Sturla Sighvatsson (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 1199 – 21 August 1238) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic chieftain or ''

goði Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and com ...

'' of the

Sturlungar The Sturlungs ( Icelandic: ) were a powerful family clan in 13th century Iceland, in the time of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Their story is partly told in ''Sturlunga saga'', and members of the clan were significant participants in the civil war ...

family clan who played an active role in the armed conflicts in Iceland during the

Age of the Sturlungs The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( is, Sturlungaöld ) was a 42–44 year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th century Iceland. It is documented in the Sturlunga saga. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftai ...

(Icelandic: ''Sturlungaöld''). Sturla was the son of

Sighvatur Sturluson Sighvatr Sturluson (Old Norse: ; given name also ''Sigvatr'' ; Modern Icelandic: ''Sighvatur Sturluson'' ; c. 1170 – 1238) was a skaldic poet, ''goði'' and member of the Icelandic Sturlungar clan. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson of H ...

, brother of saga-writer

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

and lived on a farmstead in Sauðafell. Like his uncle, Sturla became a vassal to King Haakon IV of Norway, and fought to extend his influence in

. Sturla was killed in the

Battle of Örlygsstaðir The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by the Sturlungar against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern Iceland. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the time between various ...

References

1199 births 1238 deaths 12th-century Icelandic people 13th-century Icelandic people Military personnel killed in action Sturlungar family clan Goðar {{iceland-bio-stub

See also

References