Icelandic Commonwealth - Definition and Overview

The Icelandic Commonwealth refers to the state existing in Iceland between 930 (the establishment of the Althing) and 1262 (the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king). It was initially established by a public consisting largely of recent emigrants from Norway, who had fled the unification of that country under King Harald Fairhair.

The state had an unusual structure. At a national level, it had only two branches; the legislature and the courts. There was no king or other central executive power. Subnational government was divided into numerous gothorth (goðorð), which were essentially clans or alliances run by chieftains called gothar (goðar). The chieftains provided defense and appointed judges to resolve disputes between gothorth members. The gothorth were not divided geographically. Instead, membership in a gothorth was an individual's decision, and one could, at least theoretically, change gothorth at will. This is the basis of the disputed claim that the Commonwealth was a democracy. If a person wanted to appeal a decision made by his gothorth court or if a dispute arose between members of different gothorth, the case would be referred to a system of higher-level courts. The highest court was a national "fifth court" appointed by the Althing.

According to one theory, associated with the philosopher David Friedman, Icelandic society was anarchic during the 300 years of independence. The legislature was more akin to a chamber of commerce than to the law-making body of a sovereign. If this is an accurate characterization, then Icelandic history includes the closest approach yet made to the Friedmanite ideal of anarcho-capitalism.

In the early 13th century, the Commonwealth began to suffer from serious internal strife. Due to discontent with domestic hostilities and pressure from the rulers of Norway, the Icelandic chieftains in 1262 decided to acknowledge Norway's Haakon IV as king. This ended the commonwealth.

See also

• Past and present anarchist communities
• Anarchism
• Anarcho-capitalism

External links

• An article (http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Iceland/Iceland.html) by David Friedman describing the gothorth system in more detail.
• An article (http://libertariannation.org/a/f13l1.html) by Roderick Long presenting a theory of the causes of the commonwealth's end
• Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power by Jesse L. Byock (http://dannyreviews.com/h/Medieval_Iceland.html)
• Medieval Iceland and the Absence of Government (http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1121)