- Gissur Þorvaldsson
Gissur Thorvaldsson (1208 –
January 12 1268 ) ( _is. Gissur Þorvaldsson) was a medievalIceland ic chieftain or "goði " of theHaukdælir family clan, and great-grandson ofJón Loftsson .Gissur played a major role in the civil war which is now known as "
Sturlungaöld ", or theAge of the Sturlungs : he fought alongsideKolbeinn the Young against the forces ofSturla Sighvatsson of theSturlungar clan in theBattle of Örlygsstaðir in 1238 and led the force of men who murdered saga-writerSnorri Sturluson in 1241, at the behest ofHaakon IV , King of Norway. In 1258, he was made Earl of Iceland ( _is. jarl) for his loyal service to the king. He held this title till his death.Gissur worked actively to promote the
Old Covenant ( _is. Gamli sáttmáli), an agreement which broughtIceland under the sovereignty of the Norwegian crown in 1264. The covenant is hence sometimes known as Gissur's Covenant, or "Gissurarsáttmáli".
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