Lionga thing

Lionga thing was the general assembly of the people of Östergötland in medieval Sweden. Lionga thing is mentioned in Östgötalagen^[1] and was held in Linköping in the Middle Ages.^[2] Its original location is unknown. The first known mention of Lionga thing is from 1350. An account stated that this was where a slave could be freed by a kinsman.^[3] After the slave's emancipation from serfdom through purchase, the parties swore a full oath of kinsmen at Lionga thing before at least 14 witnesses.^[3] Another source cited that the assembly may also have played a part in the selection of a bishop because Linköping was considered an ecclesiastical center.^[4]

References

1. Östgötalagen. Original text.
2. Semple, Sarah; Sanmark, Alexandra; Iversen, Frode; Mehler, Natascha (2020-06-11). Negotiating the North: Meeting-Places in the Middle Ages in the North Sea Zone. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-09668-2.
3. Phillpotts, Bertha Surtees (1913). Kindred and Clan in the Middle Ages and After: A Study in the Sociology of the Teutonic Races. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 75.
4. Roslund, Mats (2007). Guests in the House: Cultural Transmission between Slavs and Scandinavians 900 to 1300 AD. Leiden: BRILL. pp. 386–387. ISBN 9789004161894.