THE JURYMEN. 523 



plaintiff by the godi of the district, who with him named or 

 chose eleven of his Thingmen. 



The second kind of Jcvid was Biiakvid (bondi kvid), which 

 was used in cases of murder and other crimes, consisting of five 

 or nine neighbours chosen by the plaintiff. 



The third kind or Bjargkvid (saving kvid) consisted of five 

 men, also chosen by the plaintiff and of the same place. The 

 defendant had the right to challenge jurors out of the kvid, but 

 only for lawful reasons, and the places had to be filled up. If 

 the kvid after deliberation could not agree, the majority ruled ; 

 and if in the Tylftarkvid the votes were equal, the godi had 

 the casting vote ; but the verdict was nevertheless to be given 

 unanimously, though the minority were not responsible if the 

 verdict was found to be wrong. 



In the earliest times the same practice seems to have held 

 in Norway, till Christianity coming in brought with it the 

 purification oath. 



Men could be turned out of the jury if they were not bosndr. 



In a law case at the AltKing after the burning of Njal, Eyiolf 

 Bolverksson, a man skilled in law, said the following with 

 regard to the j ury or kvid : 



" ' I name witnesses to this that I take these two men out 

 of the kvid, and name them both, because they are booth- 

 sitting men (less than bcendr) and not bcendr.' Mord went 

 to the court and said : ' I name witnesses to this that I make 

 void the lawful challenging of Eyjolf Bolverksson, because he 

 challenged men out of the kvid who are rightly in it. Every 

 man who owns three hundreds * in land or more, though he 

 has no milch cattle, has the right to be in a jury of buendr, as 

 also he who has milch cattle, though he is a tenant.' He had 

 the witnesses before the court, went to where the boendr (of 

 the jury) were and told them to sit down, and that they had 

 a right to be in the kvid. Then there was a great uproar, and 

 all said that the case of Flosi and Eyjolf was made perfectly 

 void '" (Njala, c. 142). 



It seems that it was usual to have twelve judges to decide 

 important cases. 



" Thereafter King Heidrek went home with his queen and 



1 The term " hundreds " means some value, perhaps of vadmal or of silver. 



