King Hákon yielded up to the country the proprietary right which his father had usurped. New legal relations were then entered into between king and people; these seem to have been called landsrétt (law of the land), which could not be changed without the consent of both king and people.
The lög, or law proper, dealing with the relations existing between man and man, was regarded as having originated from the people alone, and therefore was their private property. But royalty being acknowledged as a necessary part of the state, and as such amenable to the lög, was on that account given a voice in its changes or revisions.
In the first place, the legislative power of the country was transferred from the Fylkisthings to the Lawthings, and was placed in the hands of representative men (nefndarmenn)[[539]] instead of in the hands of all the bœndr of the fylki. Thus the Lawthings became the only legislative power in the country, each one legislating for its separate district. Then the various earlier laws were consolidated into one law for every district.
By this important change royalty appears in a highly influential aspect; however, as is clearly shown, only in consequence of a special power given it for the time being, and not as a right established for all time.
The highest power was not in the Althing, but in the Lögretta (law-court), composed of two kinds of members—those who were self-named, or godis by right (they were thirty-nine), and those who were elected (twelve for the northern quarter, and nine for each of the others); but these godis took three men from each quarter which had only nine godis, and so the number was increased to forty-eight, to which number was added the lögmadr (lawman). The number of judges or godis of the Lögrétta at the Gulathing seems to have been thirty-six.
The elected members were appointed thus. Every one of the forty-eight chose two of his Thingmen and a third man as advisers; thus the law-court men consisted of 144 members (besides the lawman, who made the number 145).
The Lögthing (law-thing) did not appear before the time of Hákon the Good, when the country was divided into four districts.
The law-court had a certain place on the Thing-plain, and was part of the Thing. There were three benches, one behind the other; on the middle bench sat the forty-eight self-elected law-court men and the lawman; on the front and the last bench were seated the elected members. The judicial power rested with those on the middle bench, for the law-court men on the two other benches could only give advice.
When a decision had a majority for it from the middle bench, all the law-court men assented, and it was made public from the law-hill by the lawman.
The court was to come together on both Sundays and on the closing day, and the lawman could call the members together when he wanted, but only if the majority of the Thingmen wished.