No single place epitomizes the history of Iceland and the Icelandic nation better than Þingvellir (“Parliament Plains”). This history began in the Age of Settlements (c. 870-930) when large numbers of settlers arrived in Iceland, mainly from Norway, Ireland and the Scottish islands, and claimed land in most of the country. Initially the original settlers controlled their respective areas of land, but as the Age of Settlements wore on, people began to establish a formal system of government. District assemblies were set up based upon the Nordic model - with a general assembly, the Alþing, which first convened at Þingvellir just before 930. This laid the foundation for the Icelandic Commonwealth, which was largely controlled by chieftains (goðar) with some participation by ordinary people. The Alþing was Iceland’s legislative and chief judicial authority for the duration of the Commonwealth, until 1271. Executive power was in the hands of the chieftains and parties to individual cases at each time. This proved to be quite an adequate arrangement for as long as the balance of power remained, but flaws emerged when it was disrupted. The final decades of the Commonwealth were characterized by clashes between chieftain families, which resulted in Iceland becoming part of the Norwegian crown. Executive power was strengthened under this new order, while legislative and judicial authority remained in the hands of the Alþing but was gradually transferred to the Norwegian and later Danish rulers until the King of Denmark became absolute monarch of Iceland in 1662. Þingvellir was conveniently situated on ancient travel routes and was hardly a day’s journey on horseback from the main districts of south and west Iceland.. Fairly easy routes could be taken from the most populated districts of north Iceland. People from northeast and east Iceland could cross the highlands, while Þingvellir took 17 days to reach from the farthest flung parts of east Iceland, largely skirting the mountains. Þingvellir was the centre of Icelandic culture. Every year during the Commonwealth period people would flock to Þingvellir from all over the country, sometimes numbering in the thousands. They set up booths with walls of turf and rock and temporary roofing and stayed in them for the two weeks of the assembly. Although the duties of the assembly were the real reason for going there, ordinary people gathered at Þingvellir for a wide variety of reasons. Merchants, sword-sharpeners and tanners would sell their goods and services, clowns performed and ale-makers brewed drinks for the assembly guests. News was told from distant parts; games and feasts were held. Young people met to make their plans, no less than leading national figures and experts in law. Itinerant farmhands looked for work and vagrants begged. Þingvellir was a meeting place for everyone in Iceland, laying the foundation for the language and literature that have been a prominent part of people’s lives right up to the present day. Professor Sigurður Nordal once said that “at Þingvellir, the inhabitants of the country became the Icelandic nation.”