féránsdómr (ON) noun

A process by which the property of an outlaw was seized according to medieval Icelandic law. The féránsdómr was held at the home of the outlaw a fortnight after the assembly at which the accused was convicted. Proceedings were handled by a group of twelve men and overseen by a goði (q.v.), who received a set fee for his services. Property was distributed to the outlaw’s wife, if she could prove what was hers, as well as creditors who could provide evidence of debts, and the remainder was divided between the person who successfully prosecuted the outlaw and community of the quarter or region in which the case was prosecuted. Communal property was held by the prosecutor and then distributed at the next spring assembly (várþing) for maintaining dependents or itinerants attached to the assembly (cf. Grg Þsþ 49). Confiscation courts were held for both lesser outlaws (fjörbaugsmaðr) and full outlaws (skógarmaðr).

A process similar to the féránsdómr took place in Sweden and was called the afkænnuþing (cf. LexMA; appears [with alt. spelling] in UL & VML).

confiscation court OIce Grg Þsþ 48, 49 Arþ 126 Ómb 142 Feþ 148, 158 Refs:

KLNM s.v. féránsdómr; LexMA s.v. Haus/-formen - Rechts- und Verfassungsgeschichte - Skandinavien