með lögum skal land byggja

Icelandic

Etymology

From með (“with”) + lögum the plural dative of lög (“law”) + skal (“it shall”) a form of skulu (“shall”) + land (“land”) + byggja (“build”). Literally meaning "with laws shall land be built", "with laws, land shall be built" or "land shall be built by laws". The phrase is the opening words of the preamble to "Jyske Lov" (Law of Jutland) issued 1241 by king Valdemar 2. in Vordingborg.

Phrase

með lögum skal land byggja

1. "a country shall be built by laws", "the land will be built by laws", "with laws shall we build the land", the motto of Shetland, Víkingasveitin and the Icelandic Police

Related terms

• Danish: mæth logh skal land byggiæs, med lov skal land bygges
• Faroese: við lóg skal land byggjast
• Norwegian: med Lov skal Landet byggjast, med Lov skal Landet byggjast og ikkje med U-lov øydast
• Swedish: land skall med lag byggas, med lag skall land byggas

See also

• In Njáls saga the proverb með lögum skal land byggja en með ólögum eyða (“land shall be built by laws, but destroyed without them; with laws shall land be built, and with bad laws destroyed”) appears.