Grágás: Iceland's First Laws (with Dr. Haukur Þorgeirsson)

If you look for the definition of 'mild-mannered' in the dictionary you'll find a picture of Dr. Haukur Þorgeirsson

I just love how softly Dr. Þorgeirsson speaks. As a fellow scandinavian I can really relate. This is our culture.

The most modern example of Grágás being cited in a legal ruling here in Iceland that I can recall was about a decade ago, in a case where a participant injured himself during fangbrögð in a fighting gym. He sued the gym for his injuries but lost the case because as the relevant Grágás clauses clearly stipulate, he had entered the fight/glíma of his own free will and his injuries had been accidental and not because of malicious intent. Also when it comes to land demarcation and liabilities wrt to livestock straying onto someone's property, for instance, there's a pretty unbroken legal chain from Grágás. Almost verbatim it seems in many cases.

"CSI Hlíðarendi" is one of the funniest takes on Njálssaga I've ever heard!

My mother used to have a magnet on her fridge that said, "The only reason some people are alive is because it's illegal to kill them." I guess the Icelandic version would say, "The only reason some people are alive is because I don't have enough gilt to pay their families."

Thank you Dr. Crawford and Dr. Haukur Þorgeirsson!

There is a drama about cheese dissapearing? I have been convinced, I must read the sagas.

Looking at that manuscript, it's easy to see where Tolkien got some of his inspiration for his elvish script.

I heard the Laws were called "Grey Goose" because they were written with goose feather quills

I am not very surprised to see so many similarities between the Gragas, and early Anglo-Saxon, and even Brehon Law. A Beautiful manuscript! Love the occasional use of runes, and the Wyn!

The manuscripts were beautiful. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing friends. Continue to be you.

As much as I absolutely love history, I find your channel and overall attitude very relaxing :) keep doing what you're doing !!

One time I got super high and decided I was going to move to Iceland. I emailed the government and everything. I was dead set on it. Then the MFers informed me that there's literally a snowballs chance in hell I could move there. I told them I'm a Peterson. Viking descendant. That it was their duty to welcome Me home. They turned me down! Lol 😂

This discussion reminded me of laws of the Pentateuch and of ancient near-eastern statements of law generally. The casuistic presentation of the law dates back at least to the Code of Hammurabi, as do the detailed rules for slavery and for compensation for deaths of various people.

As legal historian I m interested in delving more into the literature about old Irish, Icelandic and other Scandinavian legal codes (early medieval, mediaval and up to 17 c.) so I want to ask you Dr. Crawford what kind of literature in English can you recomend to someone new in the topic about the most important legal codes of those cultures ? :)

Dr. Cowboy Viking at it again

I just wan to touch that BOOK!!! 😍

Does the Ingvaeonic Nasal Spirant law also apply to Old West Norse in this case as Goose isn't Gans like in the other germanic tongues?

It would be nice if the Icelander spoke up a little. What an amazing video still!