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23-485: Hauksbók is associated with an Icelandic lawspeaker named Haukr Erlendsson : although the work of several scribes, the vast majority is in Haukr's hand. Palaeographical evidence allowed Professor Stefán Karlsson, director of the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies , to date the manuscript to between 1302 and 1310. As long back as it is possible to trace the manuscript it has been called Hauksbók after him. Hauksbók

46-515: A handbook on Norse law. The known contents of Hauksbók are: Hauksbók is often included as a witness in editions of the individual sagas that it contains. It has been edited as whole in the following: Lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish : lagman , Old Swedish : laghmaþer or laghman , Danish : lovsigemand , Norwegian : lagmann , Icelandic : lög(sögu)maður [ˈlœɣ(ˌsœːɣʏ)ˌmaːðʏr̥] , Faroese : løgmaður , Finnish : laamanni , Greenlandic : inatsitinuk )

69-446: A third of it each summer. In fact, Grímr Svertingsson's term was cut short, not because of incompetence or illness, but because his voice was too weak for the job. Apart from his function as a lawsayer and chairman of the court, the lǫgsǫgumaðr had no formal power, but he would often be appointed as an arbitrator in the frequently arising disputes. The office lingered on for a few years in the transitional period after 1262, after which it

92-472: Is Eskil (c. 1175–1227), the seventeenth in Laurentius's list. From the mid-13th century and onwards, the lawspeakers became more attached to the king, and it was common that lawspeakers were members of the king's council. King Magnus Eriksson decided that the king would influence the appointment of the lawspeakers. Six nobles and six yeomen would in consultation with two clergymen appoint three men from

115-565: Is a compilation that includes Icelandic sagas and a redaction of Landnámabók . The book contains versions, often the only or earliest extant versions, of many Old Icelandic texts, such as Fóstbrœðra saga , the Saga of Eric the Red , Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks , and Völuspá . Haukr tended to rewrite the sagas that he copied, generally shortening them. In addition, Haukr Erlendsson wrote "Hauk's Annals," which chronicled events of his lifetime and

138-465: Is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition , where wise people were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office. At first, lawspeakers represented the people, and their duties and authority were connected to the assemblies ( things ). For most of the last thousand years, however, they were part of

161-476: Is now Sweden about whom extensive information is available. He was a member of the Bjälbo dynasty or House of Folkung ( Folkungaätten ) which in the 1250s became Sweden's royal dynasty. He was the son of Magnus Minniskiöld , and the elder half-brother of Birger Jarl ( Birger Magnusson ), the most powerful man of Sweden in the middle of the 13th century. Around 1217, he married Kristina Nilsdotter , widow of

184-507: The lagtings (the Norwegian superior courts). Modern historians regard the lawspeakers in ancient times (especially before around 1600), of which there were 10–12 in the entire kingdom, as part of the nobility . In the 14th and 15th centuries they were usually recruited from the existing higher nobility, with some holding the rank of knight, the highest rank of nobility in the kingdom. In the 16th century they were still usually recruited from

207-562: The Norwegian earl Hakon the Mad ( Håkon Galen ), whose son Knut Håkonsson was a pretender to the Norwegian throne. Due to the location of his jurisdiction and his marriage to Kristina, Eskil had good contacts in Norway and may have functioned as a negotiator between the Swedish and the Norwegian monarchs. Some time during 1218–1220, he was visited by Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson . Eskil

230-598: The district administrative courts ( förvaltningsrätter ) also carry the title of lagman and presidents of divisions of the administrative courts of appeal are kammarrättslagmän ("administrative court of appeal lawspeakers"). Finland being governed by Swedish law wholly until 1809, the events were the same as in Sweden. However, the lagman offices were terminated and lagman became an honorific title only in 1868 (at that time laws were published also in Finnish and thus also

253-424: The existing nobility, albeit more often from the lower nobility. Lawspeakers received fiefs. For example, Marker fief was by tradition held by the lawspeaker of Oslo. They were also treated as equal to the nobility on formal occasions. The historical lagtings and the office of lawspeaker were abolished in 1797, but the title was reinstituted in 1887 together with the introduction of the jury system. In Iceland ,

