{"product_id":"viking-age-iceland-isbn-9780140291155","title":"Viking Age Iceland","description":"The popular image of the Viking Age is of warlords and marauding bands pillaging their way along the shores of Northern Europe. In this fascinating history, Jesse Byock shows that Norse society in Iceland was actually an independent one-almost a republican Free State, without warlords or kings. Combining history with anthropology and archaeology, this remarkable study serves as a valuable companion to the Icelandic sagas, exploring all aspects of Viking Age life: feasting, farming, the power of chieftains and the church, marriage, and the role of women. With masterful interpretations of the blood feuds and the sagas, Byock reveals how the law courts favored compromise over violence, and how the society grappled with proto-democratic tendencies. A work with broad social and historical implications for our modern institutions, Byock's history will alter long-held perceptions of the Viking Age.List of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003eList of Maps\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003eNote on Names, Spelling and Pronunciation\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. An Immigrant Society\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLanguage and the Term 'Viking'\u003cbr\u003eLeadership\u003cbr\u003eMord the Fiddle: A Leader and the Law\u003cbr\u003eThe Sagas: An Ethnography of Medieval Iceland\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Resources and Subsistence: Life on a Northern Island\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTurf Housing\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. Curdled Milk and Calamities: An Inward-Looking Farming Society\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProvisions, Subsistence Strategies, and Population\u003cbr\u003eBad Year Economics: Difficulties of Life in the North Atlantic\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. A Devolving and Evolving Social Order\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRanking, Hierarchy and Wealth\u003cbr\u003eComplex Culture and Simple Economy\u003cbr\u003ePrivatization of Power in the Tenth Century\u003cbr\u003eA Proto-democratic Community?\u003cbr\u003eIcelandic Feud: Conflict Management\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. The Founding of a New Society and the Historical Sources\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Effect of Emigrating from Europe\u003cbr\u003eLand-taking and Establishing Order\u003cbr\u003eDating the Settlement: Volcanic Ash Layers\u003cbr\u003eClosing the Frontier and Establishing Governing Principles\u003cbr\u003eWritten Sources: \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Settlements\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Book of the Icelanders\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6. Limitations on a Chieftain's Ambitions, and Strategies of Feud and Law: \u003ci\u003eEyrbyggia saga\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArnkel's Quest for Wealth and Power\u003cbr\u003eUlfar's Land Shifts to Arnkel\u003cbr\u003eThorolf's Land Shifts to Snorri Godi\u003cbr\u003eUlfar Claims Orlyg's Land\u003cbr\u003eUlfar's Demise\u003cbr\u003eThe End of Arnkel's Ambitions\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7. Chieftain-Thingmen Relationships and Advocacy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Nature of the Godord\u003cbr\u003eAdvocacy\u003cbr\u003eArbitration and Legalistic Feuding\u003cbr\u003eThe Flexibility of the God-Thingman Relationship\u003cbr\u003eThe Social Effects of Concubinage\u003cbr\u003eDistinctions of Rank\u003cbr\u003eHreppar: Communal Units\u003cbr\u003eThe Orkneys: A Comparison\u003cbr\u003eFreedmen\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8. The Family and Sturlunga Sagas: Medieval Narratives and Modern Nationalism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Family Sagas\u003cbr\u003eThe Sturlunga Compilation\u003cbr\u003eThe Sagas as Sources\u003cbr\u003eModern Nationalism and the Medieval Sagas\u003cbr\u003eConclusions\u003cbr\u003eThe Locations of the Family Sagas\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9. The Legislative and Judicial System\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThing: Assemblies\u003cbr\u003eOptions\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10. Systems of Power: Advocates, Friendship, and Family Networks\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAdvocacy\u003cbr\u003eThe Role of Kinship\u003cbr\u003eA Balancing Act\u003cbr\u003eFriendship (Vinfengi and Vinatta)\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWomen and Choices of Violence and Compromise\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003eVengeance and Feud: Goading in \u003ci\u003eLaxdaela saga\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Goading Woman from \u003ci\u003eSturlunga saga\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRestraint Within a Major Chieftain's Household in the Sturlung Age\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11. Aspects of Blood Feud\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTerritory\u003cbr\u003eMarriage and Confused Loyalties\u003cbr\u003eSome Conclusions\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12. Feud and Vendetta in a 'Great Village' Community\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Language of Feud\u003cbr\u003eNorms of Restraint\u003cbr\u003eBluffing and Violence\u003cbr\u003eOutlawry\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13. Friendship, Blood Feud, and Power: \u003ci\u003eThe Saga of the People of Weapon's Fjord\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInheriting a Foreigner's Goods\u003cbr\u003eBrodd-Helgi's Revenge Against Thorleif\u003cbr\u003eStruggle to Claim a Dowry\u003cbr\u003eSkirmishes over a Woodland\u003cbr\u003eSeeking a Thingman's Allegiance\u003cbr\u003eBrodd-Helgi Breaks \u003ci\u003eVinfengi\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeitir Establishes \u003ci\u003eVinfengi\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e14. The Obvious Sources of Wealth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSources of Income Available Only to Chieftains\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEarly Taxes\u003cbr\u003ePrice-setting\u003cbr\u003eAdditional Privileged