Viking Society  How Do We Know About Viking Society?  Settlement of Iceland –Living Conditions –Economy  The Sagas and Viking Age Iceland  Social Structure in Iceland  System of Justice  Blood Feud  Family Sagas

How do We Know About Viking Society?  Archaeological Record –Burial sites –Imports and exports  Place Names –“-by” –“Pedersturp” –“-Thorp  Oral and Print Culture –Fluidity of oral culture –Greater fixity of print culture –Christianity as religion of the book  Sagas –Wealth of information –“Textual” character Iceland is major source of information about the Viking Age

Settlement of Iceland  Isolated settlements of Irish monks in islands of North Atlantic  Settlement of Iceland –Flleing Harald the Fairhaired’s Unification of Norway –10-20,000 settlers –Taking of fertile land  Who came to Iceland? –Scandianavians and Celts –Chieftains –Genetic studies  Establishment of Althing 930 –Annual meeting –Recitation of laws –Settlement of disputes –Least hierarchy in Iceland Thingvöllr: Site of original Althing

Living Conditions in Iceland  Living Conditions in Iceland –Poor Resources  Volcanic Rock  Lack of wood  Severity of Climate –Food  Dairy farming  Problem of preservation –Clothing  Isolation  Relative lack of resources  Economy –Barter and Money  Foreign trade  Domestic agriculture –Sources of wealth  Wool  Dairy products  Wood  Luxury items Typical Viking-age long house Wool: Source of wealth

Sagas as Historical Sources  Saga are the narratives about Icelandic society and its mythology written down in Christian Iceland during the 12 th and 13 th centuries  Snorri Sturluson ( )  Sagas of the Icelanders(Family Sagas) –Njal’s Saga –Egil’s Saga  Edda Poems –Poetic Edda (Old) –Prose Edda (Young) –Skaldic verse  Learned Sagas –Icelanders’ Book –Heimskringla  Other forms –Legendary sagas (Volsung’s Saga) –Saints lives Vellum manuscript page of saga

System of Justice  Social Hierarchy –Go ð i (Cheiftain) –Thingman (Backer) –Bond ðr (Farmer) –Slave  The stakes –Personal fortune –Honor –Relative flexibility  Assemblies –Althing ( )  National summer assembly  Lawspeaker  Lögrétta –Varthing  Local assemblies of spring and fall –Prosecution –Debt Historical Icelandic Farm Site

Wergild System  Amoral but pragmatic system based on compensation  Price of a life  Legal recourse –Oral law –Declaration –Witnesses –Prosecution  Advocacy –Devolved social system –Respect –Status  Outlaw status 19th-century version of Njal from Njal’s Saga

Blood Feud  Causes of Blood Feud –Territorial dispute –Murder and blood money –Dowries and inheritances –Satisfaction –Mobilization  Godi and thingmen –Rising and falling fortunes –Restraint in violence –Long-term consequences Outlaw Grettir Asmundarson from Grettir’s Saga illuistration

The Family Sagas  Njal’s Saga most famous of family sagas  Themes –Honor, fortitude, heroism –Farmers and slaves, not kings and princes –Contrast to Epic and Romance  Style –Terse –Focus on actual social types (genealogy) rather than psychological experience  Typical plot –Introduction of daily life in context –Conflict emerges out of daily life  Marriage  Property  Jealousy –Tragic consequences –Potential for Feud Brattahlíð, site of Eirik the Red’s colony in southwestern Greenland

Conclusion  Maintenance of “Viking” society in settlement society, Iceland  So What? Relatively undisturbed preservation of unique Viking heritage, which provides knowledge of Viking period  Sagas as historical record and compelling medieval literature, from which we can learn about Viking society  Insight into Viking-age, pagan society