“Forsete, Balder’s high-born son,
Hath heard mine oath;
Strike dead, Forset’, if e’er I’m won
To break my troth.”
Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).
As god of justice and eternal law, Forseti was supposed to preside over every judicial assembly, was invariably appealed to by all who were about to undergo a trial, and it was said that he rarely failed to help the deserving.
The story of Heligoland.
On one occasion the Frisians selected twelve of their wisest men, the Asegeir, or elders, and bade them collect all the laws of the various families and tribes composing their nation, to compile from them a code which should enable them to have uniform laws throughout all the land, and to render justice more easily. The elders, having painstakingly finished their task of collecting this miscellaneous information, embarked upon a small vessel, to seek some secluded spot where they might hold their deliberations in peace. But no sooner had they pushed away from shore than a tempest arose, driving their vessel far out to sea and whirling it around, until they entirely lost their bearings. In their distress the twelve jurists called upon Forseti, begging him to help them reach land once more, and this prayer was scarcely ended when they perceived, to their utter surprise, that the vessel contained a thirteenth passenger.
Seizing the rudder, the newcomer silently brought the vessel around, steered it towards the place where the waves dashed highest, and in an incredibly short space of time brought them to an island, where he motioned to them to disembark. In awe-struck silence the twelve men obeyed; but their surprise was further excited when they saw the stranger fling his battle ax at a distance, and a limpid spring gush forth from the spot on the greensward where it had struck. Imitating the stranger, all drank of this water without saying a word; then they sat down in a circle, marveling because the newcomer resembled each one of them in some particular, but was still very different from them all.
Suddenly the silence was broken, and the stranger began to speak in low tones, which grew firmer and louder, as he clearly expounded a code of laws which combined all the good points of the various existing regulations. This speech being finished, he vanished as suddenly and mysteriously as he had appeared, and the twelve jurists, recovering the power of speech, simultaneously exclaimed that Forseti himself had been among them, and had drawn up the code of laws by which the Frisians would henceforth be ruled. In commemoration of the god’s appearance they declared that the island upon which they stood was holy, and laid a solemn curse upon any who might dare to desecrate it by quarrel or bloodshed. This island, known as Forseti’s land or Heligoland (holy land), was greatly respected by all the Northern nations, and even the boldest vikings refrained from raiding its shores, lest they should suffer shipwreck or shameful death in punishment for this crime.