1st Edition
The Northern Routes to Kingship A History of Scandinavia AD 180–550
Using a range of evidence, the book details how well-equipped and battle-seasoned warriors, familiar with Roman institutions and practices, seized land and established lordly centres. It shows how these new lords acquired wealth by stimulating the production of commodities for trade with peers and Continental associates, Romans included, to reward retainers and bestow on partners. In these transcultural circumstances, lords and their retainers nurtured artisanal production of exquisite quality and developed a heroic ethos and refined hall etiquette. The topic of warfare, created by the volatile politics of lordly cooperation and competition, is also explored. Venturing substantially beyond the usual scope of syntheses of this period, the book looks at how the break-up of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of tribes such as the Franks and Goths influenced lords and tribal leaders across Scandinavia to form kingdoms, emulating what they for centuries had considered the superior polity, the Roman Empire.
This book’s fresh take on disputed research topics will inspire scholars, students, and interested readers to delve further into this pivotal period of European history.
List of figures; List of tables; Abbreviations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I Coming to grips with early kingship – 1. Post-1970 kingship studies: how to proceed?; 2. Rulers and polities: tribes, lordships, and kingdoms; 3. Religiously-derived ethics: a societal perspective; Part II The military twist: armies, lords, and retainers (AD 180–450) – 4. Warriors and traders; 5. Kinsmen and strangers; 6. Settling and sustaining the men; 7. Long-distance routes and relations; 8. Iron from the woodlands; 9. Arctic wildlife commodities; 10. Raiding for slaves; 11. Wealth and warfare: the precarious politics of lordship; 12. The transformative 5th century; 13. Swearing in the men; 14. Granting the land; 15. Kingship in the Heroic Age; Index of names and sites; Index of themes; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Dagfinn Skre is professor at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. Over the last 40 years he has researched several aspects of Iron Age, Viking, and Medieval Scandinavia, including political, economic, and monetary history. His publications include multi-volume series on the Viking town Kaupang and the kingly manor Avaldsnes.
"This book will be welcomed by many readers. It places relations with the lands to the south at the heart of its interpretation of the Northern World. Late Romanists and historians of the post-Roman West will gain a new understanding of the significance of the North and its connections with continental Europe." ~ Ian Wood, University of Leeds
"Skre has written a monumental history of Scandinavia AD 180–550 by analysing archaeological remains, epigraphy, historical narratives, and place names. His work is challenging and thought-provoking and will be a natural starting point for discussions about the sociopolitical order of Iron-Age Scandinavia in years to come." ~ Anders Andrén, Stockholm University
"In this brilliant book, Skre turns his knowledge of social development to the ill-defined centuries well before the Viking Age. Developing novel approaches and analysing a wide scope of evidence, he shows how and why Scandinavian societies were set on the course that eventually resulted in the Viking achievements." ~ Jesse Byock, UCLA and Háskóli Íslands
