Download or read book Narrating Law and Laws of Narration in Medieval Scandinavia written by Roland Scheel and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-01-20 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disputes lie at the heart of the sagas. Consequently, literary texts have been treated as sources of legal practice – narrations of law – while the sagas themselves and the handling of legal matters by the figures adhere to ‘laws of narration’. The volume addresses this intricate relationship between literature and social practice from the perspective of historians as well as philologists. The contributions focus not only on disputes and their solution in saga literature, but also on the representation of law and its history in sagas and Latin historiography from Scandinavia as well as the representation of laws and norms in mythological texts. They demonstrate that narrations of law provide an indispensable insight into legal culture and its connection to a wider framework of social norms, adjusting the impression given by the laws. The philological approaches underline that the narrative texts also have an agenda of their own when it comes to their representation of law, providing a mirror of conduct, criticising inequity, reinforcing the political and juridical position of kings or negotiating norms in mythological texts. Altogether, the volume underlines the unifying force exerted by a common fiction of law beyond its letter.
Download or read book Scandinavia in the Age of Vikings written by Jon Vidar Sigurdsson and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Scandinavia in the Age of Vikings, Jón Viðar Sigurðsson returns to the Viking homeland, Scandinavia, highlighting such key aspects of Viking life as power and politics, social and kinship networks, gifts and feasting, religious beliefs, women's roles, social classes, and the Viking economy, which included farming, iron mining and metalworking, and trade. Drawing of the latest archeological research and on literary sources, namely the sagas, Sigurðsson depicts a complex and surprisingly peaceful society that belies the popular image of Norsemen as bloodthirsty barbarians. Instead, Vikings often acted out power struggles symbolically, with local chieftains competing with each other through displays of wealth in the form of great feasts and gifts, rather than arms. At home, conspicuous consumption was a Viking leader's most important virtue; the brutality associated with them was largely wreaked abroad. Sigurðsson's engaging history of the Vikings at home begins by highlighting political developments in the region, detailing how Danish kings assumed ascendency over the region and the ways in which Viking friendship reinforced regional peace. Scandinavia in the Age of Vikings then discusses the importance of religion, first pagan and (beginning around 1000 A.D.) Christianity; the central role that women played in politics and war; and how the enormous wealth brought back to Scandinavia affected the social fabric—shedding new light on Viking society.
Download or read book The Myths and Realities of the Viking Berserkr written by Roderick Dale and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-24 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The viking berserkr is an iconic warrior normally associated with violent fits of temper and the notorious berserksgangr or berserker frenzy. This book challenges the orthodox view that these men went ‘berserk’ in the modern English sense of the word. It examines all the evidence for medieval perceptions of berserkir and builds a model of how the medieval audience would have viewed them. Then, it extrapolates a Viking Age model of berserkir from this model, and supports the analysis with anthropological and archaeological evidence, to create a new and more accurate paradigm of the Viking Age berserkr and his place in society. This shows that berserkir were the champions of lords and kings, members of the social elite, and that much of what is believed about them is based on 17th-century and later scholarship and mythologizing: the medieval audience would have had a very different understanding of the Old Norse berserkr from that which people have now. The book sets out a challenge to rethink and reframe our perceptions of the past in a way that is less influenced by our own modern ideas. The Myths and Realities of the Viking berserkr will appeal to researchers and students alike studying the Viking Age, Medieval History and Old Norse Literature.
Download or read book Scandinavia in the Middle Ages 900 1550 written by Kirsi Salonen and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-02-14 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medieval Scandinavia went through momentous changes. Regional power centres merged and gave birth to the three strong kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. At the end of the Middle Ages, they together formed the enormous Kalmar Union comprising almost all lands around the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. In the Middle Ages, Scandinavia became part of a common Europe, yet preserved its own distinct cultural markers. Scandinavia in the Middle Ages 900–1550 covers the entire Middle Ages into an engaging narrative. The book gives a chronological overview of political, ecclesiastical, cultural, and economic developments. It integrates to this narrative climatic changes, energy crises, devastating epidemies, family life and livelihood, arts, education, technology and literature, and much else. The book shows how different groups had an important role in shaping society: kings and peasants, pious priests, nuns and crusaders, merchants, and students, without forgetting minorities such as Sámi and Jews. The book is divided into three chronological parts 900–1200, 1200–1400, and 1400–1550, where analyses of general trends are illustrated by the acts of individual men and women. This book is essential reading for students of, as well as all those interested in, medieval Scandinavia and Europe more broadly.
