Question

In the space provided, explain what is similar and what is different about Iceland’s early government and today’s U.S. government. Introduce the subject. Make three major points. Write a conclusion. Your response should be between 75 and 150 words.

One of the first known democracies was Iceland. As early as AD 930, Iceland’s chieftains would set up camps in a large open area called the Parliament Plains for two weeks in the middle of June. This assembly was called Althing. During this annual event, a group called the Law Council would vote on legal issues. The chieftains who made up the Law Council had non-voting advisors. In addition, there was an official with the title “Law Speaker.” In those days, before written language, the Law Speaker would recite Iceland’s laws out loud. In approximately AD 965, the chieftains divided the nation into four parts. They set up courts in each quarter.


That was the passage above.

Answer 1

Answer:

The Icelandic Alþingi was established in 930 AD which makes it the oldest running parliament in the world. In the beginning it was an outdoor assembly held on the plains of Þingvellir (45 km from Reykjavík, Iceland's capital). The Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, where the country’s most powerful Leaders (goðar) met to decide on legislation and dispense justice. Then, all free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers and travellers.