Guta Lag and Guta Saga: The Law and History of the Gotlanders

<p><em>Guta Lag</em> the law of the independent island of Gotland is one of the earliest laws of Scandinavia. The historical appendix to the law <i>Guta Saga </i>was written in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Together <em>Guta Lag</em> and its accompanying <em>Saga</em> provide an invaluable insight into the lives of the people living on Gotland the largest of Sweden’s Baltic islands in 1000-1400. <i>Guta Lag and Guta Saga: The Law and History of the Gotlanders </i>is the first time that these two important texts have been translated into English and combined in one edition accompanied by an extensive commentary and historical contextualisation by Christine Peel. </p><p>In the Viking Age the island of Gotland maintained its own law and administrative system. It was distinctive among Swedish provinces retaining its own laws until 1645 while mainland provincial laws were all superseded by national law in the mid-fourteenth century. Preserved in eight manuscripts it illustrates the everyday life and administrative system of the people of Gotland. <em>Guta Saga</em> tells the story of the island from its discovery by the legendary <i>Þieluar </i>who removed the enchantment upon it which led to its inhabitation. Read together the texts provide a complete picture of an island unique among Scandinavian provinces offering a rare view of everyday people in medieval Scandinavia.</p><p>This innovative and timely translation will be fascinating and essential reading for scholars of Scandinavian studies and legal history. </p>