Modern Icelandic in the context of "Jón Loftsson"

Ari Þorgilsson (1067/1068 – 9 November 1148; Old Norse: [ˈɑre ˈθorˌɡilsˌson]; Modern Icelandic: [ˈaːrɪ ˈθɔrˌcɪlsˌsɔːn]; also anglicized Ari Thorgilsson) was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He was the author of Íslendingabók, which details the histories of the various families who settled Iceland. He is typically referred to as Ari the Wise (Ari fróði), and according to Snorri Sturluson was the first to write history in Old Norse.

Ari was a part of the Haukdælir family clan and studied in the school in Haukadalur as a student of Teitur Ísleifsson (the son of Ísleifur Gissurarson, first bishop of Iceland). There he became acquainted with Classical education. His writings clearly indicate that he was familiar with Latin chronicler traditions, but at the same time he is widely regarded as excelling in the Icelandic oral storytelling tradition.

Hjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson (Old Norse: [ˈhjɔrˌlɛivz̠ ˈhroːðˌmɑrsˌson]; Modern Icelandic: Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson [ˈçœrˌleiːvʏr ˈr̥ouðˌmar̥sˌsɔːn]; Modern Norwegian: Leif Rodmarsson) was an early settler in Iceland. The story of the early settlement of Iceland is told in the compilation known as Landnámabók.

Hjörleifr was the blood brother of Ingólfr Arnarson, the first settler of Iceland in the late 9th century. While raiding in Ireland, he found an underground passage and killed a man to take his sword. From this event his original name Leifr was lengthened to Hjǫrleifr (Old Norse hjǫrr: 'sword'). Hjörleifr settled on land on the mountain Hjörleifshöfði (east of Vík) which was named after him. He was later murdered by his thralls, many of whom were Irish or Scottish. The fugitive slaves were killed by Ingólfr Arnarson, thereby saving all the women who were held captive by the slaves.

The Old Covenant (Modern Icelandic: Gamli sáttmáli [ˈkamlɪ ˈsauhtˌmauːlɪ]; Old Norse: [ˈɡɑmle ˈsɑːtːˌmɑːle]) was the name of the agreement which effected the union of Iceland and Norway. It is also known as Gissurarsáttmáli, named after Gissur Þorvaldsson, the Icelandic chieftain who worked to promote it. The name "Old Covenant", however, is probably due to historical confusion. Gamli sáttmáli is properly the treaty of 1302 mentioned below and the treaty of 1262 is the actual Gissurarsáttmáli.

The agreement also led to a shift in Iceland's political ideology towards the model of monarchy since it diminished the role of its chieftains (goði) as models of political rule. Prior to the agreement, the chieftains' power, which developed into a Commonwealth, was idealized particularly during the 12th and 13th centuries.

The Haukdælir (Old Norse: [ˈhɔukˌdɛːlez̠]; Modern Icelandic: [ˈhœykˌtaiːlɪr̥]) were one of the family clans who controlled medieval Iceland during the period of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Their name is derived from Haukadalur (literally, Valley of the Hawks). The Haukdælir traced their lineage to Ketilbjörn Ketilsson, who settled on land in Grímsnes and received a Goðorð in Árnesþing. Their influence was prominent during the 10th to 13th centuries, first as progressives concerning Christianity, and later as chieftains and participants in the Age of the Sturlungs civil war. In the 13th century, Gissur Þorvaldsson, leader of the Haukdælir, was made Jarl of Iceland by the King of Norway.

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.

The Háttatal (Old Norse: 'Tally of Metres'; c. 20,000 words; Old Norse: [ˈhɑːtːɑtɑl], Modern Icelandic: [ˈhauhtaˌtʰaːl̥]) is the last section of the Prose Edda composed by the Icelandic poet, politician, and historian Snorri Sturluson. Using, for the most part, his own compositions, it exemplifies the types of verse forms used in Old Norse poetry. Snorri took a prescriptive as well as descriptive approach; he has systematized the material, and often notes that "the older poets did not always" follow his rules.

Most of the forms depend on number of syllables per line, as well as assonance, consonance, and alliteration. Although end rhyme is represented, it does not function in the ways most modern English speakers expect (forms include AAAAAAAA, and AAAABBBB), and plays a very minor role. Understanding this work will be much easier if the First Grammatical Treatise is also available to hand.

Egil Skallagrímsson (Old Norse: Egill Skallagrímsson [ˈeɣelː ˈskɑlːɑˌɡriːmsˌson]; Modern Icelandic: [ˈeijɪtl̥ ˈskatlaˌkrimsˌsɔːn]; c. 904 – c. 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer. He is known mainly as the anti-hero of Egil's Saga. Egil's Saga historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 AD and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 AD.