Borgarting

Borgarting was a regional law code and associated assembly in medieval Norway. The name derives from Borg, a locality linked to the eastern Norwegian legal tradition, and ting, the customary assembly or court. Along with other regional laws, Borgarting governed certain civil and criminal matters within its jurisdiction and served as a forum where disputes were resolved according to customary and codified rules.

Its jurisdiction covered parts of eastern Norway, including areas around the Oslofjord and nearby districts. In the medieval Norwegian legal system, the eastern realm was divided between Borgarting and Eidsivating, two parallel sets of laws and courts that operated in overlapping or adjacent territories. The law code regulated everyday legal affairs, such as property rights, inheritance, contracts, oath-taking, and penalties for offenses, and it presided over disputes at regional assemblies or courts.

Borgarting functioned within a broader framework of regional laws that included Gulating in western Norway and Frostating in the north. Over time, the separate regional codes of Borgarting and Eidsivating were superseded by a centralized national code, the Landslov, issued under King Magnus VI in the late 13th century. The unification reduced the practical role of the regional Borgarting system, though references to Borgarting continued in historical and legal scholarship as part of Norway’s medieval legal heritage.

Today, Borgarting is understood as part of Norway’s medieval legal order, illustrating how governance and law were organized regionally before centralization. It remains of interest to historians studying Norway’s constitutional and legal development, as well as toponymic and cultural histories of eastern Norway.