Book

The dynamics of medieval Iceland: political economy and literature

University of Iowa Press • Iowa City • Published In 1992 • Pages:

By: Durrenberger, E. Paul.

Abstract
This is a study of the social, economic, and political changes that took place in Medieval Iceland over a period of approximately four hundred years --ninth through thirteen centuries -- from the first Norse settlement around 874 A.D. to Iceland's incorporation into the kingdom of Norway in 1264. This period is characterized by the fact that while the social order was stratified, there was no state organization. Much of the ethnographic data gathered for this period comes from the analysis of a number of Icelandic sagas written primarily in the thirteen century A.D., a period of great internal strife. These sagas attempt to interpret what life was like in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Subjects
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
Real property
Production and supply
External trade
Labor supply and employment
Verbal arts
Status, role, and prestige
Accumulation of wealth
Social relationships and groups
Districts
culture
Early Icelanders
HRAF PubDate
2004
Region
Europe
Sub Region
Scandinavia
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Ethnologist-4
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2002
Coverage Date
ninth-thirteen centuries AD
Coverage Place
general Iceland
Notes
by E. Paul Durrenberger
Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-117) and index
LCCN
92012335
LCSH
Icelanders