Gothi or goði (plural goðar, fem. gyðja; Old Norse: guþi) 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 communal feasts, but the title is primarily known as a secular political title from medieval Iceland.
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👉 Goði in the context of Gissur Þorvaldsson
Gissur Þorvaldsson ([ˈcɪsːˌʏːr ˈθɔrˌval(t)sˌsɔːn]; Old Norse: Gizurr Þorvaldsson [ˈɡit͡sˌurː ˈθorˌwɑldsˌson]; 1208 – 12 January 1268) was a medieval Icelandic chieftain or goði of the Haukdælir family clan, and great-grandson of Jón Loftsson.
Gissur played a major role in the period of civil war which is now known as Age of the Sturlungs: he fought alongside Kolbeinn the Young against the forces of Sturla Sighvatsson of the Sturlungar clan in the Battle of Örlygsstaðir in 1238 and led the force of men who murdered saga-writer Snorri Sturluson in 1241, by the order of Haakon IV, King of Norway, who demanded Snorri's murder considering him a traitor after fleeing to Iceland following his support for Jarl Skúli's failed coup and his relatives deaths in the Battle of Örlygsstaðir. In 1253, Gissur's son was wedded to Sturla Þórðarson's daughter Ingibjörg, as a part of an attempt at ending the conflict between the Haukdælir and Sturlungar. Shortly after the wedding, Eyjólfr ofsi, another member of the extended Sturlungar, attacked Gissur's household at Flugumýri, in what is termed the Flugumýrarbrenna (Flugumýri Arson), a devastating attack that destroyed his paternal family line (Gissur survived the attack by hiding in a barrel of skyr.) The event was clearly traumatic for Gissur, and caused him to campaign against the burners, and compose poetry. In 1258, he was made Earl of Iceland (Icelandic: jarl) for his loyal service to the king. He held this title until his death.
In this Dossier
Goði in the context of Age of the Sturlungs
The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era (Icelandic: Sturlungaöld [ˈstʏ(r)tluŋkaˌœlt]) 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 chieftains, goðar, who amassed followers and fought wars, and is named for the Sturlungs, the most powerful family clan in Iceland at the time. The era led to the signing of the Old Covenant, which brought Iceland under the Norwegian crown.
Goði in the context of Sighvatur Sturluson
Sighvatr Sturluson (Old Norse: [ˈsiɣˌxwɑtz̠ ˈsturloˌson]; given name also Sigvatr [ˈsiɣˌwɑtz̠]; Modern Icelandic: Sighvatur Sturluson [ˈsɪɣˌkʰvaːtʏr ˈstʏ(r)tlʏˌsɔːn]; c. 1170 – 1238) was a skaldic poet, goði and member of the Icelandic Sturlungar clan. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson of Hvammur and Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. His younger brother, the famous poet and historian Snorri Sturluson, grew up away from home, in Oddi, while Sighvatr and his elder brother Þórð(u)r were brought up in Hvammur. Nothing is known about his education. He married Kolbeinn Tumason’s sister Halldóra Tumadóttir, with whom he had a son, Sturla Sighvatsson.
He figures in the Sturlunga saga, one of the sources which cites his poetry. Only two stanzas of Sighvatr's work now remain: the first refers to the killing of Hallr Kleppjárnsson by Kálfr Guttormsson in 1212, the other to a dream before his death in the Battle of Örlygsstaðir in 1238.
Goði in the context of Svarfdæla saga
Svarfdæla saga () is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It was first recorded in the first half of the 14th century. It describes disputes which arise during the early settlement of Svarfaðardalur, a valley in central north Iceland.
The saga concerns three generations of a family originating in Norway. Thorstein Svarfað comes to Iceland from Namdalen with his youngest son Karl. Most of the saga is about Karl and his relationship with Ljótólf, the local chieftain (goði) .