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143 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Comitatus
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IRON AGE Germanic martial structure where kings to rule in consultation with their warriors, authority over people instead of land. Described by Roman author Tacitus.
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Goði (pl. Goðar)
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A chief or priest representing the patriarchal union of earthly and spiritual authority.
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Dreng
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A man or warrior.
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Félang
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Fellowship, partnership; a joint financial venture between partners connected by mutual obligation.
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Lið
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A troop, body of retainers that constitute a felang; Meaning "body" or "support."
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þing
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Local assembly or council. Allþing, lögþing (law-þing), landsting (provincial assembly).
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þrall
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A servant or slave
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Karl
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A free man.
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Jarl
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An earl, nobleman ranking immediately below the King.
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Konungr
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Military leader, highest representative of the tribal aristocracy in early Viking Age.
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Lendrmaðr (pl. Lendrmenn)
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A nobleman given land by the king, beneath only kings and earls. responsible for leading leiðangr, supporting royal stewards, arresting criminals, and choosing representatives for law-thing. First mentioned in skald-poetry from the reign of king Olaf Haraldsson in the early 11th century. King Magnus Lagabøte abolished the title lendmann, and the lendmenn were given the title of Baron, in 1308 Haakon V abolished the title Baron as well.
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Leiðangr
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A public organization of and tax on free farmers, a form of conscription to organize coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defense of the realm.
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Hirð
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A later variation on drott; War band or court of the king with greater administrative function.
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*The King’s Resources
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Kings serve the interest of þings as well as local provinces.
Kings rule by consent, must expect existing rules and rights, and be recognized by the þing. |
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**The change in the concept of kingship over the course of the Middle Ages
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From local, regional, and thing-based authority to national, international, dynastic, and ecclesiastical authority. From authority over people to authority over territory. From gift economy to monetary economy.
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Drott
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VIKING AGE body of retainers that supports a drottinn.
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*Patrilineal, clan-focused kinship
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Kinship reckoned through the father, less common.
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*Bilateral kinship
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Kinship reckoned through the father AND mother, more common.
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*Ego-focused kinship
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Kinship with one individual at the center of a "web."
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Frændr
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Kinsman
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Frændsemi
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Kinship
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Mágr
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Kinsman by marriage.
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Magi/megð
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Usually men, those who support the omagi, through battle, as incited and obligated. Participate in feud actively.
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Omagi/ómegð
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Usually women or relatives who participate in feud indirectly, by inciting and reminding magi of obligations and honor.
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Fictive Kinship: Fostering
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Children live at a parent's household under a fostri/a, or are sent away to be fostered at another farm. Sometimes used to cement allegiances or repay debts.
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Fictive Kinship: Blood-brotherhood
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Men agreeing to treat each other as blood-kin, ceremony.
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**What is feud? 9 parts.
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1. A hostile relationship between two groups.
2. Unlike individual, ad hoc revenge, involves groups that can be recruited by any number of principles (kinship, vicinage, clientage, household, etc.) 3. Unlike war, does not involve large numbers of people. Violence is controlled. 4. Involves collective liability. 5. Governed by a notion of reciprocity and exchange, alternating and escalating "turns." 6. People keep score diligently. 7. Honor and affronts to it are primary motivations. 8. Governed by norms like "lex talionus" that limit breadth. 9. Culturally-acceptable methods of ending feuds exists. |
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Marriage before Christianity
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Primarily a contract between families, especially when wealth is involved. Concubinage and divorce were accepted practices.
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Marriage after Christianity
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Monogamous and permanent. No concubinage, incest (marriage within the 7th degree), or divorce allowed. Priests allowed to marry, supported consent as a defining feature. Shift from family agency to individual agency.
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Strong Women, Gender as a continuum?
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Collective male fantasy, strong women in sagas both positive and negative. Valkyries as a scapegoat.
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**Conversion to Christianity—good or bad for women?
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Women lost power and status, lost agency in divorce (but gained consent), referred to by complimentary names pre-Chistianity and negative terms after, seen as a resource to be exploited, legal disadvantages, adultery laws protect men and punish women.
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Nunneries
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A means of both escape and oppression. Many women founded and ran nunneries.
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St. Birgitta
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Swedish patron saint, founder of the Birgettines, daughter of a law man and married to a law man. Involved in local and international politics. Founded convent at Vadstena, hoped nuns would retain power when she died in Rome but monks took over.
