Frostatinget, Norway

Frostatinget

Frostatinget is the largest of the four law regions in Norway – Gulating, Frostating, Borgarting and Eidsivating – probably founded by royal initiative during the 10th-11th centuries.

Frostatinget was based at Tinghaugen in the municipality of Frosta in the county of Trøndelag in Norway. Trøndelag was named after the old word for law – log, and the name for the law region lives on in the present day Frostating Court of Appeal.

According to the sagas, Håkon the Good introduced the Frostating law, Frostatingsloven, around 950-960. The thing at Frosta was the highest judicial authority over the eight districts in Trøndelag. Every summer, 485 delegates met to create laws and regulations, and enforce and judge by the same laws.

Magnus Lagabøtes landslov

Frostatingsloven contained ancient Norwegian legal rules collected and written down from 100-1200. This code of law, of which the most important parts are still preserved today, fell away when the introduction of Magnus Lagabøte's national law – Magnus Lagabøtes landslov – was introduced in 1274. This unified code of laws for the Kingdom of Norway, including the Faroe Islands and Shetland, replaced the four different former regional, and continued until the dissolution of the Union in 1814.

Frostating Court of Appeal

The Frostating Court of Appeal (lagmannsrett) is one of Norway’s six courts of appeal. The court is based in Trondheim, and also has court premises in Ålesund, Molde and Kristiansund. The Court of Appeal hears appeals in civil as well as criminal cases from the eight district courts (tingrettene) in the counties of Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal.

Monument

At Logstein there is a monument, erected in 1914, surrounded by a circle of 12 stones from each of the 12 counties in the Frostatingsloven. The inscription on the central stone reads: At lögum skal land vårt byggja, en eigi at ulögum øyda (By law should the country be built, but not destroy it).