Saga - 1998, Side 153

EMBÆTTISMENN KONUNGS
151
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Summary
This article attempts to rectify some misconceptions regarding the
development and structure of the system of royal offices in Iceland from
the Iate 13th century, when Iceland became a part of the Norwegian king-
dom, through the 14th century. It attempts to use primary sources, scarce
diough they are, to draw up a more accurate picture of the system and its
development than has hitherto been done.
The main focus is on the four most important offices of the period. The
°ffice of sýslumaður (pl. sýslumenn), a district supervisor, was the backbone
°f the system and, in the beginning, the king delegated his power direct-
'y to him. At first there were usually two or four sýslumenn in Iceland,
'vho divided the country between them. As their districts were rather
arge, each of them had a number of deputies called lénsmenn. These
ofhcials had very little to do with the king and were considered as the
responsibiIity of the sýslumaður. The districts presided over by sýslumenn
0r lénsmenn were not permanently fixed, but were sometimes larger and
s°metimes smaller in area. Early in the 14th century there was a tenden-
cy to reduce the size of the districts of the sýslumenn and by 1331 there
Seem t° Tave been nine of them. The change possibly came about at the