Sources of Wealth\u003cbr\u003eThe Sheep Tax\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSources of Income Available to All Freemen\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrade\u003cbr\u003eSlavery and the Rental of Land and Livestock\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e15. Lucrative Sourcees of Wealth for Chieftains\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Acquisition of Property in the Family Sagas\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDisputed Property in the East Fjords: \u003ci\u003eThe Saga of the People of Weapon's Fjord\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDisputed Property in the Salmon River Valley: \u003ci\u003eLaxdaela saga\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eInheritance Claims in the Sturlunga Sagas\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Struggle to Inherit Helgastadir: \u003ci\u003eThe Saga of Gudmund the Worthy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInheritance Rights to Heinaberg: \u003ci\u003eThe Saga of Hvamm-Sturla\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eResurgence of the Dispute over Heinaberg: \u003ci\u003eThe Saga of the Icelanders\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e16. A Peaceful Conversion: The Viking Age Church\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePagan Observance\u003cbr\u003eA Viking Age Conversion\u003cbr\u003eGeography and the Church\u003cbr\u003eEarly Bishops, Priests and Nuns\u003cbr\u003eThe Beginnings of a Formal Church Structure\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;17. Grágás: The 'Grey Goose' Law\u003cbr\u003eManuscripts and Legal Origins\u003cbr\u003eWomen and the Law\u003cbr\u003eMarriage and the Church\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e18. Bishops and Secular Authority: The Later Church\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBishops\u003cbr\u003eThe Tithe and Church Farmsteads\u003cbr\u003eBishops and Priests in the Later Free State\u003cbr\u003eThe Church's Struggle for Power in the Later Free State\u003cbr\u003ePriests\u003cbr\u003eMonasteries\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e19. Big Chieftains, Big Farmers and their Sagas at the End of the Free State\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBig Farmers and the Family Sagas\u003cbr\u003eAdvantages Enjoyed by the Stórbaendr\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Saga of the Icelanders\u003c\/i\u003e in the Sturlunga Compilation\u003cbr\u003eThe Stórgodar, Not Quite Rulers\u003cbr\u003eIceland's Jarl\u003cbr\u003e1262-4: The Covenant with Norway's King and the End of the Free State\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix 1: The Law-speakers\u003cbr\u003eAppendix 2: Bishops During the Free State\u003cbr\u003eAppendix 3: Turf Construction\u003cbr\u003eAppendix 4: A Woman Who Travelled from Vinland to Rome\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Byock brings several disciplines to his work, crossing the boundaries between history, literature, law, and archaeology. This well-written book takes up a wide variety of subjects, including the social fabric, domestic realities, cultural codes, politics and legal infrastructures, and the mechanisms that defused conflicts among the fiercely independent early Icelanders.\" \u003cb\u003e—Viking Heritage Magazine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A vital and original reinterpretation both of the sagas and of the society which created them.  Byock's book is an essential guide at once to living conditions and to mentalities.\"\u003cb\u003e—The London Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJesse Byock is a professor of Icelandic and Old Norse studies at UCLA. He is the translator of \u003cb\u003eThe Saga of the Volsungs\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Saga of King Hrolf Kraki\u003c\/b\u003e for Penguin Classics.\u003cb\u003eThe Family and Sturlunga Sagas: Medieval Narratives and Modern Nationalism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach society’s social drama could be expected to have its own ‘style’, too, its aesthetic of conflict and redress, and one might also expect that the principal actors would give verbal or behavioural expression to the values composing or embellishing that style.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVictor E. Turner, \u003ci\u003eAn Anthropological Approach to the Icelandic Saga\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Sagas differ from all other ‘heroic’ literatures in the larger proportion that they give to the meanness of reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eW. P. Ker, \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Ages\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe family sagas, dealing with the tenth and early eleventh centuries, and Sturlunga sagas, covering the years from approximately 1120 and 1246, are the most important, as well as the most extensive, source for a study of social and economic forces in medieval Iceland. These two related groups of vernacular prose narratives are rich mines of information about the normative codes of Iceland’s medieval community.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Family Sagas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe family sagas are called in modern Icelandic \u003ci\u003eIslendingasogur\u003c\/i\u003e, ‘the sagas of the Icelanders’. They have no close parallels in other medieval European narratives, which are mostly in verse and are often of a more epic character than the sagas. Some family sagas tell us about the settlement of Iceland, but most of them concentrate on the period from the mid tenth to the early eleventh century. In a crisp and usually straightforward manner they describe the dealing between farmers and chieftains from all parts of the country and among families from diverse elements of the society. They explore the potential for an individual’s success or failure in the insular world of the Old Icelandic Free State.