The Landslov of 1274 – Multiple Perspectives

Professor of the Anthropology of Law

The Norwegian kings created the Landslov amidst a wave of royal law-making in early medieval Europe. Kings Olaf and Magnus were surely influenced by the laws already created in Castile and Sicily, themselves inspired by Roman examples. But what other influences may have shaped the Landslov? What were the kings trying to achieve within their own realm, as well as on the international stage? Are particular concerns and dynamics evident within the text, itself? In this presentation, I will suggest that comparison with laws made in ancient Mesopotamia and traditional China, as well as contemporary Europe, suggest a number of objectives and concerns. The Norwegian kings may, for example, have wanted to promise justice and establish their own legitimacy by suggesting something like a rule of law. Possibly for similar reasons, they seem to have been tentative about centralizing processes of justice. At the same time they were evidently attempting to strike a delicate balance between asserting their own legal authority and appealing to divine legitimation. Both ideological and practical objectives, that is, probably came together in the formation of the Landslov.

Professor in medieval history

The lecture will discuss King Magnus Lawmender's position and role, not least his law revisions, within what we can call "state-building" in the Middle Ages. A central part here will be to describe the basic structure of the Norwegian medieval kingdom as a political unit.

Professor in medieval history and researcher in Norse philology

It cannot be disputed that the unification of a Norwegian kingdom was conducted by, and dependent on, military force. Broadly speaking there is a consensus among historians that the factional contest between pretenders to the crown ended during the reign of king Håkon Håkonsson (1217 – 1263). There were no warring parties within the kingdom after 1240, and the purpose of any military resources supposedly in the hands of the king were either for fighting external enemies attacking his kingdom, or to be used in military action abroad. Such a pivotal shift was the result of pacified internal opposition. From now on the aristocratic elite and the Church supported the idea of a hereditary kingdom based on the principle of primogeniture.

In this paper we will discuss how military force is presented in the revisions of the law during the reign of Magnus the Law mender 1257 – 1280. A king, who was not challenged military from within his kingdom, would, based on experiences from the past, take measures to secure his position. To what extent were previous laws abridged, and were any measures taken to modernise and secure royal control of military force in the hands of the king? We will discuss these questions within the context of the normative legal texts and the praxis of military action which can be read from other sources during the period c. 1240 – 1300.

Professor in medieval history

One of the novelties of the Landslov of 1274 was that it standardised at a national level what kinds of punishments should be given to persons guilty of certain crimes. This paper concentrates on the section about Human inviolability (Mannhelgebolken) and compares the new law to the regulations in the older regional codes of law. Through concrete case studies the paper will show, how the new national code of law changed the punishments for persons guilty of different kinds of crimes.

Researcher in Old Norse philology

Most scribes and owners of the medieval legal manuscripts are unknown. However, the handwriting and decoration, as well as notes in the margins and stains on the parchment, can be clues that reveal information about those who wrote and used the manuscripts. The presentation will provide examples of this and discuss what such traces can tell us about the scribes and owners of the law.

Researcher in Arabic, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies

Islamic law, or Sharia, had in the 13th century CE matured and developed into several cosmopolitan schools of law (madhhabs) operating across states and sultanic dynasties. Unlike Chrisitan canon law, no single organization held power or monopoly over the interpretation of the law, although shifting polities favoured different madhhabs. Despite the pluralistic nature of this “jurists’ law”, sultanic polities increasingly relied upon certain standardised versions of it for providing a legal system for its subjects, especially in cities, in matters of ownership law, family law, criminal law and other fields. Sultanic laws where added in the field of sultanic succession, taxes and military matters. Interesting parellels and contrasts with the Landslov and its context can be seen on different levels, ranging from the level of historical-anthropological models, theology, and modes of transmission, down to internal principles and individual rules. This paper will present a couple of cases, that due to a general lack of research in this field, can only give a glimpse into how comparing the Landslov and Islamic law, in a global and comparative perspective, may generate new questions and insights into parallels that may or may not have a common origin.

PhD candidate in medieval history

This presentation explores the influence of the Landslov on the legal landscape surrounding pious donations, with a specific focus on land donations.  A survey of donation regulations prior to King Magnús' reign provides the backdrop against which his gift regulations within the Landslov may be compared, shedding light on how these legal frameworks shaped the potential for laypeople to donate land for pious causes in medieval Norway. Furthermore, it explores the ecclesiastical response to King Magnús' attempts to regulate gift-giving within the context of inheritance. Delving into the tensions between secular and ecclesiastical authorities, it uncovers deliberate negotiations between the tenets of universal canon law and the native inheritance system, and unveils the intricate strategies employed by royal and ecclesiastical authorities to wield and assert their influence within the legislation of donations.

