Reynistaður, previously (“Site in Reynisnes”), is a town in

Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi, Skagi Peninsula to the west. Ther ...

—a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in the north of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. Reynistaður is the location of an old manor.

Þorfinnur karlsefni Thorfinn Karlsefni Thórdarson was an Icelandic explorer. Around the year 1010, he followed Leif Eriksson's route to Vinland in a short-lived attempt to establish a permanent settlement there with his wife Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir and their fo ...

(“the makings of a man”) was from Reynistaður and lived there for some time with his wife, Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir after they returned from

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland () was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the V ...

. During the

Age of the Sturlungs The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( ) was a 42-/44-year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th-century Iceland. It is documented in the '' Sturlunga saga''. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftains, '' goðar'' ...

, it was one of the residences of the

Ásbirningar family clan The Ásbirnings or Ásbirningar (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) were a powerful family clan in the medieval Icelandic Commonwealth. They dominated Skagafjörður in the 12th and 13th centuries until their last leader died in the Battle of Haugsn ...

. Kolbeinn kaldaljós (“cold light”) Arnórsson, also called Staðar-Kolbeinn, lived there as did his son Brandur Kolbeinsson later on.

Gissur Þorvaldsson Gissur Þorvaldsson (; Old Norse: ; 1208 – 12 January 1268) was a medieval Icelandic chieftain or '' goði'' of the Haukdælir family clan, and great-grandson of Jón Loftsson. Gissur played a major role in the period of civil war which is ...

later acquired Reynistaður, which was said to have become the jarl's residence because Gissur had received the title of ''

jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

''. Gissur donated Reynistaður for the establishment of a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. He died in 1268, but the Reynistaður Abbey was not established until 1295; it operated until the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Although the abbey was eventually closed down, the nuns received permission to live out the rest of their days there. No artifacts or other visible relics from the abbey have been found in Reynistaður, but there are other place names that link to the abbey. The abbey acquired a number of estates that the king came into possession of after the Reformation, which his representatives, called abbey magistrates, were in charge of supervising. Many of them lived in Reynistaður, including: *

Oddur Gottskálksson Oddur Gottskálksson (1495/1496 – 1556) was the translator of the first book printed in Icelandic, the New Testament. Oddur was born in Hólar where his father, Gottskálk grimmi Nikulásson was bishop. After his father died in 1520, Oddur ...

, lawyer * Sigurður Jónsson (died 1602) and his son Jón Sigurðsson (died 1635), a lawyer * Jens Spendrup,

sýslumaður (; plural: ; , , ) is a governmental office or title used in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. The position originated in Norway in the Middle Ages, where it was used as a noble title, and the was granted a fief called a '' sýsla'' (pl ...

(sheriff) * Halldór Vídalín Bjarnason and father of the Reynistaður brothers, who lived in Reynistaður from 1768 to 1800 and whose widow, Ragnheiður Einarsdóttir, was the abbey magistrate from 1803 to 1814 * Einar Stefánsson, a student, grandfather of the poet

Einar Benediktsson Einar Benediktsson, often referred to as Einar Ben (31 October 1864 – 12 January 1940) was an Icelandic poet and lawyer. Einar Benediktsson's poetry was a significant contribution to the nationalistic revival which led to Iceland's independenc ...

When Reynistaður's old barn was torn down in 1935, the barn door, which was built in the typical 18th century stave construction, was kept in place. The door was later moved and a concrete storehouse was built onto it. In 1999, a gate was built near the original location of the barn, turf walls were added, and the roof was also covered in turf. It is now a heritage site held by the

National Museum of Iceland The National Museum of Iceland ( Icelandic: ''Þjóðminjasafn Íslands'' ) was established on 24 February 1863, with Jón Árnason the first curator of the Icelandic collection, previously kept in Danish museums. Collections The second curat ...

. There has been a church in Reynistaður from the time the town was founded, and the existing church, which is made of wood, was consecrated in 1870. The church is now a protected site. It is said that the jarl Gissur is buried under the church floor.

References

{{Authority control Historic sites in Iceland Skagafjörður Churches in Iceland