THE ALTHING. 519 



"We (the people) shall have Leid (autumn-thing), and 

 those godis who hold a Thing together shall have Leid to* 



gether The Leid shall not be held before fourteen 



nights after the Althing. No Leid shall last less than one 

 day, or longer than two nights" (Gragas (1852), iii. 01). 



The country was divided into four quarters, and each of 

 these into three Thing-districts, except the northern quarter, 

 which was divided into four. 1 Every Thing-district was divided 

 into three parts, each of which was ruled by a godi who was 

 temple-priest. At the Quarter-thing all the bcendr of the 

 quarter assisted. 2 



The Althing, which was held once a year, took place between 

 the two other Things. This was natural, as at the Spring- 

 thing they prepared for the Althing, and at the Thing held 

 at the end of summer it was usual to make known what had 

 taken place at the Althing. 



" The Althing was placed where it is now, according to the 

 advice of Ulfljot and all the men of the land. Before this 

 the Thing was at Kjalarnes, established by Thorstein, son of 

 Ingolf, the (first) settler, and father of Thorkel Mani (moon), 

 lawman, and other chiefs " (Islendingabok, c. 3). 



The appeal of a cause from a lower Thing to the higher one 

 was expressed in the Gulathing's Law, which probably had the 

 greatest authority over the larger part of the country ; every 

 dispute had first to be treated at the smaller Thing of the 

 Herad, and only when it could not be satisfactorily settled 

 there was it to go before the Fylkistliing. A Thing from two 

 Fylki had less power than one of four, and one from four less 

 than one from eight. 



" In every case when all the men of the Fylki agree, no law- 

 ful judgment of theirs in matters about which they have right 

 to judge shall be broken, though kinsmen on the male or 

 female side or near relatives do not come. But if one-fourth 

 or more of the right Thingmen do not come, a new Thing shall 

 be summoned from two Fylkis for the case. ... If they do not 

 a^ree at the Thing of two Fylkis, it shall be sent to a Thing 

 of three Fylkis. If they do not agree, a Thing of four Fyikis. 

 If they do not agree, a Thing of eight Fylkis ; that which is 



1 Islendingabok, c. 5. s Eyrbyggja, c. 10; Landuama, ii. c. 12. 