Professor emeritus in medieval history

The National Law introduced a novelty by banning revenge for manslaughter and making it compulsory for the killer to seek reconciliation with the king, not only the victim’s relatives. The paper will discuss the background of this change as well as possible alternative solutions to the problem in other contemporary sources.

Professof of Scandinavian Studies

In my paper I will discuss the most northernly of the medieval Scandinavian laws, the Hälsinge Law (HL), written down (probably) 1320–30, and during the Middle Ages used in northern Sweden and parts of Finland. This law has attracted fairly little interest by legal historians and philologists, mainly because the initiator of the law, which most certainly was the Archbishop in Uppsala, used the new (1296) Uppland Law (UL) as a kind of "palimpsest" when writing the HL, and this has led to the assumption that the HL is merely a reworking of the UL. A close reading of the HL however shows that the editor has been using different sources for this new law, which probably indicates that they wanted to have a law for northern Sweden, identical with the archdiocese of Uppsala, which would have the acceptance by the people there and be adequate for the legal tradition and special conditions of this part of Sweden. Especially the legal language in the HL reveals that the legal traditions incorporated in the new HL show obvious and interesting influence from Norwegian legal tradition, with for West Norse legal tradition central concepts such as baugr (bogher), veizla etc.

Postdoctoral researcher in legal history

The right to óðal was a particular right for a person to make a claim to an allodial property due to kinship with the previous owner. According to the Prologue to the Code of 1274, one should investigate the rights of óðal that oneself and others may have at the time of inheritance, and as a result, the section of the law about land redemption falls between the section on inheritance and the section on land tenancy. The law text, however, shows great structural variation regarding the section about redeeming land, suggesting that this part of the law may have struggled to find its proper place in the book of law. Analyzing the structure of the law shows the challenges faced by both the legislator and legal practitioners in making this part of the law fit into the law as whole.

Researcher in Norse philology

In this lecture, I wish to present and discuss the development of the textual and the visual arrangement of selected vernacular law codes in medieval Norwegian and Icelandic manuscripts up to the Reformation in 1537. With emphasis on the relation of text and image in the Norwegian Landslög (1274) and the Icelandic Jónsbók (1281) and Kristinréttr Árna Þorlákssonar (1275), I will discuss the use of textual models and visual representation of said law codes in selected manuscripts. Particularly, I will present the different choice of texts and iconographic topics in manuscripts such as Mh 15 (Codex Reenhielmianus/Lundarbók), Isl. Perg. 29 4to, AM 343 fol. (Svalbarðsbók), AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), GKS 1154 fol. (Codex Hardenbergianus), AM 130 4to (Arnabælisbók), AM 351 fol. (Skálholtsbók eldri), AM 136 4to (Skinnastaðabók), AM 147 4to (Heynesbók) and AM 148 4to (Landeyjarbók). The overall intention is to provide a manuscript-based analysis of the usage of legal texts in medieval Norway and Iceland, as well as its medial developments over time.

Researcher in archaeology

The emergence of  medieval kingdoms has been a central theme for generations of researchers, with the Landslov of 1274 as a momentous source for the Norwegian realm. However spatial aspects of governance have received less attention, and in particular, there is a research gap concerning the relations between government and local communities. This presentation will address these issues through a case study from Western Norway (the medieval Gulathing law province). Focusing on landscape and spatial aspects of society and organization, structures of royal governance  and their relations to local communities will be explored.

Associate teaching professor

The Code of 1274 contained a limited number of articles addressing the dissolution of joint land ownership. These regulations were largely continued in later legislation, albeit with certain modifications. We also find that the measurement methodologies referred to in the law from 1274 largely persisted until recent times. Simultaneously, the material of preserved Norwegian medieval documents provides us with a significant opportunity to observe the extent to which the provisions were utilized and how they were implemented. Hopefully, examining the regulations in the Code of 1274 alongside the diplomas will yield valuable insights that are transferable to later land consolidation regulations in the Norwegian legal culture.

Associate professor in Norse philology

In the latter half of the sixteenth century and the early seventeenth century, a number of official orders were sent to Norway from the court in Denmark. These orders attempted to mandate a new, state-sponsored revision of the Landslov into Danish, but they were largely ignored. This paper analyses the motivation behind the orders for a state-sponsored revision of the lawbook and considers the circumstances of how and why the Norwegian national law of 1274 was revised and brought to print for the first time in 1604 in Copenhagen, titled Den Norske Low-Bog, offuerseet, corrigerit oc forbedrit Anno M.DC.IIII.

