Lawspeaker
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A lawspeaker or lawman (
Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) of Iceland was a famous lawspeaker. He wrote about an 11th-century lawspeaker named Torgny, but historians doubt the account.[1]
Sweden
In
According to the
The first named Swedish lawspeaker, if the text is correct, is the Lum recorded in a register of
From then on, the lawspeakers only came from the nobility, and it had turned into a pension, in which a member of the
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, 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 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").
Province (lagsaga) | First known lawman | Year |
---|---|---|
Uppland | Birger Persson | 1296-1316 |
Tiundaland | Lars | 1231 |
Tiundaland | Israel Andersson And | 1286–1289 |
Tiundaland | Birger Persson | 1293–1296 |
Attundaland | Germund | 1231 |
Attundaland | Håkon | 1286–1296 |
Fjädrundaland | ? | (joined Uppland in the 1290s) |
Hälsingland | ? | ? |
Södermanland | Björn Næf | 1285–1286 |
Södermanland | Johan Ingevaldsson | 1295–1304 |
Västmanland and Dala | Magnus Gregersson | 1305 |
Västmanland and Dala | Greger Magnusson | 1325–1336 |
Närke | Filip Törnesson | 1271–1279 |
Värmland | A. legislator in Vermlandia | 1190 |
Värmland | Höldo | 1268 |
Värmland | Marl Haraldsson | c. 1285 |
Västergötland | Eskil Magnusson (Folkung dynasty) |
1217–1227 |
Västergötland | Gustaf | 1230 |
Västergötland | Folke | 1240 |
Västergötland | Peter Näf | 1251–1253 |
Östergötland | Lars Petersson | 1244 |
Östergötland | Magnus Bengtsson (Folkung dynasty) | 1247–1263 |
Tiohärad (Småland) | Nils | 1180 |
Tiohärad (Småland) | Ulf | 1200 |
Tiohärad (Småland) | Karl Ingeborgsson | 1266–1268 |
Finland
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 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.
Norway
In
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.
Iceland
In Iceland, 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, 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 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.
List of Icelandic lawspeakers
Scholars are suspicious of 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.
Lögsögumaður | Term in office |
---|---|
Úlfljótur |
c. 930 |
Hrafn Hængsson |
930–949 |
Þórarinn Ragabróðir Óleifsson | 950–969 |
Þorkell máni Þorsteinsson | 970–984 |
Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði Þorkelsson |
985–1001 |
Grímur Svertingsson | 1002–1003 |
Skafti Þóroddsson |
1004–1030 |
Steinn Þorgestsson | 1031–1033 |
Þorkell Tjörvason | 1034–1053 |
Gellir Bölverksson | 1054–1062 |
Gunnar hinn spaki Þorgrímsson | 1063–1065 |
Kolbeinn Flosason | 1066–1071 |
Gellir Bölverksson | 1072–1074 |
Gunnar hinn spaki Þorgrímsson | 1075 |
Sighvatur Surtsson | 1076–1083 |
Markús Skeggjason | 1084–1107 |
Úlfhéðinn Gunnarsson | 1108–1116 |
Bergþór Hrafnsson | 1117–1122 |
Guðmundur Þorgeirsson | 1123–1134 |
Hrafn Úlfhéðinsson | 1135–1138 |
Finnur Hallsson | 1139–1145 |
Gunnar Úlfhéðinsson | 1146–1155 |
Snorri Húnbogason | 1156–1170 |
Styrkár Oddason | 1171–1180 |
Gissur Hallsson | 1181–1202 |
Hallur Gissurarson | 1203–1209 |
Styrmir hinn fróði Kárason | 1210–1214 |
Snorri Sturluson | 1215–1218 |
Teitur Þorvaldsson | 1219–1221 |
Snorri Sturluson | 1222–1231 |
Styrmir hinn fróði Kárason | 1232–1235 |
Teitur Þorvaldsson | 1236–1247 |
Ólafr hvítaskáld Þórðarson |
1248–1250 |
Sturla Þórðarson | 1251 |
Ólafr hvítaskáld Þórðarson |
1252 |
Teitur Einarsson | 1253–1258 |
Ketill Þorláksson | 1259–1262 |
Þorleifur hreimur Ketilsson | 1263–1265 |
Sigurður Þorvaldsson | 1266 |
Jón Einarsson | 1267 |
Þorleifur hreimur Ketilsson | 1268 |
Jón Einarsson | 1269–1270 |
Þorleifur hreimur Ketilsson | 1271 |
See also
- Asega (lawspeaker of medieval western Friesland)
- Brehon
- Medieval Scandinavian law
Notes
- ^ a b Lagerquist 1997:36
- ^ )
- ISBN 8291870020
References
External links
- Media related to Lawspeakers at Wikimedia Commons