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Setur system
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Animals inside in winter, homefield in spring, setur (cabin itself, not lands) in summer.
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Animal resources of a typical farmstead
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Meat and cheese from cows, sheep, and goats are mainstays of typical diet. Wheat and barley cultivated, wild resources supplementary.
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Division of Labor
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Mens' duties: Managing and breeding livestock.
Womens' duties: Held keys to the farm, managed consumption of resources. |
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What would a high status farm look like?
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Larger estates granted according to status and heritage, multiple familes, produced enough goods to consume as well as trade and sell. Could pay to have craftspeople on-site.
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*3 Types of Land and Late Medieval Landownership
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Crown, Church, Privileged Aristocracy. Larger numbers of unprivileged, free landowners on the periphery of society in Northern Scandinavia and Finland. Large aristocratic estates concentrated in Denmark, fertile areas of Gotland, Malaren, and Trondheim.
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*Common Land
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Common land included mountain pastures, river and coastal fishing areas
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Freemen/Women
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Class of unprivileged free farmers and craftsmen, also known as "bonde". Some had status, land.
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Bonde (pl. Bonder)
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Class of unprivileged free farmers and craftsmen, also known as freemen. Some had status, land.
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Hierarchy:
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King, Jarl, Lendrmaðr, Oðalborinn maðr (born possessor of ancestral property), bondi, freedmen, slaves.
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Inalienability
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An edict against dividing, mortgaging, alienating land. Invoked by rulers like Margaret to claim rights to land divided by previous rulers.
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Tenants and Rent
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Proportion of tenanted land grows during Middle Ages. "Bonder" can't remain independent due to subdivision of property. Rent approx. 1/5-1/6 of income
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How wealth moved in the Viking Age
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Gifts, barter, trade, tribute, taxes, plunder, marriages. NOT hoards.
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Products in different regions
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Denmark: Butter, grain. Fishing important but not central.
Iceland: dried fish, wool. Norway & Sweden: Butter. Fishing, trapping, iron. |
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Church land
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Churches locally owned and operated, acquired land and wealth through royal endowments, political confiscations, gifts, payment for penalties, forclosure. Tax-free status problematic.
C. 1500: Denmark: 30-40% Sweden: 20% Norway: 48% |
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Crown land
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Royal estates and confiscated land. Common land, landowners own the wood, the king the land. Subject to inalienability.
C. 1500: Denmark: 10% Sweden: 6% Norway: 7% |
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Privileged Aristocracy land:
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Granted privileges in the 1200s (given tax exempt status in return for service). Both a recognition of status and a way for people to increase status. Differentiated lower from higher nobility.
C. 1500: Denmark: 10% Sweden: 50% Norway: 33% |
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Fixed values for trade
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Sceattas (thick silver ingots), hack-silver, standard-weight jewelry, and coins all ways of measuring and standardizing trade values.
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The Rise of towns—factors, relationship to kings/chieftains, etc
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Dense permanent settlements where people make living from trade and crafts. Kings/chieftains benefited from township though tolls, right of preemption, fees, and rent.
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Hedeby
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Goes back at least to 700, coins minted around 800 when king Godfred moves merchants to Hedeby. Near Danevirke, increasingly fortified. Stronger connections with Baltic than western Europe, sort of "gateway." Over 1000 permanent inhabitants.
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Birka
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Near trade/manufacturing center as early as 400, Birka itself establiched c. 700. Close to Uppsala, sheltered from Baltic pirates. Wealthy Vendel burials. 500-1000 inhabitants, abandoned c. 975 for Sigtuna which was closer to the King where he minted coins.
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Kaupang
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C. 700-900. In Vestfold and Oslo Fjord. International trading post, never fortified, no real permanent population.
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Visby/Gotland
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Importance increases as a major exporter of furs in 1000-1100, despite access to Russian fur trade being cut off.
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Hansa (Hanseatic League)
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Does not begin to dominate until 1200's, initially drawn to furs but soon moves on to grain and other goods. Lubeck monopolizes salt.
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Fur
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1000's and 1100's was fur fad in Western Europe. Scandinavia loses some access to fur trade to Russia.
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Stock fish (dried cod and salted herring)
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Major international export of Skane market.
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Late Medieval Scandinavian towns
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Bigger than Viking Age, but not as big as the rest of Europe. Stockholm and Bergen especially large with only around 7000 inhabitants, Lubeck in Germany is 40,000.
