Árofi

Meaning of Old Norse word "árofi"

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

árofi

(arovi), a, m. a Norse law term; of doubtful origin, perh. akin to oróf and öræfi, an aged witness, a freeborn man, born and bred in the district, who must have been at least twenty years of age at the death of his father. He was produced as a witness (as an old document in modern times) in lawsuits about local questions as to possession of landed property, (cp. in mod. Icel. usage the witness of ‘gamlir menn’); thus defined,—þá skal hann fram færa óðalsvitni sín, arova þrjá, þá er tvítugir vóru þá er faðir þeirra varð dauðr, N. G. l. i. 87, (ok óðalbornir í því fylki, add. Gþl. 298); skal hann setja þar dóm sinn ok kveðja hann jarðar jafnt sem hinn þar væri, ok leiða (produce) arova sína þar ok öll vitni, sem hinn þar væri, N. G. l. i. 94.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛅᚱᚢᚠᛁ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements