Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Althing and Parliament

One thing that makes Iceland unique is its form of government, a national parliament or assembly, the Althing organized in 930 AD and used until 1844 to make rulings over despites between different clans. It was also where they agreed to accept Christianity into their land in 1000 AD. Held outdoors in a natural amphitheatre so the speakers could be heard, it necessitated the representatives from each clan to travel a considerable distance to participate and then to camp out in tents or semi-permanent structures to conduct all the business. (Photo below from wikipedia shows the law rock where the speaker would read the law. Photo above of me standing in that area.) Notice the tents surrounding it where the people would live while attending the Althingi. They also had to bring some of their herds for food and women to cook.

Meetings could last for days on end

Above explains what took place below

Quite a view

Lovely church and town nearby

6 comments:

  1. such beautiful photographs...a great place to be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I see trees in the last 3 photos!!!! Are they the only trees in Iceland? Seriously, I don't remember ever seeing trees in any other photos. Trees do improve the landscape a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A friend of mine will be traveling to Iceland at the end of the year. I will show her your beautiful photos and posts. Looks like a good place to visit!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. amazing scenery. I just had a mental 'whiff' of the smells at the 'encampment'.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Drowning as an execution technique - i am hearing it for the first time.
    Loved the pictures and your interesting narration.

    ReplyDelete