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Effects of the Black Death
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c. 1349-1352
Grain prices drop but wages increase in the long run. Prices of cattle, butter, fish, animal products increase. Hansa benefited at first. |
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**Major functions of Medieval towns
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Craft production (tools, equipment, clothing), imports distributed at regular town markets, surplus gathered and produce collected for export, sites of seasonal fairs, centers of royal and ecclesiastical authority, dissemination of new ideas and artistic styles.
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What was special about Viking ships?
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Ships had both sails and oars, sail was a Viking Age invention. Movable rudder for fast turning, shallow draft for navigating rivers and aerodynamic shape to create hydroplaning. Flexible construction.
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How do we know so much about Viking ships?
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Oslo Fjord boat burials: Gokstad, Oseberg, and Tune ships. Sutton Hoo burial.
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Víkingr and víking
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Vikingr: A person who GOES viking.
Viking: Noun, viking activities, raids, etc. Emic terminology: Native Etic terminology: Of outside observer, "culturally neutral." |
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***Why did the expansion begin? What special circumstances were there?
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Growth of commercial activity in Northwestern Europe, NOT an explosion of population or poverty. An extension of normal activities that became very profitable. International contacts provided information about the wealth of Europe. Increase in commerce = increase in opportunities to pirate and raid. Precedent of exploitative relationship with Sami and raiding culture of the drott.
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Louis the Pious
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Succeeds Charlemagne after his death in 814. Welcomed Harald Klak after his exile from Denmark. 840's, Louis' sons fight over succession, Vikings gain advantage.
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Harald Klak
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Exiled from Denmark c. 815, accepted by Louis the Pious, returned as Co-Ruler of Denmark bu 819. Baptized in 826, given land in Frisia, retreats when Horik becomes sole ruler of Denmark.
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*Stages in the Viking presence in Frankia
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Frankish wealth increases and ability to defend wealth decreases. Viking awareness, desire, and capacity to seize wealth increases.
843: Frankia divided in 3 842/3: Vikings Overwinter in Frankia for first time. |
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*Defensive Strategies
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Local resistance vs. coordinated resistance. Tribute (Danegeld), recruiting more vikings, fortifications (esp. bridges), baptism.
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*Strategies and Strengths of the Vikings
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Ping-pong across the channel to the victims with least resistance, taking tribute and jobs, become baptised, ransom. Great armies of hundreds or thousands, political intelligence, adaptability, timing, superior naval skillz, occupying and fortifying burgs. NOT slave trade, rape warfare, or superior weapons.
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*Rollo and the Rise of Normandy
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c. 911 Viking Chieftain Rollo hired by Charles the Simple, Viking presence on Seine becomes official. Made count of Rouen, given surrounding region from sea to Seine. Later expansion through grants and conquest. By 1066 Normandy had become administratively, culturally, and linguistically a French principality. End of significan Viking presence in Frankia.
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*Early Raids on England
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786-802: 3 ships at Portland.
793, June 8: Lindisfarne! Raiders primarily from Norway. 835, raids on continent, Ireland, and England picks up after years of bouncing around. |
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Lindisfarne
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Monastery off coast of Northumbria, first significant Viking raid in 793.
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*Interrelationship of raids in England, Ireland and Frankia
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Raiders travel around picking off easy targets, monasteries, coastal and river settlements. Increased activity overall in 835.
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**Stages in the Viking presence in England
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793: Lindisfarne raid, beginning.
865: Micel here arrives in East Anglia with 2-3000 (?) men, composite collection of Scandinavian and European Vikings. 871: Great Summer Army (sumorlida) 876: Northumbria, East Anglia already being settled, on way to Danelaw. 880's: Integration under Alfred 959: Danelaw originates when Eadwig and Edgar split England. 991-1005: Another great Army. 1013-1015: Sveinn Forkbeard and Cnut rule England. 1066: Battle of Hastings, Norman Conquest, end of "Viking Age," last foreign conquest of England. |
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Alfred the Great
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871-899 King of England, defended against Vikings and revived literacy, the arts, and the church. United the English against the Danes.
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*The Danelaw: Origins, development, etc
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Conquered by large and small armies, followed by settlement, Edward son of Alfred makes it part of a larger England. 959, Edward and Eadwig split England, legal autonomy.
