becoming burthensome to the nation; In
this infant state of the community it was
looked upon as most disgraceful to become
a beggar through idleness. Arngrim Jonas
remarks, that it was an apostolic precept,
that he who would not labor should not be
suffered to beg, and that consequently severe
punishments* were inflicted on persons
s o offending, and heavy fines imposed upon
those who were detected of harboring and
encouraging this class of people.
The Hreppsstiorars, as has been just stated,
had authority to convoke assemblies of the
people; and these assemblies may be considered
of two kinds, the fixed or ordinary,
and the extraordinary, or such as were called
on special occcasions. It appears that, at
both of them, each member carried withhim
some emblem or sign, which, since the introduction
of Christianity, was a small wooden
cross, and the omission of it was considered
* Of such a description, is the following: “ Item
altera lex de ejusmodi mendicis impunfe castrandis,
etiamsi cum eorundem nece conjunctum foret, ne
videlicet ostiatim. vivendo liberos gignerent siii.ilea
parentibus, qui postmodum oneri essent Reipublicae.
Islandi Tractatus. p. 437. ,
as a crime which merited punishment. Here
were held consultations upon public affairs,
and here accused persons were brought for
trial and to receive punishment. If the
complaint was of a private nature, the accuser
himself summoned the defendant;
or, if he was unable or unwilling to do it,
one of the Hreppsstiorars undertook the office
for him. It was his duty, likewise, to bring
forward all public acts of injustice, but,
should he be negligent in the exercise of
his functions, he was subject to be called to
an account by the other members of the
Hreppar, and mulcted in a pecuniary fine.
Each quarter of the island, as has been
already stated, contained three (except the
northern, which had four) lesser divisions
or praefectures. These wrere under the superintendence
of magistrates of much greater
rank and dignity than the Hreppsstiorars,
and may be looked upon as the Prefects * of
* These were the nobles of the land: "Eos Optimates
hoc loco appellamus, et statum Reipublicoe,
horum inspectione gubernatum, Aristocratiam. ”
Amgrim Jonas Islandi Tract.