article
Stratification without a state: the collapse of the Icelandic Commonwealth
Ethnos • 3-4 • Published In 1988 • Pages: 239-265
By: Durrenberger, E. Paul.
Abstract
From the ninth century, when the first settlers came, until 1262 when it ceased to exist, the Icelandic Commonwealth was a stratified society without a state. There developed a class of independent householders who appropriated the production of a class of landless people. The householders gained access to land by supporting a class of chieftains who guaranteed their access by force. Each chieftain had to attempt to muster overwhelming force by expansion. This led to a period of conflict that ended when one chieftain was successful in gaining control of the island in the context of Norwegian royal hegemony. The collapse of the Commonwealth was not due to the introduction of Christianity, cultural changes, or Norwegian manipulation, but to the internal contradictions of a stratified society without a state (p. 239).
- HRAF PubDate
- 2004
- Region
- Europe
- Sub Region
- Scandinavia
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle ; 2002
- Field Date
- no date
- Coverage Date
- Icelandic Commonwealth Period (ninth-thirteenth centuries)
- Coverage Place
- general Iceland
- Notes
- E. Paul Durrenberger
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 264-265)
- LCCN
- 45053696
- LCSH
- Icelanders