Road Trip Through History
Road Trip Through History: Reykholt
In the thirteenth century, Reykholt was one of the three major estates controlled by Snorri Sturluson, poet, chieftain, and would-be king of Iceland. Reykholt was wealthy estate and luxurious by the standards of the time. Snorri literally built a house fit for a king, planning renovations inspired by the palace of the Norwegian king. His…
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Road Trip Through History: The Settlement Center
As I’ve mentioned before, Iceland is a small place and much of it is mountain desert–think the Rockies without the pines. In what passes for arable land, the present lives on top of and alongside the past. Dig the foundation for a new building and the odds are that you will find the foundation of…
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Road Trip Through History: The Althing, or Medieval Democracy (More Or Less) In Action
We visited the national park at Thingvellir, aka the Assembly Plains, on what our Icelandic hosts assured us was a rare perfect day: sunny and warm enough that we peeled off not only our rain coats but our heavy sweaters. Located in a geologically unstable rift valley where the American and European tectonic plates meet,*…
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