So, you're a farmer with a mid sized chunk of land in Laxdaela. Your local chieftain (or godi in Icelandic) is the rather splendidly named Olaf the Peacock (he picked up some very fancy clothes and jewellery on his travels to Ireland and Norway), though he's an old man now, so there might be a power struggle in a few years time when he dies (you may already be picking sides). Just because he's your chieftain, he doesn't have direct authority over you, that's not how this work in medieval Iceland. He can't order you around, exactly. But he's the local 'big man' of the region, so it pays to stay on his good side in case you get into a blood feud with your neighbours over that patch of good grazing land that your neighbour likes to 'forget' and let his cattle wander onto.

You live in a turf walled long house (wood is rare in Iceland - mostly driftwood that washes up from Siberia). In any case, the thick earth walls provide excellent insulation during the harsh winters. Your wife runs the house, weaving at the loom in the corner, strong legged from walking up and down in front of it all day, with the key for the storeroom around her waist (the only key).One big room, with small booths that double as benches and beds for the whole family, with a fire in the centre and a small storeroom off to the side. It is dark and smoky, so be careful not to trip over the doorway when your eyes are adjusting.

You raise cattle, grazing them on the highlands in summer (where you stay in a small hut known as a shieling). Others around you may concentrate more on fishing or raising crops, depending on what kind of land they've got. Everyone lives in a longhouse much like yours (though Olaf's is famously enormous and very elaborately decorated.)

There are no cities - not even a town or a village. Only little farms scattered across the coastal regions, near the rivers and good grazing land, away from the harsh interior. Only desperate men live there - outlaws who have committed shameful crimes, who any man can kill without legal consequence.

It's an exciting time in Iceland. You've just come back from the great yearly gathering, the Althing, a kind of parliament. Once a year in the middle of June, when the sun does not set, the great and good gather on the plain in the south of Iceland by the great lake Thingvellier. There is much trading, horsefights, storytelling, and disputes are brought before the court to be decided. There is no king - your ancestors came to Iceland to get away from meddling kings and tyrants. There is a court of chieftains, aided by the Lawspeaker, a man who has memorised the law (there is no real written language at this point in time).

This year is a momentous one - the island has decided to become Christian. After much debate at the Althing, the chieftains have agreed to convert to the new religion, though private worship of the old gods will still be permitted.

You travelled to the Althing with Olaf, and had a fine time betting on the horsefights - youeven saw a holmgang (a formal duel) being fought on the island of the Oxara river that runs across the plain. But when you return home, you fund your wife weeping around the fire, your eldest son cold and dead in her arms. He found your neighbour grazing his cattle on your lands, and in the dispute he took an axe to his side.

You have a choice now - you can go to Olaf the Peacock and ask for his help with the law. After a lengthy case in the quarter courts, your neighbour will likely have to pay a substantial settlement in silver - he might even be outlawed for three years, though he will probably say that he was insulted and provoked by your son, which is sufficient justification for a killing in this honour based culture. Or you can settle this in the old way - dress in black (the colour of killing), take up your axe and shield, and go see your redress jn blood rather than in silver.

What do you choose?

Some Sources: (On mobile at the moment, can flesh these out more later if required)

The Sagas of the Icelanders (Anonymous) Viking Age Iceland (Jessie Bycock) Bloodtaking and Peacemaking