Farthings of Iceland

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Iceland used to be divided into four farthings (landsfjórðungar), one for each direction. These divisions date from 965 and were meant to organize regional assemblies (fjórðungsþing) and courts (fjórðungsdómar). Each farthing had three local assemblies in spring and autumn, led by three goðar (chieftains); the North Farthing had four. If a case involved people from the same farthing, a farthing court could judge it; otherwise the case went to the national assembly, the Alþingi. The farthing courts are not well documented and were more irregular than the assemblies, with rules that varied.

The dioceses followed the farthing borders: Skálholt covered the West, South, and East farthings, while Hólar covered the North. In 1264 Iceland came under the King of Norway. In 1271 Magnus the Lawmender issued Járnsíða, which appointed a lawman for each farthing (usually two, sometimes four). The old assemblies fell into counties (sýslur) and the goðar were replaced by county sheriffs (sýslumenn). Lawmen grew powerful, and in 1593 a supreme court (yfirdómur) was created to curb their power, backed by the bishops.

In 1683 Iceland became an amt (province) within Denmark–Norway. In 1770 the country was divided into two amter (Southeast and Northwest) and the farthing borders were adjusted; amter effectively replaced farthings. In 1651 the king allowed one hospital per farthing; these were lazarets for leprosy that later became shelters. In 1766 a farthing doctor (fjórðungslæknir) was established for each farthing, with more added later, giving six medical districts for much of the 19th century. In 1944 the state funded three farthing hospitals outside Reykjavík: Ísafjörður, Akureyri, and Neskaupstaður.

Later administrative divisions based on counties and municipalities reduced the farthings’ official role, although the term is still used informally. Today Iceland is divided into municipalities, and counties have no official status. There have been regional cooperation efforts at the municipal level based on farthings, and in 1980 Jóhannes Árnason suggested reviving the farthing assemblies to spread government power to regions, but this did not gain traction. The common regional division today is eight regions (landshlutar).