The excavations at the farmsite at Reykholt in Western Iceland revealed well preserved structural remains which could date from the time that Snorri Sturluson, the chieftain and author of the Prose Edda and Heimskringla among other works, resided there in the rst half of the thirteenth century.

These remains include some unusual building types not encountered elsewhere in Iceland. Snorri travelled abroad and may have picked up ideas on these trips to apply at his residence back home. This book attempts to throw light on the appearance and character of a thirteenth century Icelandic magnate’s farm by comparing it with sites of similar status in Scandinavia and the Scottish Isles.

The eleven articles published here are written by specialists in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Scotland.