Check the term "holmgang" for an insight into how life was in the bad old days. I'm not an expert but from what I've read, research implies that the "ting" was

Check the term "holmgang" for an insight into how life was in the bad old days. I'm not an expert but from what I've read, research implies that the "ting" was more regulating/discussing the clan quarrels/warfare than judging as we define it today. (No reference saved, sorry.) Afaik, traditional societies before a central violence monopoly were generally, well, violent. Iceland was a hard place to survive, so the population might have had to work more and "play" less. (You can make some form of analogy between the old times and present international interactions; there is no police force to stop violence -- and clans with mutual support agreements abound... Ask an expert.) As a hard line atheist, it is not an easy thing for me to say that Christianity seemed to be an improvement. :-) Anyway, there is an old joke that the problem with anarchy is that it is too unstable. The time before a central state wasn't fun. I believe the tribal areas of Pakistan is a good indication on how it worked in Scandinavia.