Allsherjar-goði

Meaning of Old Norse word "allsherjar-goði"

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

allsherjar-goði

a, m. (v. goði), the supreme priest, pontifex maximus. As the alþingi (q. v.) was within the jurisdiction of the great temple (hof) in Kjalarnes, the keeper or priest of that temple—the descendant of its founder Thorstein Ingolfsson—had the title of supreme priest, and opened the alþingi during the heathen age. At the introduction of Christianity this office remained with the supreme priest, who retained his name; and he, and not the bishop of Skalholt, opened the alþing every year; Þorsteinn Ingólfsson lét setja fyrstr manna þing á Kjalarnesi áðr alþingi var sett, ok fylgir þar enn (still, viz. in the 13th century) sökum þess því goðorði (viz. the priesthood of Kjalarnes, aliter allsherjar goðorð) alþingis helgun, Landn. 336 (the text as found in the Melabók), Landn. 39, Þórð. 94 (Ed. 1860), and Landn. Mantissa.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛅᛚᛚᛋᚼᛁᚱᛁᛅᚱ-ᚴᚢᚦᛁ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements