The Viking-age law assembly held at Iceland’s Thingvellir site was the Althing.
The Althing, or Alþingi, was established in Iceland around AD 930. Chieftains and free men gathered at the assembly to hear laws, settle disputes and conduct political business. The law speaker recited the law publicly, an essential role in a society whose legal tradition was largely oral.
The assembly met at Þingvellir, a natural amphitheater shaped by the movement of tectonic plates. Its location made it a practical gathering place and later became a powerful symbol of Icelandic national history.
The Althing is often described as the world’s oldest surviving parliament. That wording needs context: its original medieval institution was interrupted in 1800, and a modern parliament was re-established in Reykjavík in 1845. The modern Alþingi nevertheless claims historical continuity with the Viking-age assembly.