What is the name of Iceland’s parliament, founded in 930?

Iceland’s parliament, founded in 930, is called the Althing.

The Althing, or Alþingi in Icelandic, was established at Þingvellir around 930 by Iceland’s early settlers. It functioned as a national assembly where chieftains and other participants met to make laws, settle disputes, and conduct public business. The law speaker recited the laws from memory, an important role in a society that initially had no central monarch.

The assembly at Þingvellir continued until 1798, when Danish authorities suspended it. A modern representative parliament was restored in Reykjavík in 1845, and the Althing became central to Iceland’s constitutional development. Iceland became a sovereign state in personal union with Denmark in 1918 and a republic in 1944.

The Althing is often described as the world’s oldest surviving parliament. That claim needs context: the institution has very ancient roots, but it was suspended and its modern form developed later. The Icelandic assembly should also not be confused with Norway’s Storting, Denmark’s Folketing, or Sweden’s Riksdag.