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Olaf Tryggvason
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Along with Sveinn Forkbeard, leader of the second Great Army that attacks England in 991-1005.
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Svein Forkbeard
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Along with Olaf Tryggvason, leader of the second Great Army that attacks England in 991-1005. 1013, conquers England, dies in 1015. After his son Magnus rules for a year and dies, Cnut takes over, 1016-1035.
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Shetland
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Only 24 hours away from Western Norway, convenient stopping point on the way to Irish sea and English Channel. Settlers primarily Norwegian, place names show complete takeover. Settlement began c. 800. Powerful jarls but no real towns. Belongs to Norway until 1469 when Christian I gives it to Scotland as dowry for Danish Princess Margaret. Never reclaimed but Scand. dialect Norn spoken into 1700's.
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Orkney
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Convenient stopping point on the way to Irish sea and English Channel. Settlers primarily Norwegian, place names show complete takeover. Settlement began c. 800. Powerful jarls but no real towns. Belongs to Norway until 1468 when Christian I gives it to Scotland as dowry for Danish Princess Margaret. Never reclaimed but Scand. dialect Norn spoken into 1700's.
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People Groups in Scotland (before the Vikings)
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Anglo-Saxons (SE)
Britons (S) Scots (W) Picts (N) |
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**Stages in the Viking presence in Ireland
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4 Phases:
1: c. 795-830's, isolated raids by roaming bands. 2: c. 830's-902: Larger raids farther inland, integration. --40 years' rest!-- 3: c. 914-980: Multiple fleets ravage whole island, increase in trade and towns. 4: 980-1170: Towns and large-scale manufacturing flourish, increasing Hiberno-Norse culture. 1170: English take Dublin, no more Vikings. |
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*Differences in the Viking age between Ireland, England and/or Frankia
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???
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Dublin
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Taken in 1170 by English, end of Viking rule.
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Three levels of identity in North Atlantic
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1. Individual
2. Local Group 3. Wider Regional Group |
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Major “players” of the North Atlantic:
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Papar (Irish Clerics)
Norse and Hiberno-Norse Scots (Irish) Skraelings Picts (Scottish) |
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Commonalities across the North Atlantic Region
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General farm construction
Similar patterns of animal exploitation Boats Written and oral history |
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*Exploitation of whales
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Faering boats, harpoons and spears, rope.
Responsibility and spoils divided among the community, whale-derived goods dispersed according to social rank. |
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Timeline for settlement/discovery of Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Vinland
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Faroes: settled c. 820-900. Immigration motivated by Harald Fairhair?
Iceland: Discovered c. 860, settled c. 870. Fully settled and allthing established by 930. Greenland: Discovered c. 900, settled 983, more populous by 986, everyone is DEAD by 1540. Vinland: Sighted 985, Lief Ericksson explores c. 1000, later expeditions but no sustained settlement. |
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Commonwealth period
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870-1262
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Landnámsöld
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870-930, Age of Settlement.
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*Harald Fairhair, as relates to Iceland
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890-900: King Harald consolidates power in Norway.
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Iceland Alþingi
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Established 930.
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*Conversion of Iceland to Christianity
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c. 999 or 1000
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Age of the Sturlungs (Sturlungaöld)
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1220-1260
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King Hákon Hákonarson and Iceland
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1262-1264: Icelandic Chieftains swear allegiance to Hakon and his son Magnus Lagaboter.
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Settlement in Greenland, contact with the natives and with Europe, why it died out
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Settled 980's, inhabited until 1540.
Factors in decline: climate change, natives return = competition for resources, an inability to adapt. |
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Eirik the Red
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Founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland c. 985. Wrote Saga Rauða, named Greenland to get people to move there.
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Leifr Eiriksson
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Explores Vinland c. 1000, discovered America?
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**Vinland and history—the sagas, archeological finds, and its place in history
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Vinland Sagas probably separately compiled from oral tradition. Some degree of historical accuracy: people mentioned, sea-routes confirmed, supported by archaeology.
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Rus (and the evolution of the term)
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From "Ruotsi," West-Finnish Russian name for Scandinavians, transformed by East Slavs into "Rus." Eventually applied to Kievan state and its non-Scandinavians.
