REVISION

History of Scandinavia of the Viking Age

2005-2006

 

Index

 

Foreword

Contrary to what is repeatedly said, there is no scarcity of Scandinavian sources for the history of Scandinavia during the Viking Age: there is plenty of archaeological material to be studied. Long before archaeology became a separate subject, and was developed in such an extraordinary and beautiful way, it was very much part of the history curriculum. The division between pre-literate and literate sources, between pre-history and history "proper" is artificial and reflects the limitation of the researcher, not of the subject itself. Remember, there are plenty of sources on, for example, burial customs - you only need to learn how to read them and to work with them in a more confident manner. Reading pots and swords, reading the landscape itself, may seem too difficult, or impossible, but it is a skill to learn. The historian must learn how to read culture in all of its manifestations.

It is a sad business that historians keep repeating that there are no sources; historical research is not going to improve if archaeological data is seen as the lesser of two evils (the worse evil being no sources at all). The historian must embrace archaeology whole-heartedly; he must understand his limitations and be humble enough to question his own initial inability to understand it, as well as questioning the old but prevalent notion that written sources are superior and/or more trustworthy than any other.

Revising

During our supervisions we've only discussed some topics; for your revision you'll need to cover a much broader field. This reading list, although mostly based on the topics discussed during supervisions, expands on these topics and brings in some related subjects. I was limited to giving sources only in English, but those of you who can read the Scandinavian languages can contact me for a more updated list (discussion of archaeological material is much more abundant in these languages). There are also some obvious, big omissions in this list - the Atlantic Settlements (except for the settlement of Iceland) among others - which are being discussed now, or are going to be discussed next term, in the lectures.

When the time for revising comes, you may want to write essays or essay-like pieces to help you prepare for the exams - I think this is a good idea. If you want feedback on them, you can send them by e-mail and I'll provide feedback - we can meet for a talk over your work, no formal supervisions; or I may be able to give you written feedback sometimes.

Another thing to remember is to work with maps and pictures. It is extremely important to have a precise spatial notion of where the places are; you won't understand, for example, how trade routes developed if you don't have a map in your memory. Moreover, the exams will include "gobbets", that is pictures as well as snippets of primary sources, to be recognized and analysed.

 

Maps and Atlas

You can also follow some links here, and download blank maps from Useful Resources.

Some Primary Written Sources

Frankish Sources

Scandinavian Sources

Good historiographical assessment of Scandinavian written sources are very rare, so inspiration must come from elsewhere. Carolingian written sources are used in the study of the Viking Age, and the understanding of their production is also very important.

I advise you to be very critical of studies which divide sagas into historical and fictional sources according to their subject matter - for instance, könungasögur (kings' sagas) are history, Íslendingasögur (sagas of Icelanders) are fiction. This can be very misleading, as the division between history and fiction is against the nature of mediaeval texts.

 

Archaeology: General Reading

 

Settlement of Iceland

Primary Sources*

*Texts in Old Nore and references to other translations are found in the supervisions sheets 1 and 2.

Secondary Sources

In 1991, Margrét Hermanns-Auðardóttir, put forward the hypothesis that and 'informal' settlement of Iceland existed before the so-called landnám period, traditionally dated to the 9th century. How far back these informal settlements go it is hard to tell, but she proposed that they belong to the 7th century and called them Merovingian settlements. You can follow the debate of her thesis:

 

Political Organization

General

Norway

Denmark

See the articles about Jelling in Burial and Grave Goods

Sweden

 

Óðal

Articles which exclusively discuss the possibility of the existence of óðal system in pre-Viking and Viking Age societies are rare, but there are some articles that make good complementary reading, as, for instance, Dagfinn Skre's article read for the last supervision, which discusses the phenomenon of overlaying graves.

Primary Sources

NB: Remember that although some scholars refer to these laws as being witness of Viking Age legal customs, the extant texts are from the 12th to 13th century and, although they may reflect some Viking Age legal practices, it all remains in the field of approximate conjecture. Every time you quote the laws, be careful to show that you know to which century they belong to.

Secondary Sources

 

Viking Age & Viking Raids: Scandinavian Perspectives

To understand the Viking Age in a Scandinavian perspective, you will need to know some things about the Scandinavian society of that time and that your knowledge will need to go beyond the Viking raids. Under this heading I have grouped several topics which can benefit from the inclusion of the most recent debates about pre-Viking Age society, and which question the more traditional views of the Viking Age.

Please don't mix the arguments for an understanding of the Viking Age in a Scandinavian perspective, such as the one put forward by Bjørn Myhre in the article below, with the debate about the "bad" or "benign" Viking - the kind of debate promoted, for instance, in Alfred P. Smyth, 'The Effect of Scandinavian Raiders on the English and Irish Churches: A Preliminary Reassessment', in Britain and Ireland 900-1300: Insular Responses to Medieval European Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 1-38.

Some of the exam questions which I suggest that you think about with a 'Scandinavian perspective' in mind:

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Burial Customs, Grave Goods, etc

Burial customs and grave goods can be used to throw light on many aspects of Scandinavian society. Under this heading, I've grouped several topics, such as social status, inheritance systems, the connections between the written mediaeval texts and archaeological finds.

Some specific exam questions are:

But other questions will require knowlege of burial customs (alongside knowledge of runic inscriptions, hoards, etc), for example:

 

Jelling

Birka

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Pagans and Christians

Urbanization

A recurrent exam question about towns asks you to compare the nature and function of towns in early and late Viking-Age Scandinavia, that is to say, towns established around the eighth century and those established towards the end of the ninth century and the beginning of the eleventh century. There are lots of variations of these questions, as you can see from the following past exam questions:

Therefore, you perhaps can divide your reading into texts covering early and late urban development, but I suggest you start with a more general studies, the most uptdade among these is Hans Andersson's 'Urbanization'.

General

Early Phase

Later Phase

 

Trade

 

Runes

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources


Laws

You saw that the mediaeval laws are quite often used as evidence of Viking Age society. Question related to the use of the lawcodes as sources may be of this kind:

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

 

Skaldic Verse

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Russia and the Vikings

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

NB: When you find errors, or if you would like to suggest a topic, or a bibliographical reference, please let me know.