“If a man commits hand-robbery on another, and he proves it by witnesses, then the robber is liable to pay 3 marks. If the robber runs away with the thing (robbed), and the owner runs after him and slays him, then he falls as an outlaw” (Gulath., 143).
The value of the stolen thing was appraised, and if it was worth an örtug, or more, then the thief was to be outlawed and slain, for he had forfeited his life.
If a man stole something of less value than an örtug, he was a torf man,[[179]] and was made to run the gauntlet while those present threw at him whatever they had handy; if he got away alive he was thereafter without rétt.
“If a man steals on trading-journeys he makes himself a götu-thjóf (gauntlet-thief). His head shall be shaved and tarred, and (eider) down be taken and put on it. Then all the crew shall make a road for him and stand on both sides, and he shall run to the wood if he can. Every one present shall throw a stone or a stick after him, and whoever does not throw is liable to pay 9 örtugar”[[180]] (Bjarkey Law, 146).
If the stealing of the very smallest thing occurred, even of less value than a thveit, the theft was called hvinnska (pilfering), and the thief was ever thereafter called hvinn (pilferer), and had no rétt.
“If a man steals less than a thveit he shall be called hvinn all his life and have no rétt” (Bjarkey Law, 147).
Any one who stole fruit or plants from a garden or farm could be beaten and deprived of his clothes.
“If a man goes into the leek-garden or the angelica-garden of another he has no rétt, though he is beaten and struck, and all his clothes are taken off him” (Frostath., xiv. 14).
The act of stealing food in order to sustain life was not, however, punished.
“Next is this, that no man shall steal from another. Nevertheless it must be remarked that the man who gets no work to live by, and steals food to save his life for the sake of hunger, then this theft must not be punished at all” (N. G. L., ii. 168).