The High Court was the highest court of appeal in Iceland and when court cases were heard there, there was more often than not years of animosity behind the lawsuits. In addition to being a testament to various aspects of public life, the High Court’s records and proceedings paint a picture of well-known individuals from Icelandic history such as Skúli Magnússon and the inter-relationship between the highest officials in the country.

This fifth volume of the High Court's records and proceedings contains the court decisions of 1742-1746. The cases heard in the High Court shed light on a well-known themes from Icelandic history: a pregnant maid was transported by horse across the county boundary, a cow was taken from a poor older couple into debt and a common man was sentenced to death for adultery. The unusual fact being that this was the second time that this man was sentenced to death.

Also in this volume are the sale of land and the unusually high debt of the church official, calculated using trigonometriæ and a false statute, a couple who pull their parish priest’s hair and another priest who sued the county for slander. In the first part of the book, the controversy surrounding the office of the county minister Bjarni Halldórsson is a drawn out affair. It led to his temporary loss of office and the book illuminates the circumstances surrounding the loss.

The editors of the publication are Gísli Baldur Róbertsson, Jóhanna Þ. Guðmundsdóttir and Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir. The publication is supported by the Icelandic parliament Alþingi. The book is available in bookstores as well as the Icelandic Historical Societies' online store.