All the King’s men. The incorporation of Iceland into the Norwegian Realm

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is a common supposition that Iceland became a part of Norway over a period of few years following 1262, that this was done through the adoption of a document known as The Old Covenant (ON. Gamli sattmali) and that the most important part of this transition was that the Icelanders now accepted the Norwegian king as their own king. Some of these statements must be subject to qualification. In fact, different parts of Iceland became subject to the Norwegian king at various times, the Old Covenant had no legal status neither in Iceland nor the Norwegian kingdom at large, and the Norwegian king had already been accepted as the ruler of most of Iceland before 1262.This article will demonstrate that the incorporation of Iceland into the Norwegian realm involved three distinct but interconnected issues: The introduction of government into Iceland, the introduction of regular taxation and, finally, the adjustment of Icelandic laws to reflect the laws of the Norwegian kingdom. The focus will not be on the events of a single year or a period of few years, but on a longer period of transition, from 1220 to 1281, of which the adaption of Jonsbok was the final act. The adoption of a new law code changed the nature of the government that had been introduced in Iceland, which became more centralized than anyone might have expected. With the adoption of Jonsbok at the Icelandic parliament in 1281, the incorporation of Iceland into the Norwegian kingdom was finalized. The new law code defined the status of the king and the new government of Iceland and harmonized Icelandic laws with the laws of other parts of the kingdom, although Iceland retained some of its separate legal tradition.