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhereas the Sturlunga sagas are mostly about individuals engaging in the power struggles of an emerging overclass and give almost no information about the personal lives of ordinary farmers and local leaders, the family sagas tend to concentrate on precisely these concerns. With regularity the stories focus on private matters and offer insights into personal problems of families and the health, good of ill, of marriages. The family sagas often exaggerate situations of crisis. They deal less with extended kin groups, as the name ‘family sagas’ might imply, than with regional disputes in Iceland. Similar actions involving different characters are repeated in different locales. With constantly changing detail, the literature present potential issues and the responses that individuals in the society needed to make to them if they were to succeed. Among the matters stressed were methods of reacting to overly ambitious or otherwise dangerous characters, precedents for various legal positions and modes of action, successful interventions by advocates, different means of settlement, and the principles underlying the establishment and maintenance of ties of reciprocity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the oral saga, as elsewhere in oral tales, one may assume that adherence to strict fact was never an issue. Nor was the saga-teller required to memorize a fixed text; a general outline of a story that was perhaps of historical origin was sufficient. The medieval audience expected the narrator of a family saga to observe certain strictures. Most importantly, the saga had to be credible, that is, the story had to be portrayed as possible, plausible, and therefore useful within the context of Iceland’s particular rules of social order and feud. The sagas served as a literature of social instruction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an earlier book, \u003ci\u003eFeud in the Icelandic Saga\u003c\/i\u003e, I suggest that feud served as a cohesive and stabilizing force in Old Icelandic society. Because the rules of feuding, as they developed in Iceland, regulated conflict and limited breakdowns of order, violence was kept within acceptable bounds throughout most of the history of the Free State. The ways in which feud operated provided a structure for the sagas. In examining the question of the oral saga, I found probable the existence of a pre-literate stage of well-developed saga-telling employing a compositional technique that became the foundation for the written saga. This simple, easily adaptable technique was based on the use of active narrative particles that occur in no particular order and fall into three categories: conflict, advocacy, or brokerage and resolution. Guided by the parameters of socially recognized conduct, the storyteller or storywriter arranges these action particles in various orders and with different details. By using the particles he (or she) translates social forms into narrative forms. In anthropological terms the particles reflect the phases of Icelandic feud. These discrete units of action, the hallmark of the saga style, were a convenient means for an oral or a literature teller to advance the narration of a complex tale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorking within a tradition of known characters, events and geography, the saga-teller chose his own emphasis. He (or she) was free to decide what details and known events to include and what new actions to introduce. These choices not only made for variety in the small clusters of actions that linked together to form chains of saga events, but also served to distinguish one saga from another. Although the medieval audience probably knew in advance the outcome of a particular dispute, the essence of a tale could be put forward differently each time. This economical and effective technique of forming narrative prose applied to both oral and written saga composition. Freedom from reliance on a fixed, memorized text allowed individual authors to incorporate new elements, such as Christian themes and changing ethical judgements.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThirty or more major family sagas are extant. These texts vary markedly in length: some, like \u003ci\u003eHrafnkels saga\u003c\/i\u003e, are approximately twenty pages in modern volumes; others, such as \u003ci\u003eNjals saga\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLaxdoela saga\u003c\/i\u003e, fill 300 or more pages. The family sagas are preserved in a wide variety of manuscripts, none of which is an original text definitely attributed to a specific author, despite the educated guesses of scholars. The oldest surviving examples of saga writing are fragments; the earliest are usually dated to the mid thirteenth century, although it is possible that some fragments pre-date 1200. Among the presumed oldest fragments are sections from \u003ci\u003eEyrbyggja saga, Heidarviga saga, Laxdoela saga\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eEgils saga\u003c\/i\u003e. These, like later copies of entire sagas, give no information as to when the earliest versions of the texts were compose; thus dating the sagas has always been a difficult task and scholarly conclusions are open to question. Decision on the age of the family sagas have been influenced by different theories of saga origins, a point underscored by Hallvard Mageroy: ‘A chief argument for placing the production of the family sagas in the thirteenth century us that only by this means can saga literature be seen as a natural branch of European literature in the High Middle Ages.’\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCopies of complete family sagas are preserved in vellum books dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. For example, the fourteenth century compilation of \u003ci\u003eModruvallabok\u003c\/i\u003e is the chief source for many of the eleven sagas it contains. Many other sagas are preserved in paper manuscripts from the sixteenth century and later. In the medieval period there were many more family sagas than have survived. \u003ci\u003eLandnamabok\u003c\/i\u003e, for example, names several that are now lost. Except for \u003ci\u003eDroplaugarsona saga\u003c\/i\u003e, which notes at the end that a certain Thorvald, descended from one of the main characters, ‘told this saga’, all the family sagas are anonymous.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302162976997,"sku":"NP9780140291155","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780140291155.jpg?v=1767743449","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/viking-age-iceland-isbn-9780140291155","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}