Enter the era of the Old Commonwealth. During this era, government power in Iceland was not like it is today. The Alþingi, the National Assembly, met here in Þingvellir, passed laws and tried cases. But the implementation of a judgment? That was in the hands of individuals. Imagine: your fate, which lay in the hands of your neighbors.
Imagine the tension of the congregation when punishments were imposed. Some sentences were as simple as fines for minor offenses. But more serious offenses could be punished with a three-year banishment or even lifelong banishment. If an exile did not follow these rules and returned to areas from which he had been exiled, then he became a "dead man on foot" because revenge could be taken by the victim's survivors.
And then the place names – they are a direct echo of this cruel time. At Drekkingarhylur, the drowning pool, you can almost hear the desperate splashing and sobbing of the condemned women. Höggstokkseyri, the execution block spit, evokes images of men being beheaded in front of a gathered crowd. Kagahólmi, Scourge Island, still bears the echoes of the screams of those who were whipped here. And at Brennugjá, the Gorge of Fire, you can almost smell the smoke rising into the cold air, a remnant of witch hunts in which suspected sorcerers and witches were burned.
But despite these dark stories and memories, Þingvellir is today a place of reflection and beauty. A place where you can feel the connection between history, culture and nature. A place that reminds you how far Iceland has come and the stories that linger in its heart. It is a place you simply have to experience on your trip to Iceland.