Viking Law and Order: Places and Rituals of Assembly in the Medieval North

ISBN-13: 9781474445757 / Angielski / Miękka / 2019 / 320 str.

University of the Alexandra (Reader in Medieval Archaeology

Opis

Using archaeological evidence, written sources and place-names, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the Viking legal system and assembly sites, showing that this formed an integral part of Norse culture and identity, to the extent that the assembly institution was brought to all Norse settlements.

Spis treści

Chapter 1: Assembly Research: Past and Present; I. Brief introduction; II. The Contents of this book; III. Previous research: the state of knowledge in 2004; IV. A new interdisciplinary approach; V. Assembly sites in this book: complex and layered. Chapter 2: Early Germanic and Norse Assembly Organisations; I. Assembly organisation on the Continent; II. Norse administrative organisation. Chapter 3: Introducing the Assembly Sites of Scandinavia; I. Sites and case study areas; Sweden; Denmark; Norway; II. Royal and elite presence and involvement. Chapter 4: Elite Rituals at Scandinavian Assemblies; I. Mounds; II. Thing ‘peace’ and sacred space; III. Symbolic islands; IV. Rituals of motion; V. The ritual theatre; VI. Spectacle; VI. Conclusion. Chapter 5: Assembly Sites in Scandinavia: Activities and Rituals of the Community; I. Time; II. Communication and travel; III. Hearths and cooking pits; IV. Entertainment; V. Building the assembly sites; VI. Communal land; VII. Trade; VIII. Conclusion. Chapter 6: Centralisation of Power: Christianity and Urbanisation; I. Thing sites – short lived and long lived; II. Top-level assemblies and markets; III. The amalgamation of Assemblies, Towns and Bishoprics; Sweden; Denmark; Norway; III. Conclusion. Chapter 7. The Norse in the North Atlantic: Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland; I. Iceland; Location and communication; Water; Booths; Site markers; Churches; II. The Faroe Islands; Location and communication; Water; Booths; Site markers; Shifts; III. Greenland; Brattahlíð; Garðar; Greenland summary; IV. Discussion and Conclusion. Chapter 8: The Norse in Scotland: Assembly and New Ancestors; I. Introduction; II. Administrative organisation; Units; Hierarchy; III. Top-level sites in Scotland; Shetland; Orkney; Caithness and Sutherland; Rosshire; Kingdom of Man and the Isles; Ireland; IV. Conclusions. Chapter 9: Assemblies in the Longue Durée; I. ‘Barbarians’ v. Romans; II. Power of the past; III. The Legacy of the thing institution; Abbreviations; Bibliography.