In this post, i will go through figures and events of the age of the Sturlungs. I will continually edit this post over time, hopefully. Starting with:
Sighvatur Sturluson
born in 1116 and died on 23 July 1183, Sighvatur was a prominent chieftain of the Sturlungar clan and the brother of the renowned historian Snorri Sturluson. Sighvatur’s quest for influence led him to make many enemies, including the Catholic bishop Guðmundur Arason. This enmity resulted in the bishop’s men killing Sighvatur’s oldest son, Tumi. In retaliation, Sighvatur, accompanied by his son Sturla and their men, sailed to Grímsey. After a battle, they captured the bishop, who was then forced into temporary exile to Norway.
Sighvatur temporarily reconciled with the rival Haukdælir and Ásbirningar clans. Seeking to mend his relationship with the Church, his son Sturla undertook a penitential journey to Rome on their behalf and received the pope’s pardon in 1233. However, upon returning to Iceland in 1235, Sturla’s lust for power had only intensified. In 1238, Sturla marched with an army of 1300 men to the ancestral land of the Ásbirningar clan, Skagafjörður, dragging his brothers, Tumi yngri, Kolbeinn, Þórður ‘krókur’, Markús, and his nearly 70 year old father Sighvatur along with him. Kolbeinn Ungi of the Ásbirnginar managed to rally the Haukdælir clan, and together outnumbered the Sturlungar. The Ásbirningar managed to catch them by surprise, forcing the Sturlungar into an enclosed field at Örlygsstaðir. The Battle of Örlygsstaðir resulted in Sighvatur and Sturla’s deaths. Markús was critically wounded and finished off elsewhere, Þórður ‘krókur’ and Kolbeinn fled to a nearby church where they pleaded for mercy but were executed using their father’s axe, Stjarnan.
Sighvatur also owned a supposed 250-year-old(at the time) spear named Grásíða, which was crafted from a broken sword by Gísli Súrsson, the hero of the famous saga ‘The Saga of Gísli the Outlaw.’ This spear was described as ‘‘ancient’’. Sturla used it during the battle Örlygsstaðir, where it is said he had to continually jump on it during the fight to straighten it out, as it kept bending.
In his hand was a weapon called Stjarnan, an axe. He held the shaft below the blade, turned the edge away from himself, and swung the shaft. A man who came out of the enclosure spoke to him: “Do not go forward, Sighvatur, there are foes ahead.” He answered nothing and continued as before.
Þorvarður from Saurbær walked with him, along with Sighvatur Runólfsson and Sámur, Þorvarður’s servant. Árni Auðunarson advanced with Sighvatur and struck with both hands.
Kolbein’s men asked why he acted so, a small and old man. “I do not intend to flee,” he said.
The four, Sighvatur and his companions, fell south of the enclosure.
Then Björn Leifsson from Ás arrived and placed a shield over Sighvatur, supporting his head with his hands, for Sighvatur was exhausted from fatigue, though barely wounded or not at all.
Then Kolbeinn ‘ungi’ came and asked, “Who is crouching there under the wall?”
“Sighvatur,” they said.
“Why don’t you kill him?” said Kolbein.
“Because Björn is protecting him,” they replied.
“Then kill him first,” said Kolbein.
Björn then fled from there.
Kolbeinn thrust at Sighvatur with a spear where the neck and shoulders meet, but it was a minor wound, for the spear’s point was broken. Sighvatur said, “Let us have words—you will now decide our fate.”
Then Einar Dragi rushed forward and struck Sighvatur’s head, and that was a certain deathblow, though others also attacked him.
Trace of Sighvatur, and an image where he was slain.
