The law of the land

Where Vikings went, Things followed

Thingvellir, Iceland Established in 930, the Allthing was held in the Icelandic region of Thingvellir for 850 years from 930 until 1798. The assembly would meet for two weeks at the Lögberg (‘Law Rock’) each year. Nearby Drowning Pool and Gallows Rock hint at some of the grimmer aspects of the proceedings. Tinganes, Faroe Islands The free men of the Faroe Islands met each summer on a rocky outcrop on the shore of Tórshavn from 825 until 1816, though by that time meetings had moved indoors. The islands were also administered by six local courts, known as ‘thingsteads’, which met in spring. Tynwald Hill, Isle of Man The traditional meeting place of the Manx parliamentary assembly is in the village of Saint John’s. Though established by the Vikings a millennium ago, the mound is thought to have been built in the

13th century. Gulatinget, Norway The largest and oldest assembly in Norway was held in Gulen in around 900-1300. The Gulating served as a model for the Things held in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and the Gulating Code of Law remains the oldest known Nordic body of laws. Fingay Hill, England York was the seat of Viking power in England, so it’s perhaps no surprise that evidence a Thing has been found nearby. Other

English Thing sites include Thingwala in Whitby and

Dingbell Hill in Northumbria. Tingwall, Shetland A small promontory on Tingwall

Loch called Tingaholm was the site of Shetland’s local parliament until the late 16th century. Officials are thought to have sat around a rough stone table, while delegates gathered on the slope below the nearby church. Dingwall, Scotland This Highland meeting place was established by Thornfinn the Mighty, a powerful Viking earl who died in 1065. Its location was long lost but archaeologists uncovered evidence of it beneath a car park in 2013.