Thorgeir Thorkelsson
Pagan chieftain from Ljósavatn and lawspeaker of Iceland, who was asked to decide between Christians and heathens at the Althing and ruled that all should be baptized and keep one law.
Ari says that Thorgeir, son of Thorkel, of Ljósavatn, held the office of lawspeaker for seventeen summers (Ari, Íslendingabók 5). At the assembly where Christians and heathens had declared themselves out of law with each other, the Christians’ spokesman arranged that Thorgeir, though still a heathen, should proclaim the law. He lay under his cloak for a day and a night, and then persuaded both sides to accept in advance whatever he decided: one law and one faith, with a few old customs left standing for the time being (Ari, Íslendingabók 7). See Iceland Adopts Christianity by Law.
In the timeline
- AD 999/1000, estimated dateIceland Adopts Christianity by Law
At the Althing the pagan lawspeaker Thorgeir, asked to settle the dispute between Christians and heathens, rules that all Icelanders shall be baptized and live under one law, with a few old customs allowed for a time.