Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing (Icelandic: Alþingi) in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. With the probable exception of hermitic Irish monks known as Papar, Iceland was an uninhabited island until around 874.
Icelandic Commonwealth Þjóðveldið Ísland (Icelandic) | |||||||
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| c. 930–1262 | |||||||
Map of Iceland by Abraham Ortelius (c. 1590) | |||||||
| Status | Commonwealth | ||||||
| Capital | Þingvellir | ||||||
| Common languages | Old Norse (later Old Icelandic) | ||||||
| Religion |
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| Demonym(s) | Norse: Icelandic | ||||||
| Important chieftains (goðar) | |||||||
• 1199–1238 | Sturla Sighvatsson | ||||||
• 1208–1245 | Kolbeinn ungi Arnórsson | ||||||
• 1210–1256 | Þórður kakali Sighvatsson | ||||||
• 1208–1268 | Gissur Þorvaldsson | ||||||
• 1214–1284 | Sturla Þórðarson | ||||||
| Lawspeaker | |||||||
• 985–1001 | Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði | ||||||
• 1004–1030 | Skapti Þóroddsson | ||||||
• 1031–1033 | Steinn Þorgestsson | ||||||
• 1034–1053 | Þorkell Tjörvason | ||||||
• 1054–1062/1072–1074 | Gellir Bolverksson | ||||||
• 1063–1065/1075 | Gunnar Þorgrímsson the Wise | ||||||
• 1066–1071 | Kolbeinn Flosason | ||||||
• 1076–1083 | Sighvatur Surtsson | ||||||
• 1084–1107 | Markús Skeggjason | ||||||
• 1108–1116 | Úlfhéðinn Gunnarsson | ||||||
• 1117–1122 | Bergþór Hrafnsson | ||||||
• 1215–1218/1222–1231 | Snorri Sturluson | ||||||
• 1248–1250/1252 | Ólafur Þórðarson | ||||||
• 1251 | Sturla Þórðarson | ||||||
| Legislature | Lögrétta of Alþingi | ||||||
| Historical era | High Middle Ages | ||||||
• Alþingi established | c. 930 | ||||||
• Norwegian kingship | 1262 | ||||||
| ISO 3166 code | IS | ||||||
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| Today part of | Iceland | ||||||
| History of Iceland |
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The Icelandic Commonwealth had a unique political system whereby chieftains (goðar) established a common legal code and settled judicial disputes at the Althing, a national assembly. However, there was no executive body in Iceland that enforced the legal code. The Icelandic Commonwealth has consequently been characterized as a stateless society. During the 13th century, Iceland came under the control of the Kingdom of Norway.