather expressed each person's function and rank as the King's servant.^[5]

The medieval aristocracy to which some Icelandics belonged was originally known as the hird. This was divided into three classes, of which the first had three ranks. The first class was hirdmann with lendmann as the 1st rank, skutilsvein as the 2nd rank, and ordinary hirdmann as the 3rd rank. Below them were the classes gjest and kjertesvein.^[6][7] The hird's organisation is described in the King’s Mirror and the Codex of the Hird.

During the second half of the 13th century continental European court culture began to gain influence in Norway. In 1277, King

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.[8]

On 1 July 1620 at the Althing, Jón Magnússon the older let a letters patent of 1457 be read, given to his ancestor Björn ‘the Wealthy’ Þorleifsson from Christopher of Bavaria in his capacity as King of Norway. Jón was the last Norwegian nobleman in Iceland. The era of the nobility in Iceland ended in 1660 with the introduction of absolutism in Norway (and in Denmark).

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 Norwegian Council of the Kingdom. There were also non-noble bishops, for example Pétur Nikúlásson biskup á Hólum (1391–1411), originally a Danish monk. The Archbishop of Nidaros had setesveins in Iceland. Two are mentioned in a list from 1533, whereof ‘Oluff Lagmand’, i.e. Ólafur lögmaður.^[9] This aristocracy ended with the Icelandic Reformation.

Danish nobility

A few Icelanders (who formally were Norwegians until 1814) or Icelandic-rooted Danes have been ennobled or noble in Denmark. Prominent are the families Hielmstierne and Rosencrone.

References