Medieval Iceland

by Byock, Jesse L.

• ISBN13: 9780520069541
• ISBN10: 0520069544
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1990-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

The history of medieval Europe is incomplete if it does not take Iceland into account. Jesse Byock's reassessment of medieval Iceland uses all the available sources--the medieval Icelanders' historical writings, extensive saga literature, and intricate laws--to explore the way Iceland's social order functioned.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Spelling and Pronunciation	xi
Introduction	1	(13)
Approach and Organization	12	(2)
Historical and Legal Sources	14	(17)
The Family and Sturlunga Sagas	31	(20)
The Sturlunga Compilation	31	(4)
The Family Sagas	35	(13)
Conclusions	48	(3)
Evolution of a New Society	51	(26)
The Effect of Emigrating from Europe	52	(3)
The Settlement of the Land and the Establishment of Order	55	(16)
Change and Continuity	71	(6)
Sources of the Chieftains' Wealth	77	(26)
Background Information	78	(3)
Sources of Income Available Only to Chieftains	81	(10)
Sources of Income Available to All Freemen	91	(10)
Summary	101	(2)
Consensual Governance	103	(34)
The Flexibility of the Gooi-Thingman Relationship	111	(13)
Advocacy, Vinfengi, and Kinship	124	(11)
Summary	135	(2)
Integration of the Church	137	(28)
The Conversion	138	(5)
The Developing Church	143	(4)
The Church and Secular Authority	147	(7)
Bishops and Priests	154	(11)
Farmers under Duress: A Lucrative Source of Wealth	165	(18)
Acquisition of Property in the Family Sagas	168	(5)
Inheritance Claims in Sturlunga Saga	173	(10)
Limitations on a Chieftain's Ambitions	183	(20)
Arnkell's Quest for Wealth and Power	187	(16)
Vinfengi: A Mechanism of Power	203	(18)
Summary	220	(1)
Conclusion	221	(2)
Sources of Epigraphs	223	(2)
Abbreviations	225	(2)
Bibliography	227	(22)
Index	249