Architecture, Society, and Ritual in Viking Age Scandinavia
Architecture, Society, and Ritual in Viking Age Scandinavia

Author: Marianne Hem Eriksen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-02-28

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1108757022

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In this book, Marianne Hem Eriksen explores the social organization of Viking Age Scandinavia through a study of domestic architecture, and in particular, the doorway. A highly charged architectural element, the door is not merely a practical, constructional solution. Doors control access, generate movement, and demark boundaries, yet also serve as potent ritual objects. For this study, Eriksen analyzes and interprets the archaeological data of house remains from Viking Age Norway, which are here synthesized for the first time. Using social approaches to architecture, she demonstrates how the domestic space of the Viking household, which could include masters and slaves, wives and mistresses, children and cattle, was not neutral. Quotidian and ritual interactions with, through, and orchestrated by doorways prove to be central to the production of a social world in the Viking Age. Eriksen's book challenges the male-dominated focus of research on the Vikings and expands research questions beyond topics of seaborne warriors, trade, and craft.

The Viking-Age Rune-Stones
The Viking-Age Rune-Stones

Author: Birgit Sawyer

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2000-12-07

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 0191542547

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There are over 3000 runic inscriptions on stone made in Scandinavia in the late Viking Age. This book is the first attempt by a historian to study the material as a whole. The analysis reveals significant regional variations that reflect different stages in the process of conversion, and the growth of royal power. Many monuments were declarations of faith or manifestations of status; but virtually all reflect inheritance claims, and cast unexpected light on the prehistory of the inheritance customs found in later Scandinavian law codes. The results of this analysis make a significant contribution to understanding developments in other parts of the Germanic world, as well as Scandinavia. The inclusion of a digest of the data-base on which this book is based will facilitate further study of this rich vein of evidence.

Norsemen in the Viking Age
Norsemen in the Viking Age

Author: Eric Christiansen

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0470692766

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This history of the Nordic peoples in the period 750-1050 focuses on their homelands and colonies, demonstrating the fluidity and incoherence of the world in which they lived. Considers the Nordic peoples in Viking times without undue recourse to developmental theories. Guides readers through some of the scholarly controversies surrounding these peoples. Illustrated by reference to runic, poetic and archaeological evidence.

Nordic Inheritance Law through the Ages
Nordic Inheritance Law through the Ages

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-07-13

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 9004435581

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Nordic Inheritance Law through the Ages – Spaces of Action and Legal Strategies explores the significance of inheritance law from medieval times to the present through topical and in-depth studies that bring life to historical and contemporary inheritance practices. The contributions cover three themes: status of persons and options in the process of property devolution; wills, gift-giving and legal disputes as means to shape the working of the law; processes of inheritance legislation. The authors focus on instances where legal strategies of various actors particularly reveal inheritance law as a contested and yet constrained space of action, and somewhat surprisingly show similar solutions to family law issues dealt with in other Western European countries. Contributors are: Simone Abram, Gitte Meldgaard Abrahamsen, Per Andersen, Agnes S. Arnórsdóttir, John Asland, Knut Dørum, Thomas Eeg, Ian Peter Grohse, Marianne Holdgaard, Astrid Mellem Johnsen, Már Jónsson, Mia Korpiola, Gabriela Bjarne Larsson, Auður Magnúsdóttir, Bodil Selmer, Helle I. M. Sigh, and Miriam Tveit.

Historical Dictionary of the Vikings
Historical Dictionary of the Vikings

Author: Katherine Holman

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2003-09-29

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 0810865890

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The Historical Dictionary of the Vikings traces Viking activity in Europe, North America, and Asia for over three centuries. During this period people from Scandinavia used their longships to launch lightning raids upon their European neighbors, to colonize new lands in the east and west, and to exchange Scandinavian furs for eastern wine and spices and Arab silver. The Viking age also saw significant changes at home in Scandinavia - kings extended their power, Norse paganism lost ground to christianity, and new towns and ports thrived as a result of increased contact with the wider world. This book provides a comprehensive work of reference for people interested in the Vikings, including entries on the main historical figures involved in this dramatic period, important battles and treaties, significant archaeological finds, and key works and sources of information on the period. It also summarizes the impact the Vikings had on the areas where they traveled and settled. There is a chronological table, detailed and annotated bibliographies for different themes and geographical locations, and an introduction discussing the major events and developments of the Viking age.

The Scandinavians from the Vendel Period to the Tenth Century
The Scandinavians from the Vendel Period to the Tenth Century

Author: Judith Jesch

Publisher: Boydell Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1843837285

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Ethnographic studies trace the background to and impact of urbanisation and Christianisation, and the development of royal power, which stimulated the transition from the Viking age to the medieval period. Using the evidence of archaeology, poetry, legal texts and annals, this volume investigates the social, economic and symbolic structures of early Scandinavia at the time of the Viking expansion. The contributors provide an outlineethnography, covering dwellings and settlements, kinship and social relations, law, political structures and external relations, rural and urban economies, and the ideology of warfare. The topics are discussed through case-studies, illustrating the changing scholarly interpretations of this formative period in Scandinavian history. By addressing these key research questions, the contributions trace the background to and the impact of urbanisation and Christianisation, and the development of royal power, which stimulated the transition from the Viking age to the medieval period in Scandinavia. JUDITH JESCH is Professor in Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham. Contributors: LENA HOLMQUIST OLAUSSON, BENTE MAGNUS, E. VESTERGAARD, BIRGIT ARRHENIUS, STEFAN BRINK, LISE BENDER JORGENSEN, SVEND NIELSEN, FRANDS HERSCHEND, NIELS LUND, DAVID N. DUMVILLE, JUDITH JESCH, DENNIS H. GREEN.

Medieval Scandinavia
Medieval Scandinavia

Author: Birgit Sawyer

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780816617395

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The study of Scandinavia has been, and still is, deeply influenced by the interpretation of its earliest history that was developed in the 19th century by political, legal, and literary historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists. Scandinavia figured prominently in discussions of early medieval Europe, not only as the homeland of the Vikings, but also as the region in which Germanic society remained uncontaminated by Christianity and other influences longer than anywhere else. In "Medieval Scandinavia", Birgit and Peter Sawyer question assumptions about early Scandinavian history, including the supposed leading role of free and equal peasants and their position in founding churches. They meticulously trace the development of Scandinavia from the early ninth century through the second and third decades of the 16th century, when rulers of Scandinavia rejected the authority of the Papacy and the attempt to establish a united Scandinavian monarchy finally collapsed. The authors include a discussion of medieval history writing and comment on the use of history in the 16th century and modern attitudes to medieval history which differ in various parts of Scandinavia. They ultimately conclude that historic Scandinavia held greater similarities to other European regions than has been commonly supposed. Birgit Sawyer is one of the founders of the biennial interdisciplinary conferences on women in medieval Scandinavia. Peter Sawyer's previous books include "Kings and Vikings" and "The Age of the Vikings".