This volume is an introduction to Sturla Þórðarson (1214-1284), a leading figure in thirteenth-century Iceland. Sturla Þórðarson is one of only a handful of thirteenth-century Icelandic historians to be known by name, and he is certainly one of the most significant. In addition to his role as author and compiler, he was in his day one of the most powerful men in Iceland and served as court poet, liegeman and lawman over the course of his life.