Gulating in the context of "Magnus Lagabøtes landslov"

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👉 Gulating in the context of Magnus Lagabøtes landslov

Magnus Lagabøtes landslov (lit. 'Magnus the Lawmender's Law of the Land') was a law covering the whole of Norway, issued by King Magnus VI of Norway, constituted by the regional courts (cf. Things) between 1274 and 1276. The law was the first to apply to Norway as a whole and is one of the first examples of comprehensive national legislation from a central authority in all of Europe. The law is the reason that the king was given the name Lagabøte, "the one who improves the law". Albeit mending the law, with this much more detailed formulation of the law into written text, codification, the law-giving power was to a great extent taken away from the popular assemblies, these higher level regional things (Borgarting, Eidsivating, Gulating and Frostating), by King Magnus VI. He managed to circumvent the traditional authority of these traditional things by the elaboration and codification of the Bjarkeyjarréttr, laws and things for the market-places, cities and towns with trade-rights, also temporary markets (cf: Birk (market place) and Bjarkey laws) that eventually made the cities (Nidaros which is Trondheim, Bergen, Tønsberg) independent from the traditional things (assemblies).

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Gulating in the context of Landvættir

Landvættir ("land spirits" or "land wights") are spirits of the land in Old Nordic religion, later folk belief and modern Heathenry. They are closely associated with specific locations and their wellbeing is presented as being required for the land they inhabit to be fruitful. In Old Norse sources, they are depicted as being potentially harmful and capable of driving away unwanted individuals and capable of being frightened through human actions such as usage of carved figureheads on ships or níðstangs. Good relationships between humans and landvættir were believed to be fostered through acts like leaving out food for them. However upon the establishment of the church, the practice was labelled heretical and explicitly forbidden in the Norwegian Gulating law codes.

Landvættir have been variously connected by scholars to other beings believed to inhabit the land such as elves, dwarfs and landdísir, with which they were potentially identified at different points in history. Their belief and veneration has been revived in the modern period as part of the practice of modern Heathens.

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