Járnsíða (, ''ironside'') was a law-code which
Magnus VI of Norway
Magnus the Lawmender (1 or 3 May 1238 – 9 May 1280), also known as Magnus Haakonsson, was King of Norway from 1263 to 1280. One of his greatest achievements was the modernisation and nationalisation of the Norwegian law-code. He was the first ...
had composed for Iceland, which came formally under Norwegian control during 1262–1264. ''Járnsíða'' was introduced over 1271–1273, superseding the previous law-code ''
Grágás
The Gray Goose Laws ( {{IPA, is, ˈkrauːˌkauːs}) are a collection of laws from the Icelandic Commonwealth period. The term ''Grágás'' was originally used in a medieval source to refer to a collection of Norwegian laws and was probably mis ...
''. Amongst other things, ''Járnsíða'' formally put all legislative powers in the hands of the King, abolished the ''
goðar'', and reformed the
Alþingi
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...
. In 1281, ''Járnsíða'' was itself superseded by ''
Jónsbók''.
See also
*
Law of Iceland
Law of Iceland during the Commonwealth (930–1262) was decided by the ''Alþingi'' (Althing). It has changed over the years, but the legislative body is still called the Althing.
History
Following the settlement of Iceland around the 870s, Ic ...
References
*Haraldur Bernharðsson, Magnús Lyngdal Magnússon and Már Jónsson, Járnsíða og kristinréttur Árna Þorlákssonar (Reykjavík: Sögufélagið, 2005).
Legal history of Iceland
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