Gulatinget, Guløy and Flolid, Norway

By Jan Kidøy

The Gulathing is one of the most important institutions in early Norwegian history. No one can say with certainty when the first Gulating was held—our written sources do not reach that far back in time. What we do know is that the Icelandic Althing, established in the early 10th century, was modelled on the Gulating. Envoys travelled to the assembly site in Gulen from a vast area, stretching from Lyngør in the south to regions north of present-day Ålesund. The Gulating Law also applied to the inland districts of Valdres and Hallingdal, and westwards as far as the Faroe Islands.

Each year, the Gulating was attended by the king, local chieftains, farmers, and their law-speakers. The assembly was presided over by the king’s lawman together with appointed law-speakers. Through deliberation, laws were shaped; cases were presented and judgments rendered.

Håkon Adalsteinsfostre (c. 920–961) was fostered in the Christian faith at the court of King Athelstan of England. With the English king’s support, he became king of Norway, following in the footsteps of his father, Harald Fairhair. King Håkon—later known as Håkon the Good—revived the ancient Gulating laws and added a new section concerning the Christian faith. His aim was to persuade the Norwegian people to abandon pagan sacrifice and instead live as brothers, without blood feuds and killings.

The law was also expanded to include provisions for the leiðangr, the naval defence system. It regulated the size of ships, who was responsible for commanding and maintaining them, how crews were to be recruited, how long service was required, and what provisions and pay each man was entitled to receive.

Through democratic processes and compromise, the laws became binding on both king and farmers alike. It was here—in the meeting between the farming population and royal authority—that the Norwegian nation was formed. Around the year 1250, the Gulating was moved to Bergen, as royal and church power gradually gained greater control over the decisions of the assembly.

The Gulating Law was regarded as one of the freest and most democratic legal systems in Europe a thousand years ago, and it went on to influence many other laws. Even today, Norwegian law is still rooted in the principles of the ancient Gulating Law.

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