When Snorri came to Reykholt he saw many farms built with turf walls and a church. He became a guardian and a church-chieftain in Reykholt i.e.he arranged all the trade for the church and maintained the church. He also hired a priest.
Reykholt became a church-place in 1185. There exists a list over Reykholt's property from 1185 till the end of the 12th century. The first priest in Reykholt was Thordur Soelvason, some years before 1055. A priest in Reykholt on Snorriīs behalf was Styrmir Karason hinn frodi ("hinn frodi" means that he has much knowlegde), who came in 1228, but later he became a prior in Videyjarklaustur (The Monastery of Videy) in 1235. Next came Thorlakur Ketilsson (1237 - 1240) then there was Arnbjoern, but he was the last priest to serve in Reykholt in Snorri's times.
Among those who lived at Reykholt while Snorri was there was his family, his mother, wife and two children, also a priest and houseworkers. Snorri was a big chief and a very rich man. So, he had some great banquet-rooms built, like chiefs usually did in Norway. There he held great banquets. He also was the first Icelander to take to the Norwegian custom of making the guests of honor sit at a table in the end of the room. Previously the table of honour was always in the middle of the room.
While Snorri was at Reykholt he had Snorralaug built, a warm pool which can still be found east of the old schoolhouse. From the pool there was a tunnel to the house so that he didn't have to step outside on his way to take a bath in the pool. The water in the pool came from the spring Skrifla, through a canal or a ditch. The canal and the pool are probably the oldest buildings at Reykholt.
The old farm place is north of the pool, upon the hill, now between the schoolhouse and a churchyard. It is told that the Reykholt-farm stood there and that Snorri had a wall built around his house but in those days it usually was some sort of a fortification around chiefs' farms, even though it didnīt do any good, when you had to defend yourself against big groups of enemies.
