A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law

This revised and expanded edition of this polyglot dictionary draws on the vast and vibrant range of vernacular legal terminology found in medieval Scandinavian texts – terminology which yields valuable insights into the quotidian realities of crime and retribution; the processes, application and execution of laws; and the cultural and societal concerns underlying the development and promulgation of such laws.

Legal texts constitute an unparalleled – and often untapped – source of information for those studying the literature, languages and history of medieval and Viking Age Scandinavia. The Lexicon is a welcome contribution to the study of medieval Scandinavia on two counts: firstly, it makes accessible a wealth of vernacular historical documents for an English-speaking audience. Secondly, it presents legal terminologies that span the languages and geographies of medieval Scandinavia, drawing on thirty-one legal texts composed in Old Swedish, Old Icelandic, Old Norwegian, Old Danish, Old Gutnish and Old Faroese. By collating and juxtaposing over 7000 headwords, the Lexicon thus offers its readers a fascinating, comprehensive window into the legal milieu of medieval Scandinavia as a unified whole.

It is in this respect that the Lexicon differs from the other major lexica that came before it: where relevant, it gathers closely related terms from multiple Nordic languages beneath single headwords within single entries. This approach illuminates the differences (and similarities) in usage of specific lexical items and legal concepts across geographic areas and through time. This book is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of medieval Scandinavia.The Lexicon is an ongoing project with a digital counterpart (https://www.dhi.ac.uk/lmnl/) created within the department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism at Stockholm University. It is part of the wider ‘Medieval Nordic Laws’ project based at the University of Aberdeen. The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, The Magn. Bergvall Foundation, Stiftelsen Längmanska kulturfonden, Åke Wiberg Foundation, The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy for Swedish Folk Culture and Olle Engkvists Stiftelse have generously contributed to this publication.