989: Vladimir converts to Orthodox Christianity, term comes to mean someone in the Orthodox Church. |
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Varangians/ Varangian Guard
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A later term? Primarily referred to mercenaries serving Rus princes and Byzantine emperors. Haraldr Harðraða is most famous member, later becomes king of Norway.
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**Eastern expansion: Differences from/similarities to the Western expansion
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Less focus on raiding, more focus on trading. Wealth not as concentrated, visitors must facilitate movement of wealth and goods by trade from interior rather than raids from exterior.
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Furs, Silver, etc—what drove this expansion?
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Access to Muslim markets through Khazaria than direct routes to Baghdad. 860's-880's, increase in trade, silver from the caliphate. Furs initially brought from east back to Scandinavia until they became aware of other markets.
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Riurik and the Riurikids
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Group of Rus led by Riurik establish rule in Novgorod.
879: Riurik dies, successor Oleg takes Kiev, closer to Black Sea. North and South this brought together under Riurikids and they expand their territory. |
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Kiev
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877: The "podol," Kiev's main trade and craft center originates. Until 879, when the Riurikids take Kiev and make it the center of the Rus state and trade with East expands, the Khazars had ruled it. Well placed for trade with Constantinople.
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Three major religious strands in the North during the Viking Age
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Germanic Paganism, Christianity, and the Saami
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*Adam of Bremen and the Temple at Uppsala
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One of the VERY few contemporary sources about the conversion, the lack of which is a major problem. Issues of accuracy: Adam was never there and no temple was found.
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Odin
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One of 3 primary Gods. A principal member of the Æsir (the major group of the Norse pantheon) and is associated with wisdom, war, battle and death, and also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt.
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Thor
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One of 3 primary Gods. Hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, destruction, fertility, healing, and the protection of mankind. Drove a chariot pulled by goats.
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Frey
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One of 3 primary Gods.
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*The Eddas and their problems as source
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Prose Edda (Snorra Edda), Poetic Edda, Skaldic poems, and rune stone pictures primary sources.
Eddas very late in terms of sources, difficult to translate, understand, source, date, and verify, no named authors. Unknown connection with historiography, literature. |
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*How the world began
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Ymir the frost ogre created from hot and cold air from between realms fire and ice. Ymir slept, falling into a sweat. Under his left arm there grew a man and a woman. And one of his legs begot a son with the other. This was the beginning of the frost ogres. Odin, Vili, and Vé killed the giant Ymir. The sons of Bor then carried Ymir to the middle of Ginnungagap and made the world from him. From his blood they made the sea and the lakes; from his flesh the earth; from his hair the trees; and from his bones the mountains. They made rocks and pebbles from his teeth and jaws and those bones that were broken. Maggots appeared in Ymir's flesh and came to life from Ymir's skull the sons of Bor made the sky and set it over the earth with its four sides. Under each corner they put a dwarf, whose names are East, West, North, and South.
The sons of Bor flung Ymir's brains into the air, and they became the clouds. Then they took the sparks and burning embers that were flying about after they had been blown out of Muspel |
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*Major groups in the Mythology:
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Æsir, Vanir, Jötnar
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Ragnarok
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The end of the world and the death of the Gods.
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Paradigmatic structure
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Binary opposition in myths. Implicit, symbolic equivalences, provide cognitive structure, not explicit or logical, "Levi-Straussen." Culture v. Nature, Order v. Chaos, Gods v. Giants, Masculine v. Feminine, Us v. Them.
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*What might a Viking burial look like?
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Havamal: Kin and cattle die, but reputation lives on. Documented afterlife, Hel, Valhalla, etc. We don't know where they thought they were going, but they thought they could take stuff with them. Lots of options:
Eaten by crows on the battlefield, buried, buried in a mound, buried in a ring of stones shaped like a ship, buried in a mound in a ship, burnt in a ship, burnt in a ship pushed out to sea. Wealthy people buried with weapons, livestock, jewelry, household items, slaves, STUFF. Poor people had trade tools or nothing. |
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Blót
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"To sacrifice," related to strengthening, gods, song. Animals in rituals, slaves in burials.
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Hof
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Temple or hall.
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*Early contact and Missionary activity
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c. 700: Willibrord, "Apostle to the Frisians," tries to convert Danish king and fails.
823: Ebo, Archbishop of Reims, converts some Danish people and Harald Klak baptized in 826. Anskar, "Apostle of the North," focused on major trade centers of Birka, Hedeby, and Ribe. Active in Denmark in c. 820's-860's. Archbishop Unni, Poppo, and Adalward in 10th and 11th centuries. |
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Harald Klak
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Baptized 826 but the kingdom doesn't follow.