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276-402: The fact that Úlfljótur's first two successors have been assigned a period in office of exactly 20 summers each, but from Þorkell máni on, the chronology is probably correct; names are given in their modern Icelandic form. Eskil (Lawman) Eskil Magnusson (c. 1175 – c. 1227) was a nobleman and lawspeaker ( Lagman ) of Västergötland . He is the first attested legal official in what

299-485: The jurisdiction among whom the king would select the one he deemed to be most fit. This procedure would be in effect until the 16th century when the whole process of selection was transferred to the king. From then on, the lawspeakers only came from the nobility, and it had turned into a pension, in which a member of the Privy Council of Sweden was selected and received a salary, but had other people taking care of

322-574: The king or his representative. It was the lawspeaker who, on the behalf of the people, recognized the elected king when he passed on the Eriksgata . However, after the establishment of the province laws, c. 1350, he would participate at the Stone of Mora with twelve companions from his jurisdiction. According to the Västgöta Law , the lawspeaker was appointed for life by the yeomen ( bönder ) of

345-399: The king's administration. Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) of Iceland was a famous lawspeaker. He wrote about an 11th-century lawspeaker named Torgny , but historians doubt the account. In Sweden , this office was the most important one of regional governments, where each lagsaga (usually the same as the traditional province ) was the jurisdiction of a lawspeaker who was subordinate to

368-441: The lawspeaker of Tiundaland . The lawspeaker presided over the things , worked as a judge and formulated the laws that had been decided by the people. The lawspeaker was obliged to memorize the law and to recite it at the thing . He was also responsible for the administration at the thing and for the execution of the decisions, and it was his duty to safeguard the rights and liberties of the people and to speak in their behalf to

391-473: The office was abolished, but the title remained occasionally in use as a title of honour for governors. In 1947, the title of lagman (pl. lagmän ) was reintroduced for senior judges, namely the presidents of divisions of the courts of appeal. Since reform in 1969, presidents of the district courts ( tingsrätter ) are lagmän , while presidents of divisions of the courts of appeal are hovrättslagmän ("court of appeal lawspeakers"). Correspondingly, presidents of

414-512: The office was introduced in 930, when the Althing was established. He was elected for three years. Besides his function as the president of the thing , his duties were restricted to counselling and to reciting the law. It was the sole government office of the medieval Icelandic Commonwealth . The lawspeaker was elected for a term of three years and was supposed to declaim the law at the Althing,

437-607: The province from among their number; it was also stipulated that his father should also have been a landowner. The office was not hereditary, but he was usually selected from the more powerful families. The first named Swedish lawspeaker, if the text is correct, is the Lum recorded in a register of Västergötland lawmen copied by Laurentius Dyakn, a priest in Vidhem , in the 1320s; he must have lived around 1000. The first Swedish lawspeaker for whom we have substantial biographical information

460-446: The term laamanni official). In the 1993 reform, laamanni and lagman were reintroduced as the title of the chief judge of a district court or a senior judge in a court of appeal. In Norway , the lawspeakers remained counselors versed in the law until king Sverre I of Norway (1184–1202) made them into his officials. In the laws of Magnus VI of Norway (1263–1280), they were given the right to function as judges and to preside at

483-488: The work. This privilege was abolished during the Reduction of 1680 , after which the lawspeakers were obliged to take care of the work themselves, and there were checks on the appointment of members of the privy council. Still, the appointment remained restricted to noblemen until 1723. By then, the functions of the office had become restricted to that of a judge, a function which also became less important by time. In 1849,

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506-452: Was noted for his learning and seems to have had an important role in codifying the law of Västergötland, ( Västgötalagen ) the oldest known Swedish text written in the Latin script. The list of lawspeakers of Västergötland appended to Västgötalagen tells that he collected and edited the province's laws, and administered justice with great consideration. He had good judgment, the learning of

529-409: Was replaced with a lǫgmaðr . The traditional date for the founding of the Althing is 930 with Úlfljótr appearing as a founding figure and the original author of the laws. After the union with Norway in 1264, two royal lawspeakers were appointed who had an important influence on the legal processes at the thing . The office was abolished together with the Althing in 1800. Scholars are suspicious of

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