search for books and compare prices
Tables of Contents for Viking Age Iceland
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
List of Illustrations
xiii
List of Maps
xiv
Acknowledgements
xvi
Preface
xviii
Note on Names, Spelling and Pronunciation
xx
Introduction
1
4
An Immigrant Society
5
20
Language and the Term `Viking'
11
2
Leadership
13
1
Mord the Fiddle: A Leader and the Law
14
7
The Sagas: An Ethnography of Medieval Iceland
21
4
Resources and Subsistence: Life on a Northern Island
25
18
Turf Housing
34
9
Curdled Milk and Calamities: An Inward-looking Farming Society
43
20
Provisions, Subsistence Strategies, and Population
46
9
Bad Year Economics: Difficulties of Life in the North Atlantic
55
8
A Devolving and Evolving Social Order
63
18
Ranking, Hierarchy and Wealth
66
3
Complex Culture and Simple Economy
69
4
Privatization of Power in the Tenth Century
73
2
A Proto-democratic Community?
75
2
Icelandic Feud: Conflict Management
77
4
The Founding of a New Society and the Historical Sources
81
18
The Effect of Emigrating from Europe
82
2
Land-taking and Establishing Order
84
5
Dating the Settlement: Volcanic Ash Layers
89
3
Closing the Frontier and Establishing Governing Principles
92
3
Written Sources: The Book of Settlements and The Book of the Icelanders
95
4
Limitations on a Chieftain's Ambitions, and Strategies of Feud and Law: Eyrbyggja saga
99
19
Arnkel's Quest for Wealth and Power
103
1
Ulfar's Land Shifts to Arnkel
104
4
Thorolf's Land Shifts to Snorri Gooi
108
2
Ulfar Claims Orlyg's Land
110
2
Ulfar's Demise
112
3
The End of Arnkel's Ambitions
115
3
Chieftain-Thingmen Relationships and Advocacy
118
24
The Nature of the Goooro
119
1
Advocacy
120
3
Arbitration and Legalistic Feuding
123
3
The Flexibility of the Gooi-Thingman Relationship
126
6
The Social Effects of Concubinage
132
2
Distinctions of Rank
134
3
Hreppar: Communal Units
137
2
The Orkneys: A Comparison
139
1
Freedmen
140
2
The Family and Sturlunga Sagas: Medieval Narratives and Modern Nationalism
142
28
The Family Sagas
143
3
The Sturlunga Compilation
146
3
The Sagas as Sources
149
2
Modern Nationalism and the Medieval Sagas
151
5
Conclusions
156
3
The Locations of the Family Sagas
159
11
The Legislative and Judicial System
170
15
Thing: Assemblies
171
12
Options
183
2
Systems of Power: Advocates, Friendship, and Family Networks
185
22
Advocacy
186
2
The Role of Kinship
188
2
A Balancing Act
190
2
Friendship (Vinfengi and Vinatta)
192
5
Women and Choices of Violence and Compromise
196
1
Vengeance and Feud: Goading in Laxdæla saga
197
7
A Goading Woman from Sturlunga saga
204
1
Restraint Within a Major Chieftain's Household in the Sturlung Age
205
2
Aspects of Blood Feud
207
12
Territory
211
3
Marriage and Confused Loyalites
214
3
Some Conclusions
217
2
Feud and Vendetta in a `Great Village' Community
219
14
The Language of Feud
223
2
Norms of Restraint
225
5
Bluffing and Violence
230
1
Outlawry
231
2
Friendship, Blood Feud, and Power: The Saga of the People of Weapon's Fjord
233
19
Inheriting a Foreigner's Goods
236
1
Brodd-Helgi's Revenge against Thorleif
237
4
Struggle to Claim a Dowry
241
2
Skirmishes over a Woodland
243
1
Seeking a Thingman's Allegiance
244
1
Brodd-Helgi Breaks Vinfengi
245
2
Geitir Establishes Vinfengi
247
5
The Obvious Sources of Wealth
252
20
Sources of Income Available Only to Chieftains
253
1
Early Taxes
253
2
Price-setting
255
5
Additional Privileged Sources of Wealth
260
1
The Sheep Tax
261
2
Sources of Income Available to All Freemen
262
1
Trade
263
5
Slavery and the Rental of Land and Livestock
268
4
Lucrative Sources of Wealth for Chieftains
272
20
The Acquisition of Property in the Family Sagas
275
1
Disputed Property in the East Fjords: The Saga of the People of Weapon's Fjord
275
3
Disputed Property in the Salmon River Valley: Laxdæla saga
278
5
Inheritance Claims in the Sturlunga Sagas
281
2
The Struggle to Inherit Helgastaoir: The Saga of Gudmund the Worthy
283
3
Inheritance Rights to Heinaberg: The Saga of Hvamm-Sturla
286
3
Resurgence of the Dispute over Heinaberg: The Saga of the Icelanders
289
3
A Peaceful Conversion: The Viking Age Church
292
16
Pagan Observance
294
3
A Viking Age Conversion
297
5
Geography and the Church
302
1
Early Bishops, Priests and Nuns
303
1
The Beginnings of a Formal Church Structure
304
4
Gragas: The `Grey Goose' Law
308
16
Manuscripts and Legal Origins
309
7
Women and the Law
316
4
Marriage and the Church
320
4
Bishops and Secular Authority: The Later Church
324
17
Bishops
324
2
The Tithe and Church Farmsteads
326
3
Bishops and Priests in the Later Free State
329
2
The Church's Struggle for Power in the Later Free State
331
5
Priests
336
2
Monasteries
338
3
Big Chieftains, Big Farmers and their Sagas at the End of the Free State
341
14
Big Farmers and the Family Sagas
343
1
Advantages Enjoyed by the Storbændr
344
3
The Saga of the Icelanders in the Sturlunga Compilation
347
1
The Storgooar, Not Quite Rulers
348
2
Iceland's Jarl
350
1
1262-4: The Covenant with Norway's King and the End of the Free State
351
4
Appendix 1: The Law-speakers
355
2
Appendix 2: Bishops During the Free State
357
1
Appendix 3: Turf Construction
358
11
Appendix 4: A Woman Who Travelled from Vinland to Rome
369
4
Notes
373
23
Bibliography
396
35
Index
431