Senior curator in medieval archaeology

Approaching women and children in the Middle Ages is challenging. As “the Law of the Land” demonstrates, laws and regulations tend to be somewhat limited where such “invisible” groups are concerned, representing normative sources commonly based on a male, upper class, as well as the legislator’s visions of the ideal society. The medieval archaeological artefact material is of another kind and covers a variety of primarily lost or discarded items belonging to both men, women and children of all ages and classes. Thus, an archaeological perspective may contribute to a broader understanding of their everyday life, presence and doings. In this presentation, then, the lived practices of the law are explored based on the material culture left behind by women and children within a specific context, i.e. that of medieval Bergen.

Professor in history

The National law presented the conditions in Norway prior to the law as a "fog of confusion", a chaotic and violent condition that needed to be rectified. The period c 1130-1240 has been labelled "civil wars" by historians. To what degree was this a confused and violent age, and how much is this an ideological vision of the legislators intended to legitimize the common need for law and order?

Professor in Scots Private Law

According to the Treaty of Perth, which was agreed between Norway and Scotland in 1266, Magnus VI ceded the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland, whilst Scotland formally recognised Norway's claim to Orkney and the Shetland Isles. The Treaty has attracted some attention in the past as illustrative of important developments in Scottish and Norwegian state formation, and several of its terms have been subjected to detailed historical analysis. However, not so much attention has been given to some of the rules that were to apply in connection with any future disputes between Norway and Scotland. Two of the more specific rules related to shipwrecks of Norwegian ships within Scottish territory, and of Scottish ships within Norwegian territory. The aim of the paper will be to consider how these rules might have been understood to contemporary Scottish and Norwegian audiences, considering Scottish and Norwegian sources, and also potentially relevant legal materials from England and indeed from the utrumque ius, the learned Roman and canon law taught in the continental universities. This, in turn, may help to shed further light on the sorts of legal discourses of which Norwegians might have been conscious in the years leading up to the promulgation of the Landslov in 1274. 

Researcher in medieval history

The year is 1280. Two very different persons had a dramatic year: King Magnus, with the nickname the Lawmender, historiographic reckoned as peacemaker, died. Archbishop Jon Raude, with the nicknames the Red, and hinn staðfasti, which means stubborn or unchangable, experienced a change of power in the kingdom The new regime led to his flight to Sweden to years later, where he died soon after his arrival.

What was it all about – what led up to this momentous year, and which consequences do we trace with regards to lawmaking and jurisdiction?

The Kristindómsbálkr in the Landslov of 1274 was a turning point in a chain of events which led to a separate Christian legislation. The king and the archbishop split up their earlier common lawmaking for the church.  Comparing with the earlier Christianity books, regulating churches and everyday religious life, Kristindómsbálkr is a very thin book. The 1260s and 1270s was the very beginning of a lawmaking process within the church, which expanded episcopal strategies and led to a corpus of ten Provincial statues, issued from 1280 until 1351. When King Magnus died, jurisdiction – as lawmaking and the application of law – became a struggle for income and power between the realm´s most powerful men and groups.

Associate professor in history

Medieval law is often perceived as primarily benefiting men of property. However, current accounts tend to depict King Magnús's laws as a departure from this trend, potentially offering increased rights for various social groups, including women. This paper aims to assess the extent of such rights compared to earlier laws and their impact on legal practices. Additionally, it investigates whether the legislation aimed to encompass all individuals within the realm, including visitors from outside and minority groups within the kingdom. Through an examination of the social dimensions of the law, this study evaluates how different groups in Norwegian society were accommodated. Furthermore, it explores how these regulations were implemented in legal practices in Norway, shedding light on the broader societal implications of King Magnús's laws.

Professor in legal history

The Landslov of 1274 is often presented as something unique for Norway, bringing kingdom closer to a legal justice, and being the first step to a rule of law. Indeed, the Landslov was a great achievement, and there is no doubt that it in the long run had a great impact on the administration of justice, among other things because of the centralisation of the legal system, and the strengthen of the royal control of the local courts.

The paper will, among other things address some of examples of external influence on the law, and hence, place the law in a broader medieval context. I will also discuss the contrast between the strengthening of the royal power with the Landslov, and the legal attempt to weakening the royal power that place many places in Europe in the 13th century, starting with Magna Carta.

Associate professor in archaeology

In the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, the defence of the country consisted of two closely intertwined organisations: beacons, which was a warning- or signal system that was lit when the country was attacked, and the leidang, which was the "naval defence". When the beacons were lit, the population had to mobilize. The beacon system has received surprisingly little attention in archaeological and historical research, partly because researchers have had a negative view of its function. In my presentation, I will discuss the Landslov’s provisions on beacons and the leidang organisation and in particular focus on how the organization of the beacons functioned militarily and in the civil society.