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Hákon the Good
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Foster-child of Athelstan. Christian king of Norway c. 930's-960's, unable to compel the entire country to convert. Pagan burials declining, however.
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Harald Bluetooth
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Baptized 965, later takes credit for Christianizing all of Denmark on jelling Stone.
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Óláfr Tryggvason
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995-1000, attempts to both unite and convert Norway. Succeeds in converting Trondelag where Hakon the Good had failed. According to sagas, great success in Iceland.
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Olof Skötkonung
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By 995 is minting Christian coins in Sigtuna, but Paganism remains strong and Uppsala continues to be a cult center until 1080.
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***Discuss changes that come with Christianity
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Centralized power, literary interpretation instead of religion, effects on marriage, new sense of temporal history rather than primordial one, more distant relationship to the gods, no longer reciprocal but subservient, relationship between sin, hell, and salvation, worship shifts to special houses but God's business is EVERYWHERE, self-accountability for not only actions but thoughts, intentions, and feelings.
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*The Tithe and Reform
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Churches founded by rulers for their bishops and wealthy families for themselves. Tithes (1/10th of produce), "voluntary" contributions to churches for salvation, compulsory in Western Christendom by 1,000, Iceland first to catch on, demanded and often KEPT by church patrons. Land ownership of tithes is a big problem for reformers in 1100's, part of reform movement to free clergy from secular jurisdiction and assertion of superiority of the papacy. Remains a problem until mid-1200's. Tithes drive the establishment of parish boundaries, new type of community based around local churches.
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Skaldic Poetry and Eddic Poetry (and their differences)
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Skaldic Poetry: Attributed to named authors, German Long Line meter, primarily encomia (praise poems).
Eddic Poetry: No named authors, Fornyrthislag (Old Story Meter) |
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Kings sagas
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Late 1100s-late 1200's. Came out of hagiography and historiography. Created a precedent for Icelandic family history in writing rather than ecclesiastical literature as only written materials. Nationalistic.
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Family sagas, Contemporary sagas
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c. 1230-1330. Mostly contemporary Icelandic family feuds. By icelanders, for icelanders, about icelanders.
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Legendary sagas
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Post-1300. More mythical, migration age as common subject.
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Snorra Edda
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c. 1220-1230. Prose edda, Christianization of Skaldic poetry.
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Poetic Edda
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C. 1270. Subject of mistaken identity, from gods to heroes, earlier written versions? Oral prehistory?
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*How do we date styles of art?
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Relative dating: Typology of objects based on association with other objects, typology of ornament.
Absolute dating: Finds in stratified layers, finds in England with terminus a quo from late 800's. Dated primarily by coins, memorial stones mentioning known events or people, tree-ring dating in Danish graves, British manuscripts showing Scandinavian influence. |
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Style III:E and Oseberg Style
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In use up to 850. Animals ribbon-shaped, semi-naturalistic, compositions spread-out, carpet patterns, a lot found in the Oseberg burial.
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Borre Style
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C. 840-980. Combination gripping beast and ribbon-shaped beast, vegetative motifs, first style to show up in Viking settlements abroad.
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Jellinge Style
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C. 870-1000, contemporaneous with Borre style. Ribbon and s-shaped animals. Prototype for the style is a cup from royal burial mound at Jelling burial.
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Mammen Style
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c. 960-1020. Develops out of Jelling style. New motifs: Semi-naturalistic lion and bird from West, return of snake imagery, plant scroll from Anglo-Saxons.
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Ringerike Style
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c. 980-1090. Started in Denmark under influence of church. Animal motifs from Mammen style, with more plant motifs.
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Urnes Style
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Latest Viking-proper art style. Animals dominate, highly-stylized and ribbon-shaped, lots of snakes. Late 1000's, first appearance of winged dragons.
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Godfred and Charlemagne
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Conquest of Saxony brings Franks next door to Denmark. Godfred sets up merchants at Hedeby, raids Frisia, more outright war than "viking." When he's killed his nephew shifts power by sending aristocrats out to accumulate power abroad.
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Art style order
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Style III:E and Oseberg Style
Borre Style/ Jellinge Style Mammen Style Ringerike Style Urnes Style |
