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Gulating ( non, Gulaþing) was one of the first Norwegian legislative assemblies, or ''
things Things or The Things may refer to: Music * ''Things'' (album), by Uri Caine and Paolo Fresu, 2006 * "Things" (Bobby Darin song), 1962; covered by Ronnie Dove, 1975 * "Things", a song by Joe Walsh from '' There Goes the Neighborhood'', 1981 * "Thi ...
,'' and also the name of a present-day law court of western Norway. The practice of periodic regional assemblies predates recorded history, and was firmly established at the time of the unification of Norway into a single kingdom (900–1030). These assemblies or ''lagþings'' were not democratic, but did not merely serve elites either. They functioned as judicial and legislative bodies, resolving disputes and establishing laws. Gulaþing, along with Norway's three other ancient regional assemblies, the Borgarting, Eidsivating, and Frostating, were joined into a single jurisdiction during the late 13th century, when King Magnus the Lawmender had the existing body of law put into writing (1263–1280). They provided the institutional and legal framework for subsequent legislative and judicial bodies, and remain in operation today as superior regional courts.


History

The Gulaþing was an annual parliamentary assembly which took place in Gulen, on the west coast of Norway north of Bergen, from approximately 900 to 1300 AD and was one of the oldest and largest parliamentary assemblies in medieval Norway. The Gulatinget Millennium Site is a symbol of the history of this Norwegian representative form of parliament, with traditions reaching over a thousand years back in time. Initially farmers from Western Norway met at Gulen to discuss political matters, things like taxation, the building of roads and churches, and military service. The assembly also passed judgments in civil disputes and criminal cases. Special legislation, ''Gulatingslova'' (the Gulaþing law), was drafted to aid the discussions. A fairly complete manuscript of the legislation from around 1250 has survived, ''Codex Ranzovianus'' (E don. var. 137 4to at the Danish Royal Library); however, the text represents all the laws adopted and amended by the farmers at the ''thing'' over several centuries. The assembly site was established early in the 10th century and the original legislative area covered the regions of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. Initially the Gulaþing was an 'allthing' or common assembly, where all free farmers had the right to participate.
Snorri Sturlason Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
’s '' Heimskringla'' recounts that
Håkon the Good Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king of ...
(935–961) took an active part in the parliamentary assemblies at Gulen, and under his rule the regions of
Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...
, Agder and
Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...
were brought into the area covered by the ''thing'', with Valdres and Hallingdal also being incorporated later. The practice of periodic regional assemblies of leading men predates recorded history, and was firmly established at the time of the unification of Norway into a single kingdom (900–1030). These assemblies or ''lagþings'', functioned as judicial and legislative bodies, resolving disputes and establishing laws. The Gulaþing received delegates from
Lyngør Lyngør is a village area on a group of small islands in the municipality of Tvedestrand in Agder county, off the southeast coast of Norway. The village is about northeast of Tvedestrand and approximately southwest of the town of Risør.
in the south to north of Ã…lesund, and its laws were observed from the eastern inland valleys of Valdres and Hallingdal to the Faroe Islands in the west.Jon Gisle ''Lagting'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> The Gulaþing served as the model for the establishment of the legislative assemblies of Iceland (the Althing) and of the Faeroe Islands (the
Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''l ...
), areas settled by people from western Norway. While the Gulating was not a democratic assembly in the modern sense of an elected body, it effectively represented the interests of a large number of people rather than a small elite. The laws were typically crafted as
social contract In moral and political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships betw ...
s. §35 for instance states, "None of us shall take goods from others, or take the law into our own hands" (Robbestad, 1969). The laws nevertheless applied for every person inside the "law area" ''Gulaþingslǫg''. If a stranger stole from a Gulaþingsman, that was also in breach of the laws, but the law set no limits to how he could be punished. Gulaþing, along with Norway's three other ancient regional assemblies, the Borgarting, Eidsivating, and Frostating, were joined into a single jurisdiction during the late Viking Age, and King Magnus the Lawmender had the existing body of law put into writing (1263–1280). They provided the institutional and legal framework for subsequent legislative and judicial bodies, and remain in operation today as superior regional courts.Jon Gisle ''Borgarting'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> The assembly site was selected as the
millennium site A millennium site ( no, tusenårssted) is a site selected by a Norwegian municipality or county municipality to mark the transition to the 2000s. In Norway it was decided that the counties and municipalities would choose one millennium site for ...
for Sogn og Fjordane county.


Judgments

Violence was dealt with by fines, which were imposed not only on the murderer, but also on his relatives—a practice that distinguishes Old Norse law from the Roman practice of holding only the individual responsible. Homicide of an heir to a property, according to Gulaþing law §218-228, is punished by a collective fee of 189 cattle, where each responsible party's share is spelled out in detail.


See also

* Frostathing Law *
Medieval Scandinavian law Medieval Scandinavian law, also called North Germanic law, was a subset of Germanic law practiced by North Germanic peoples. It was originally memorized by lawspeakers, but after the end of the Viking Age they were committed to writing, mostly by ...


References


Other sources

* Larson, Laurence M. (1939) ''The Earliest Norwegian Laws: being the Gulathing law and the Frostathing law'' (New York: Columbia University Press) * Robbestad, Knut (1969) ''Gulatingloven.'' (Oslo: Norrøne bokverk. Det Norske Samlaget)


External links


Gulatinget official website

Thingsites.com - Official website for the Northern European Thing sites
{{Authority control Legal history of Norway Thing (assembly) Law of Norway Millennium sites