Thing

BY THORNEWS If you offended a Viking, a normal reaction would be to kill you on the spot. If the murder took place in daylight with witnesses present and without trying to hide his act, the punishment for the crime was paying fines. The Vikings had a complex honor and judicial system that probably developed over many centuries, long before the Viking Age. Most conflicts were resolved between the involved families. If it was impossible to reach an agreement, the Thing (Old Norse, Old English and Icelandic: þing, the governing assembly of free people) had the final word. To be summoned to the Thing was regarded as a very hostile act and therefore the parties always tried to reach an