Magnus Lagabøtes landslov

Magnus Lagabøtes landslov (lit. 'Magnus the Lawmender's Law of the Land') was a law covering the whole of Norway, issued by King Magnus VI of Norway, constituted by the regional courts (cf. Things) between 1274 and 1276. The law was the first to apply to Norway as a whole and is one of the first examples of comprehensive national legislation from a central authority in all of Europe. The law is the reason that the king was given the name Lagabøte, "the one who improves the law". Albeit mending the law, with this much more detailed formulation of the law into written text, codification, the law-giving power was to a great extent taken away from the popular assemblies, these higher level regional things (Borgarting, Eidsivating, Gulating and Frostating), by King Magnus VI. He managed to circumvent the traditional authority of these traditional things by the elaboration and codification of the Bjarkeyjarréttr, laws and things for the market-places, cities and towns with trade-rights, also temporary markets (cf: Birk (market place) and Bjarkey laws) that eventually made the cities (Nidaros which is Trondheim, Bergen, Tønsberg) independent from the traditional things (assemblies).