See also Thingvellir in Iceland - home of the oldest Paliament and allegedly of democracy. http://www.edwebproject.org/scandinavia/thingvellir.html
In early England, descendants of Germanic invaders lived in tribal units. The bulk of the tribe consisted of “freemen,” adult males with the obligation of bearing arms, with the right to participate as equals in the tribal assembly held every month and to hold a share of tribal land. The assembly had the power to appoint and depose all chiefs and officials, decide on war and peace and try important disputes.
The most important tribal subdivisions were the “pagus” or “hundred” which designated a territorial unit of varying size. (In large complex tribes, there was a further subdivision of the hundred called the “vicus” or “vill”.) Each hundred had an assembly under the chairmanship of a lesser chief. The primary function of these assemblies were judicial. However, except for capital offenses, (treason, cowardice, desertion or sexual perversion,) which were reserved to the jurisdiction of the greater assembly; the jurisdiction over the “res” or subject matter of all the lesser assemblies and the greater assembly was concurrent. What distinguished the jurisdiction of these various assemblies was, rather, the status of the “personam” involved. (A dispute involving a great man would more likely be tried by the greater assembly.)
The law applied by all assemblies was unwritten, unlegislated, customary law and was considered immutable. It was a law of torts, designed to prevent feuds, which assigned damages to be paid for injury to persons or property, commensurate with the social value assigned to the injured party. Once the damages were paid, the injury was completely canceled - even in the case of homicide.
The thing was a place of assembly which occurred customarily on certain seasonal dates.
One can see Germanic/Viking influences in the evolution of our current forms of modern government.
Thanks marsh2.