Laudator Temporis Acti

Tom Shippey, Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings (London: Reaktion Books, 2018), p. 66:

...if you believe 'The Saga of King Hrolf', the Geats chose their kings by seeing whose behind was big enough to fill their enormous throne by sitting on it...

The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. Translated with an Introduction by Jesse L. Byock (London: Penguin Books, 1998), p. 42:

Elk-Frodi instructed Thorir, saying, 'It is the law of the Gauts that a great assembly is called and all the Gauts are summoned to go there. A large throne, big enough for two men to sit comfortably on, is placed in the midst of the assembly. Then the man who fills that seat is chosen king. It seems to me that you would amply fill that seat.'

The brothers parted with affection, each wishing the other well. Thorir continued on his way until he reached Gautland. He came to a jarl, who received him well, and there Thorir spent the night. Every man who saw Thorir said that he might well become the king of the Gauts because of his size. They predicted that there would be few like him at the assembly.

When the time for the assembly arrived, the proceedings went as Frodi, his brother, had predicted they would. A judge was appointed to decide the matter truthfully. Many sat in the seat, but the judge declared none of them fit for the honour. Waiting until last, Thorir sat quickly in the chair, and the judge said, 'The seats fits you best, and you are selected to receive the kingship.'