''Lǫgréttumaðr'' (Old Norse; , pl. ; or ; in

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

and

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

''lawrikman'' or ''lawrightman'') was an official role in the medieval kingdom of Norway. Functioning like a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

, their main role was to decide and vote on questions of guilt in criminal cases in their local district courts ().

''Lögréttumenn'' in Iceland

The office of ''lögréttumaður'' existed in Icelandic society from the end of the

Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing () in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. W ...

around 1262 until the abolition of the

Alþingi The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...

in 1800. A

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

({{langx, is, lögrétta) had existed in Iceland since the foundation of Alþingi, and the ''

goðar Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and com ...

'' and their advisers had places in it, but when Icelanders came under the rule of the King of Norway, the role of the Legislature changed: it continued to have a limited legislative power, but was primarily a court. The ''goðar'' were replaced by ''lögréttumenn''. 36 people sat in the legal court at any time, three from each ''þing'', and they were chosen from a group of 84 nominees, farmers who were nominated by the '' sýslumenn''. ''Lögréttumenn'' were traditionally chosen from the ranks of the higher-class farmers in each '' hérað'' ('district').

Sources

* ''Norsk historisk leksikon''. 2nd edn, 3rd printing (2004). Government agencies of Iceland Law enforcement in Iceland