Icelandic Commonwealth

Icelandic Commonwealth Þjóðveldið Ísland (Icelandic)
c. 930–1262
Map of Iceland by Abraham Ortelius (c. 1590)
Status	Commonwealth
Capital	Þingvellir
Common languages	Old Norse (later Old Icelandic)
Religion	Old Norse religion (state before 1000) Roman Catholicism (state after 1000) goðlauss (lack of faith in any deity)
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
Succeeded by Kingdom of Norway
Today part of	Iceland

Part of a series on the
History of Iceland
Timeline of Icelandic history
Middle ages Settlement of Iceland 870–930 Icelandic Commonwealth 930–1262      Farthings 965      Christianization 999–1118 Sturlung era 1180–1264      Staðamálin 1178–1297 Norwegian rule 1262–1380      Old Covenant 1262 Danish rule 1380–1918      Reformation 1536–1627      Danish trade monopoly 1602–1874 Eruption of Laki 1783–1785
Modern era Independence movement 1809–1847 Prohibition 1915–1989 Kingdom of Iceland 1918–1944      Act of Union World War II 1939–1944      British invasion of Iceland 1940      Allied occupation of Iceland 1940–1945           Invader relationships Founding of republic 1944 Iceland in the Cold War 1947–1991      Cod Wars 1948–1976      Anti-NATO riot 1949 Financial crisis 2008–2011 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–
Related topics Aristocracy Economic history Icelandic nationality Jewish history Military history Rulers
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The Icelandic Commonwealth,^[a] 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.

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.^[1] However, there was no executive body in Iceland that enforced the legal code.^[1] The Icelandic Commonwealth has consequently been characterized as a stateless society.^[2][3] During the 13th century, Iceland came under the control of the Kingdom of Norway.^[1]

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