In the Viking Age, things were the public assemblies of the free men of a country, province, or a hundred (, ). They functioned as both parliaments and courts at different levels of society—local, regional, and supra-regional. Their purpose was to solve disputes and make political decisions, and thing sites were also often the place for public religious rites. According to Norway's Law of the Gulathing, only free men of full age could participate in the assembly. According to written sources, women were clearly present at some things despite being left out of the decision making bodies, such as the Icelandic Althing.