Lagþing

Lagþing, also spelled lagþing in Icelandic or lagting in Norwegian, is a term from Old Norse meaning "law thing"—a legislative assembly responsible for creating and enacting laws. In Old Norse and medieval Scandinavia, lagþing referred to assemblies where chieftains and free men gathered to draft legislation, settle disputes, and declare legal codes. The best-known example is the Icelandic Alþingi, founded around 930 CE at Þingvellir. At Alþingi, the Lögrétta (the law council) debated and codified laws, while the law-speaker (lögsögumaður) recited them in public; the assembly also served as a political and judicial forum. The Althing persisted through the Middle Ages and is often described as one of the world's oldest parliamentary institutions; its structure and procedures influenced later Scandinavian law and governance.

In Norway, lagting historically referred to a national legislative assembly and later a chamber of the Storting under the constitutional framework established in 1814. From 1814 until 1884, the Storting operated with two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting; the Lagting debated and prepared legislation for final approval by the whole Storting. In 1884 the Storting became unicameral, and the formal function of the Lagting ended, though the term remains a historical reference to Norway’s early constitutional procedures.

Across Norse-speaking areas, lagþing signifies the central idea of lawmaking by assembly rather than a single ruler, reflecting the communal and legalistic foundations of early Scandinavian governance.