Thynghowe in Sherwood Forest

Before Robin Hood -- there were probably several Robin Hoods, dating to the period after the Norman Conquest -- Sherwood Forest played another important role. It hosted Viking conferences on a hilltop in the forest.

Nestled in Birklands wood, one of the many woods that comprise Sherwood Forest, and atop Hanger Hill, are a series of monuments known as Thynghowe. The spot is a “Thing site,” a meeting place where Vikings convened, enacted laws and policies, and settled disputes. Iceland’s Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is perhaps the most well-known Viking Thing site, as well as the location of the Alþing (Althing)...

Thynghowe is unique for its location, existing in an area where no other comparable sites have yet to be uncovered[.] [It featured] a “Thing mound” (policies might have been announced and dictated from this feature), a circular enclosure dated to the Medieval or Saxon era that could be a Viking “court circle,” pot-boiler stones not unlike those used by the Romans, according to Gaunt, and a linguistic link between the nearby village of Budby and the Norse phrase “booth farm” which suggests it may have been a settlement where Vikings attending assemblies at Thynghowe would have stayed.