Overview
About The Icelandic Commonwealth
An assembly and its institutions
The Alþing at Þingvellir combined lawmaking and judicial business. Its Law Council, Lögrétta, passed laws, resolved questions about them and granted exemptions. Chieftains held central positions, accompanied by advisers; bishops later also took seats. This arrangement gave powerful individuals a formal role in managing disputes. It should be understood in its medieval social setting, rather than assumed to have represented the population on the equal terms expected of modern democratic institutions.
Law spoken in public
The lawspeaker was chosen for a three-year term and recited the laws at Lögberg, the Law Rock, before written law became the central reference. The gathering also brought trade, crafts and social encounters to Þingvellir each summer. Allegiance to Norway ended the Commonwealth, but did not end the Alþing's use of the site. The assembly continued meeting at Þingvellir under changed political arrangements until 1798.
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