Battle of Örlygsstaðir 1238
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1238 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Iceland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Age of the Sturlungs | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 65.5010, -19.2820 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by members of the Sturlungar family against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern Iceland. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the time between various powerful clans during the time known as the Age of the Sturlungs.
The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was fought on 21 August 1238 between Sighvatur Sturluson (brother of Snorri Sturluson) and his son Sturla Sighvatsson on the one hand, and Kolbeinn ungi and Gissur Þorvaldsson (later Earl Gissur) on the other. Sighvatur had nearly 500 men but there is no evidence available of the size of Sturla's following. Nonetheless, historians estimate that the Sturlungar had a total of 1000 men. Gissur and Kolbeinn had almost 1700 men in total. The areas controlled by the Sturlungar were more populous but the settlements were more scattered which made it difficult for the Sturlungar to assemble fighting men.
The Ásbirningar and Haukdælir clans emerged victorious after a short battle. About 60 men were killed on that day, including Sighvatur and Sturla. According to the Saga of the Icelanders, Gissur only lost seven men whereas Kolbeinn lost none.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Örlygsstaðir (revision 1370602925), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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