communes, the spring assembly parish, the Quarters or the country as a whole. It was
one of the main duties of the communes to fulfil this task. The leaders of the communes
had to distribute the tithes and food to the poor, and organise their movements round
the commune.
The communes’ other main task was to arrange mutual insurance between the
farmers. They had to jointly pay half the compensation needed for two types of losses: if
a farmer lost more than a quarter of his cattle and horses or if parts of his farm, dwelling,
outhouse for washing and baking, or food store burned down. This compensation was
not to be paid out more than three times to the same farmer and should never constitute
more than 1 per cent of the wealth of each farmer, even if it did not cover half the
damage.
The chieftains had a strong influence over the communes in the Free State period, but
when Iceland became part of the Norwegian kingdom, and especially after the intro-
duction of the legal codes Járnsíða in 1271 and Jónsbók in 1281 , the relationship between
the chieftains and the farmers changed significantly. The chieftains had been obliged to
defend and assist their supporters, but as the king’s servants they had to prosecute and
punish those who had formerly been their friends. The chieftains’ power over the com-
munes was reduced, and it can be argued that it was after c. 1271 that the communes
took on the function they retained for the rest of the Middle Ages ( Jón Viðar Sigurðsson
1995 ).
RELIGIONOne of the major themes in Icelandic history is the introduction of Christianity in the
year 999 or 1000 , and especially the peaceful nature of the process, but also how this
change affected the power of the chieftains. The Lawspeaker Þorgeirr Ljósvetningagoði
has been the focal point for much discussion, and his contribution towards the peace-
ful outcome of the conflict between the heathens and Christians has been underlined
(Maurer 1855 – 6 ; Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson 1999 ; Hjalti Hugason 2000 ).
Around the middle of the nineteenth century the German legal historian Konrad
Maurer presented his theory about the sacred origins of the chieftaincy system. He
maintained that these chieftains, like other Germanic chieftains, were guardians of
religion, but that this function was of secondary importance to their secular duties
(Maurer 1874 ). The strongest argument against Maurer’s thesis is the assertion that it
would have been impossible for the chieftaincy system to survive the introduction
of Christianity at the General Assembly of 999 / 1000 if it had been based on sacred–
heathen foundations (Ólafur Lárusson 1960 : 363 – 4 ). However, it has been argued that it
was because of the chieftains’ control of the old religion that it was possible to introduce
the new one via a resolution at the General Assembly. Discussion about the introduction
of Christianity has also failed to take into consideration the chieftains’ leading role in
society, or the bonds that tied them and their supporters (vinir) together. In this kind of
relationship, the chieftains were dominant and the farmers had to accept their decisions
(Jón Viðar Sigurðsson 1999 ).
In 1056 the bishopric of Skálholt was founded, and in 1106 the see of Hólar, which
included the Northern Quarter, was established. Until 1104 , Iceland and the rest
of Scandinavia belonged to the archdiocese of Hamburg–Bremen, and from 1104 to
1152 – 3 that of Lund. In 1152 – 3 the archbishopric in Niðarós, which included Norway
–– chapter 42 : Iceland––