The reign of King Cnut the Great (1016-1035) marks a pivotal point in the history of both England and Scandinavia, yet his conquests and his consolidation of power remain under-appreciated and rarely studied. Almost all existing scholarship has been geographically centred on either England or Scandinavia. However, this study, through a series of studies of individual aspects of his rise to power in those regions, seeks to encompass his entire dominion, and cast new light on our understanding of the nature of this political unit and contemporary figures' conceptions of it. The result is a...

This book argues the continuities between the medieval and early modern in Norway in regards to extramarital sexuality and the manner in which it was criminalised and punished, as well as the position of women within the law.

This is a book about how a peasant society created a large navy which was used to conquer and defend a Baltic mpire. It emphasises organisational capabilities rather than maritime skills as essential for early modern navies.

This book provides an evocative insight into the property, power, remarriage, and identity of high-ranking widows in two fundamentally different societies, Iceland and Yorkshire. The legal position of widows in each region is examined in light of evidence from charters, royal records and sagas to establish a detailed picture of practice. Comparison and family reconstruction are important elements, enabling the book to emphasize the placement of widows within the context of society and its institutions, and to consider fully the impact of individual circumstances on the widows' opportunities...

The twelve articles in this volume promote the growing contacts between historical linguistics and medieval cultural studies. They fall into two groups. One examines the interrelation in Anglo-Saxon England between Latin and vernacular language and culture, investigating language-contact between Old English and Latin, the extent of Latinity in early medieval Britain, Anglo-Saxons' attitudes to Classical culture, and relationships between Anglo-Saxon and Continental Christian thought. Another group uses historical linguistics as a method in the wider cultural study of medieval England,...

In Vox regis: Royal Communication in High Medieval Norway, David Bregaint examines how the Norwegian monarchy gradually managed to infiltrate Norwegian society through the development of a communicative system during the High Middle Ages, from c. 1150 to c. 1300. Drawing on sagas, didactic literature, charters, and laws, the book demonstrates how the Norwegian kings increasingly played a key -role in the promotion of royal ideology in society through rituals and the written word. In particular, the book stresses the interaction between secular and clerical culture, the role of the...

In Visual Cultures of Death in Central Europe, Aleksandra Koutny-Jones explores the emergence of a remarkable cultural preoccupation with death in Poland-Lithuania (1569-1795). Examining why such interests resonated so strongly in the Baroque art of this Commonwealth, she argues that the printing revolution, the impact of the Counter-Reformation, and multiple afflictions suffered by Poland-Lithuania all contributed to a deep cultural concern with mortality. Introducing readers to a range of art, architecture and material culture, this study considers various visual evocations of death...

The figure of Guomundr Arason (1161-1237) and especially his role in the history of medieval Iceland has provoked many strong opinions for decades. This book uses a variety of extant written sources to reexamine those views. It discusses a discrepancy between the popularity of the saint as suggested by the sagas and that reflected by other sources. One of the study's main claims suggests that the clergy from Northern Iceland had a vital impact upon the construction of the cult. A variety of means applied to achieve it demonstrate the authorial knowledge of the vernacular and international...

This book comprises the first full-length comparison of Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh migration within Europe in the early modern period. Divided into four sections - 'Immigrants and Civilian Life', 'Diplomats and Travellers', 'Protestants and Patrons' and 'Catholics at Home and Abroad' - it offers a new perspective on several themes. Contributors elucidate networks of traders, soldiers, as well as scholars and religious figures. Material regarding patterns of residence (sometimes of the nature of an enclave, sometimes not), places of worship, choice of marital partners, and cases of...

Ideology and power are central elements in the political, social, religious and cultural development of the North during the transition from the Viking to the Middle Ages. While the medieval European Christian ideology of rulership has been widely discussed, an analysis of the Nordic pre-Christian ideology, and of its confrontation with the new European ideals has so far been lacking. This book examines the concepts and practices associated with chieftains, earls and kings from the ninth to the thirteenth century: the myths and rituals surrounding their position in a northern European warrior...