fjörbaugsgarðr (ON) noun

Lesser outlawry; one of two types of outlawry or banishment prescribed in Grg. It has been suggested that this penalty was an Icelandic invention (Riisøy 2014, 123 [following van Houts]), and its absence in Js and Jó suggests that the practice was discontinued by the time Iceland fell under Norwegian rule in second half of the thirteenth century.

Lesser outlawry was the penalty for a wide range of crimes in Grg, such as being ignorant of the baptism ritual, abusing the power of a goði (q.v.), practicing sorcery and numerous other offenses. Anyone judged a lesser outlaw (fjörbaugsmaðr) was forced to leave the country for three consecutive summers, and the outlaw’s property was confiscated. Prior to departing the country a lesser outlaw retained his legal immunity at three declared ‘homes’ (heimili) (cf. Grg Þsþ 52).

lesser outlawry OIce Grg Klþ 1, 4 Þsþ 23, 25 Vís 88, 98 Bat 113 Lrþ 117 Arþ 118, 126 passim Refs:

CV s.v. fjörbaugr; GAO s.v. Friedlosigkeit; KLNM s.v. fredløshed; Lúðvík Ingvarsson 1970, 140−55; Riisøy 2014