sites are known from runestones and place names in Sweden (see Brink 2003 a, b, 2004 ).
It is also possible to reconstruct þing sites through archaeological excavations. One of the
most startling ones in recent times is the excavation at Þingnes outside Reykjavík in
Iceland. This may be the site of the famous Kjalarnesþing, mentioned in the Book of
Settlement. Founded by Þorsteinn Ingólfsson, the son of the first settler of Iceland,
Ingólfur Arnason, this þing may have served as a kind of general assembly until 930 , but
with no legislative role. A trace of this is that the chieftains of Kjalarnes and the
descendants of Þorsteinn Ingólfsson held the honorary title Allsherjargoði, the supreme
chieftain, whose function was to hallow the National Assembly at Thingvellir every
year. Except for the sparse information we get in the Book of Settlement and Ari’s words
in the Book of the Icelanders, very little is known of the þing assembly in Kjalarnes.
Therefore it is most interesting that recent archaeological excavations at Elliðavatn by
Þingnes have probably revealed this first assembly site (Guðmundur Ólafsson 1987 ).
How old then was the þing-institution in Scandinavia? We cannot be certain. However,
in a ‘Stand der Forschung’ article, Per Sveaas Andersen ( 1974 : 347 ) finds it plausible
that it goes back to the early Iron Age (i.e. before ad 600 ).
RELICTS OF PREHISTORIC LAW IN SCANDINAVIA?For an analysis of our oldest legal sources in Scandinavia an obvious start would be for
example Baugatal in the Icelandic law collection, Grágás; that is, rules concerning the
duty to pay and to accept payment for injuries. Although this law-rule is stuffed with
archaic words, it is very dubious, highly controversial and even uncertain if it has ever
been in use (see Barlau 1981 ; Sawyer 1982 : 44 ; 1987 ; Meulengracht Sørensen 1992 : 169
f.; Jesch 1998 ).
Another possible departure could be the Old Danish ‘Vederlov’ (Witherlogh), the
penalty law of the king’s hirð, found in manuscripts from the late twelfth century, but
in two of these stated to be from old Knut’s days (understood as being from the time
of Canute the Great, thus in the early eleventh century). However, this law is also
very problematic regarding origin and age (Kroman 1975 ; Fenger 1983 : 63 ; cf. Hjärne
1979 : 151 – 208 ).
The Old Swedish so-called Hednalagen, that is, ‘Pagan Law’, has, as the title of the law
fragment indicates, also been assumed to be very old. The codex in which the Hednalagen
has been written down is from the mid-thirteenth century, but the age of the actual
law-rule is not known. The law discusses and regulates einvígi, the settling of disputes by
fighting, and some phrases have been looked upon as very archaic (see Nelson 1944 : 57 ;
Ståhle 1954 : 130 f.; Wessén 1968 : 51 ).
In an interesting study, Peter Foote ( 1987 : 63 ) analyses the Icelandic Grágás,
especially Landabrigðisþáttr and Rekaþáttr, and his conclusion is that these parts of the
law should be dated to the eleventh century. He even concludes that other parts of
Grágás must be as old, perhaps even older, that is, from the pre-Christian period
(cf. Meulengracht Sørensen 1992 : 112 f.).
There are reasons to believe that the provincial laws may have older roots – words,
fragments and perhaps even law-rules – in their different provinces (land) respectively,
which are older than from the twelfth or thirteenth century. The codification, editing
and writing down of the provincial laws in books during the twelfth to fourteenth
centuries have, of course, seen the use of Continental law, jurisprudence and legal
–– chapter 2 : Law and society––