Lofotr Viking Museum
Meet the Vikings. Smell the tar, taste the food, feel the history. The Vikings have been awaiting you for more than 1000 years. Welcome to the Viking age.
This year we celebrate the 750th anniversary of Magnus Lagabøte‘s national law. Together with a professor and historian from Nord University and UiT The Arctic University of Norway, we are working on developing fines exhibitions at several of our museums.
In 1274, King Magnus VI Håkonsson gathered the entire Norwegian kingdom under one law. The drafting of the national law is considered a groundbreaking political and legal work. After Magnus died, he was named Lagabøte, which means law improver.
The National Library is the national coordinator for the National Law Jubilee, and has put together an eventful program for 2024.
LOCAL CONNECTION IN THE NORTH
In 1291, the archbishop Gjørund of Nidaros sends out a letter in which he mentions the crimes Bjarne Erlingsson has committed against the church, including the revocation of the right to coin, disagreement over tithes, and not least the declaration that the Vágaboka was invalid. The letter is a interesting starting point for creating a northern commemoration of the Landslov in the anniversary year 2024.
The letter tells of several specific details. About the consequences of the introduction of the national law in the north and conflicts that arose between different groups after Magnus Lagabøte died in 1280. During his reign, the church had also won with several radical demands, which various noble interests wanted to refute.
Vágaboka was a law book that was in use in the north, but it is unknown whether the law book applied to Vágar or also included Hálogaland. At Brudaberget in 1282, the Vágaboka was declared invalid, and replaced with Magnus Lagabøte’s national law, Landsloven.
FOUR EXHIBITIONS
At Museum Nord, we are now working together to develop 4 exhibitions for our museums with the Lagabøte anniversary and the Landslov as the overall theme.
With us on the team we have Sigrun Høgetveit Berg, professor of ancient history at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and Miriam Jensen Tveit, associate professor at Nord University. We explore several ways to tell about the national law and connect it to a local context. For example, what was the smell of the 1200s like? And what did people eat?
The exhibitions will be launched in the spring and summer of 2024. Activities for schools and lectures are planned throughout the autumn and winter at several of the museums.
Visit the exhibitions: