Lögberg (,

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''lǫgberg'', ), or Law Rock, was a rocky outcrop in south west

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, at the location for the assembly of the country's

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The original Althing was gathered at

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter thorn (letter), "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Althing, Alþing, the annual ...

, an area of dramatic landscapes which was easily accessible from the populated areas of the south west. The exact location of the Lögberg is unknown, because of the changing geography of the

rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

over 1000 years. Two possible locations have been identified in Þingvellir, one a flat ledge at the top of a slope named Hallurinn (currently marked by a flagpole), the other in the Almannagjá fault against a rock wall. A site in the Hestagjá ravine has been put forward as ideal. The Lögberg was the place on which the

Lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: '' løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', ) is a unique Scandinavian legal offic ...

(Icelandic , Old Norse: ''lǫgsǫgumaðr'' ) took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly of the

. Speeches and announcements were made from the spot. Anyone attending could make their argument from the Lögberg. The gatherings were also convened and dissolved from it. The Lögberg performed its purpose from the formation of the parliament in 930. It ceased to be used in 1262, when Iceland took allegiance to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Gallery

Law speaker.jpg, 19th-century rendering of the Law Rock in

Law Rock.jpg, The site of the Law Rock in modern Þingvellir Alþingi Lögberg aerial panorama.jpg, Alþingi Lögberg aerial panorama, taken in June 2017 Roca de la Ley, Parque Nacional de Þingvellir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 006.JPG, Detail view (2016)

References

Medieval history of Iceland {{Iceland-geo-stub