Gray Goose Laws
Encyclopedia
The Gray Goose Laws were a collection of laws from the Icelandic Commonwealth
period. The term Grágás was originally used in a medieval source to refer to a collection of Norwegian laws and was probably mistakenly used to describe the existing collection of Icelandic law during the sixteenth century. The Grágás laws in Iceland were presumably in use until 1262–1264 when Iceland was taken over by the Norwegian crown.
The term Gray (Grey) Goose Laws, used to describe the laws of the Icelandic Commonwealth by the 16th century, may refer to the following:
The existing Icelandic Commonwealth laws that now exist as the Grágás never actually existed in one complete volume during medieval times. The Grágás does not contain a unified body of law, as arguably one never existed in the Icelandic commonwealth. Instead, the Grágás was derived from two smaller, fragmentary volumes known as the Konungsbók, presumably written around 1260, and Staðarhólsbók, presumably written in 1280. The ornate detail and appearance of the volumes suggests that they were created for a wealthy, literate man, though scholars cannot be certain. Because the Grágás laws originally existed in two different forms, each has a unique written account of the law. Sometimes the Konungsbók and Staðarhólsbók present different information, sometimes complementary information, and sometimes contradictory information. This could represent the way in which the law was interpreted differently by different scribes or by different citizens.
According to the Grágás, one third of the Icelandic laws were recited by the Law Speaker at the Icelandic national parliament
, the Alþingi, each year over a three year period. In 1117 the Alþingi decided that all the laws should be written down and this was accomplished at Haflidi Másson’s farm over that winter and published the following year.
These laws remained in force until 1271–1273 at which time the Ironside Laws—based on Norwegian laws—were adopted. There is scholarly disagreement, however, about how representative the Grágás are regarding the legal tradition that existed during Viking age Iceland. Arguably, the codification of oral law in the Grágás better represents Icelandic legal tradition post-Christianity, thus after the year 1000.
The sections of law contained within the Grágás are:
Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, Icelandic Free State, or Republic of Iceland was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262...
period. The term Grágás was originally used in a medieval source to refer to a collection of Norwegian laws and was probably mistakenly used to describe the existing collection of Icelandic law during the sixteenth century. The Grágás laws in Iceland were presumably in use until 1262–1264 when Iceland was taken over by the Norwegian crown.
The term Gray (Grey) Goose Laws, used to describe the laws of the Icelandic Commonwealth by the 16th century, may refer to the following:
- the fact that the laws were written with a goose quill,
- the fact that the laws were bound in goose skin, or
- because of the age of the laws—it was then believed that geese lived longer than other birds.
The existing Icelandic Commonwealth laws that now exist as the Grágás never actually existed in one complete volume during medieval times. The Grágás does not contain a unified body of law, as arguably one never existed in the Icelandic commonwealth. Instead, the Grágás was derived from two smaller, fragmentary volumes known as the Konungsbók, presumably written around 1260, and Staðarhólsbók, presumably written in 1280. The ornate detail and appearance of the volumes suggests that they were created for a wealthy, literate man, though scholars cannot be certain. Because the Grágás laws originally existed in two different forms, each has a unique written account of the law. Sometimes the Konungsbók and Staðarhólsbók present different information, sometimes complementary information, and sometimes contradictory information. This could represent the way in which the law was interpreted differently by different scribes or by different citizens.
According to the Grágás, one third of the Icelandic laws were recited by the Law Speaker at the Icelandic national parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, the Alþingi, each year over a three year period. In 1117 the Alþingi decided that all the laws should be written down and this was accomplished at Haflidi Másson’s farm over that winter and published the following year.
These laws remained in force until 1271–1273 at which time the Ironside Laws—based on Norwegian laws—were adopted. There is scholarly disagreement, however, about how representative the Grágás are regarding the legal tradition that existed during Viking age Iceland. Arguably, the codification of oral law in the Grágás better represents Icelandic legal tradition post-Christianity, thus after the year 1000.
The sections of law contained within the Grágás are:
- Christian Laws Section
- Assembly Procedures Section
- Treatment of Homicide
- The Wergild Ring List
- The Lawspeaker's Section
- The Law Council Section
External links
- Viljálmur Finsen's 1852 edition of the Codex Regius Grágás at septentrionalia.net
- Handbok i norrøn filologi - Faksimilar, Einar HaugenEinar HaugenEinar Ingvald Haugen was an American linguist, author and Professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison and Harvard University.-Biography:Haugen was born in Sioux City, Iowa to Norwegians from the town of Oppdal in Norway. When he was a young child, the family moved back to Oppdal for a few years,...
- Contains photographs of the text in manuscript