lögsaga

Lögsaga is a term used in scholarship to denote a group of medieval Icelandic narratives that focus on legal matters and the administration of justice. The genre sits within the broader saga tradition and sheds light on Icelandic legal culture during the medieval period. Lögsögur often portray disputes over land and kinship, the procedures of local courts, and the authority of law-speakers (lögsögumenn) who presided over trials and proclaimed judgments. Many narratives blend storytelling with documentary elements, listing witnesses, oaths, fines, and verdicts, and they frequently examine tensions between customary practices, formal law, and the aims of social order.

The texts are typically dated to the 12th to 14th centuries and preserve memories of earlier legal practices while reflecting later medieval concerns. They survive in manuscripts alongside other saga types, and their language shows features of Old Norse as used in Iceland and surrounding regions. Scholars treat lögsaga as a distinct but related category to other sagas of Icelanders, with some overlap with the subgenre known as lögmannasögur (lawman sagas). They are studied for insights into legal institutions, the social importance of oath-taking and property rights, and the interplay between customary and codified law, as well as for linguistic and historiographic value.

Related topics include Grágás, the medieval Icelandic law code, and the institution of the Alþingi, the national assembly.