Magnus the Lawmender's Laws of the Land

This is the first English translation of Magnus the Lawmender's law code from 1274 which was one of the first laws in Europe composed for a whole kingdom. The edition has the stated intention to allow students and scholars to interpret, compare, and add their perspectives to this crucial source to European legal history. The Laws of the Land (Landslög) was one of the very few law books issued in the Middle Ages which regulated a whole kingdom. It remained in force until the late seventeenth century, shaping society, politics, and law in Norway and its surrounding regions for over four hundred years.The book is divided into three parts. The first is an introduction to the laws written by the translator, Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir, which is twenty-four pages and also offers a select bibliography on major works on the source in English. The second and longest section of the book is a complete English translation of the Laws of the Land. The final part is a glossary, which lays out the most important Old Norse legal terms with English translations. The glossary also contains explanations and conversions of religious feast days which are relevant in the law.King Magnús Hákonarson (r. 1263–1280) was known in his own time and in later historical writings as “law-mender” (Old Norse lagabætir) due to his efforts to modernize the laws of his kingdom. The efforts to revise legislation began, however, with his father, King Hákon Hákonarson (r. 1217–1263). In the prologue, the composition of Konungs skuggsjá (King's Mirror) is linked to the efforts of King Hákon to bring the Norwegian kingdom closer to the political and culture sphere of Europe. In Hákonar saga, composed shortly after the death of King Hákon, a reference is made to the initiative of King Hákon Hákonarson in changing the Frostaþingslög, which can be regarded as an important precursor to the efforts of his son, King Magnús. For the first time in Norwegian history, the king assumed a tentative role as a legislator, usurping the traditional exclusive rights of the parliaments. Before that time, the provincial laws had placed severe limits on the legal status of the king.The grand plan of King Magnús, which was probably a continuation of his father's efforts, was nevertheless an ambitious one: to create a unified set of laws for the whole kingdom. In a European context, this had been attempted by only two kings at this time, Frederick II in Sicily in 1231 (“the constitutions of Melfi”) and Alfonso X in Castile in 1265 (“Siete partidas”). Frederick II and King Hákon had diplomatic communications, which are described in Hákonar saga. As the sister of King Magnús, Kristín, was married to Philip of Castile, a brother of Alfonso X, it is possible the kings of Norway and Castile may have been in consultation concerning the creation of national law. However, the marital alliance was brief as Princess Kristín had died already in 1262. The similarities between the situation in Castile and Norway can be overstated as Alfonso X had little success in his efforts and his legislation was thwarted by the nobles of Castile. Nevertheless, this places King Magnús among a small group of European monarchs who were ahead of their time in trying to impose a “national legislation” for their kingdoms.King Magnús began his efforts to harmonize the provincial laws soon after his assumption of the throne, and in 1267–1269 four new lawbooks for different parts of the kingdom appeared. However, the king suffered a setback as the last of his lawbooks, that of Frostaþing, was rejected in 1269. This was due to the strident opposition of the Archbishop of Nidaros, Jón rauði Eiríksson (r. 1268–1282), who protested vehemently against the infringement of the Church's privileges and jurisdiction. The contents of these lawbooks, which were soon to be superseded, is not known, except from the portion concerning church law. Moreover, the process of creating these new lawbooks is only known from the Icelandic annals, which is noteworthy in itself as it demonstrates that the efforts of King Magnús were keenly followed in Iceland.A new law for Iceland based on the harmonized laws of 1267–1269 was a part of the king's agenda. Before that time there had been no discussion of a thorough revision of the laws for Iceland as a part of the change in government. The main author of the new lawbook was the historian Sturla Þórðarson, and in Resensannáll, an annal probably composed by Sturla himself, the law is called Járnsíða, a name not known to be used for the lawbook in other annals. The sources of Járnsíða are mostly unknown, except that 24 out of 141 chapters were based on the traditional customary laws of Iceland, known by the name Grágás. It has generally been assumed that the lawbooks accepted in the various lands of Norway between 1267 and 1269 were the main source of the other chapters. In particular, it has been postulated that the revised Gulaþingslög were an important influence, as they also were in the Faroe Islands. This, of course, cannot be proven, but there are few other ways to account for the big discrepancy between Járnsíða and the earlier Icelandic laws. Thus, the Icelandic law known as Járnsíða is the most important relic of the first stage of King Magnús Hákonarson´s attempts to revise the legislation of the Norwegian kingdom.King Magnús Hákonarson was undaunted by his setback at Frostaþing in 1269 and began a new process of national legislation. This ended with the victory of the king as he got new “laws of the land” (landslög) accepted at Frostating in 1274. Identical laws were accepted in other parts of the kingdom between 1274 and 1276. King Magnús also promulgated separate laws for the towns (Bæjarmannalög) and for the court (Hirðskrá) in 1276 and 1277. A revised Icelandic law code, known as Jónsbók, served as an endpoint to this period of lawmaking, but it was not adopted until 1281, the year after the death of King Magnús.Among the novelties which characterized the Laws of the Land in comparison with earlier legislation was the adoption of evidence-based legal procedures in contrast to earlier procedures such as undergoing an ordeal. The importance of using witnesses and written evidence is the result of more rational, impersonal, and bureaucratic procedures in the pursuit of justice. Another important shift is the move away from private vengeance which resulted in the restriction, if not total abolition, of blood feuds. All crimes were now crimes against the king, which meant that punishment and fines were meted out in the king´s name.In the prologue to the edition, the translator discusses the Laws of the Land as a source for knowledge about medieval Norway. According to the prologue, the laws “give a fascinating glimpse into the life and struggles of ordinary people–perhaps more so than any other source” (p. xii). It is hard to disagree with this conclusion. The laws address the organization of farming, fishing, and hunting and also give a glimpse into diverse topics, such as the acquisition of heating sources or material for roofing, salt-making, how to prevent fire hazards, and how to go about constructing roads and bridges. The laws grant diverse rights to people lower in the social hierarchy, such as small farmers, tenants, and skilled laborers, and the provisions for destitute people demonstrate a measure of sympathy for the underdogs in society. They can also be used as a key to social values and norms, as well as the main concerns of the upper class in society.The text of the Laws of the Land is based on a recent critical edition by Magnus Rindal and Bjørg Dale Spørck from 2018, which reflects an early version of the Laws, as well as the normalized edition by Magnus Rindal. The author explains the main principles behind the translation lucidly in the prologue, and the complex balance between legibility and faithfulness to the original text with all its imperfections. The decision to translate the Old Norse term “maðr” (man/human) with more gender neutral terms is explained and seems fully justified in respect of the different aspects of this term in Old Norse and Modern English.