Download or read book Cultures of Compunction in the Medieval World written by and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compunction was one of the most important emotions for medieval Christianity; in fact, through its confessional function, compunction became the primary means for an affective sinner to gain redemption. Cultures of Compunction in the Medieval World explores how such emotion could be expressed, experienced and performed in medieval European society. Using a range of disciplinary approaches – including history, philosophy, art history, literary studies, performance studies and linguistics – this book examines how and why emotions which now form the bedrock of modern western culture were idealized in the Middle Ages. By bringing together expertise across disciplines and medieval languages, this important book demonstrates the ubiquity and impact of compunction for medieval life and makes wider connections between devotional, secular and quotidian areas of experience.
Download or read book Freedom Imprisonment and Slavery in the Pre Modern World written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2021-04-19 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contrary to common assumptions, medieval and early modern writers and poets often addressed the high value of freedom, whether we think of such fable authors as Marie de France or Ulrich Bonerius. Similarly, medieval history knows of numerous struggles by various peoples to maintain their own freedom or political independence. Nevertheless, as this study illustrates, throughout the pre-modern period, the loss of freedom could happen quite easily, affecting high and low (including kings and princes) and there are many literary texts and historical documents that address the problems of imprisonment and even enslavement (Georgius of Hungary, Johann Schiltberger, Hans Ulrich Krafft, etc.). Simultaneously, philosophers and theologians discussed intensively the fundamental question regarding free will (e.g., Augustine) and political freedom (e.g., John of Salisbury). Moreover, quite a large number of major pre-modern poets spent a long time in prison where they composed some of their major works (Boethius, Marco Polo, Charles d'Orléans, Thomas Malory, etc.). This book brings to light a vast range of relevant sources that confirm the existence of this fundamental and impactful discourse on freedom, imprisonment, and enslavement.
Download or read book Combat Stress in Pre modern Europe written by Owen Rees and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-10-31 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the lasting impact of war on individuals and their communities in pre-modern Europe. Research on combat stress in the modern era regularly draws upon the past for inspiration and validation, but to date no single volume has effectively scrutinised the universal nature of combat stress and its associated modern diagnoses. Highlighting the methodological obstacles of using modern medical and psychological models to understand pre-modern experiences, this book challenges existing studies and presents innovative new directions for future research. With cutting-edge contributions from experts in history, classics and medical humanities, the collection has a broad chronological focus, covering periods from Archaic Greece (c. sixth and early fifth century BCE) to the British Civil Wars (seventeenth century CE). Topics range from the methodological, such as the dangers of retrospective diagnosis and the applicability of Moral Injury to the past, to the conventionally historical, examining how combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder may or may not have manifested in different time periods. With chapters focusing on combatants, women, children and the collective trauma of their communities, this collection will be of great interest to those researching the history of mental health in the pre-modern period.
Download or read book New Approaches to Early Law in Scandinavia written by Stefan Brink and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A lexicon of medieval Nordic law written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Danish Medieval Laws written by Helle Vogt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Danish medieval laws: the laws of Scania, Zealand and Jutland contains translations of the four most important medieval Danish laws written in the vernacular. The main texts are those of the Law of Scania, the two laws of Zealand - Valdemar's and Erik's - and the Law of Jutland, all of which date from the early thirteenth century. The Church Law of Scania and three short royal ordinances are also included. These provincial laws were first written down in the first half of the thirteenth century and were in force until 1683, when they were replaced by a national law. The laws, preserved in over 100 separate manuscripts, are the first extended texts in Danish and represent a first attempt to create a Danish legal language. The book starts with a brief but thorough introduction to the history of Denmark in the thirteenth century, covering the country, the political setting and the legal context in which the laws were written. There follows the translated text from each province, preceded by a general introduction to each area and an introduction to the translation offering key contextual information and background on the process of translating the laws. An Old Danish-English glossary is also included, along with an annotated glossary to support the reading of the translations. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of medieval Scandinavian legal history.
Download or read book Narration and Hero written by Victor Millet and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2014-07-28 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the early middle ages vernacular aristocratic traditions of heroic narration were firmly established in Western and Northern Europe. Although there are regional, linguistic and formal differences, one can observe a number of similarities. Oral literature disseminates a range of themes that are shared by narratives in most parts of the continent. In all the European regions, this tradition of heroic narration came into contact with Christianity, which led to modifications. Similar processes of adaptation and transformation can be traced everywhere in this field of early European vernacular narrative. But with the increasing specialization of academic fields over the last half century, inter-disciplinary dialogue has become increasingly difficult. The volume is a contribution to renew the inter-disciplinary dialogue about common themes, topics and motifs in Nordic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Germanic literature, and about the different methodologies to explore them.
Download or read book Narrating Law and Laws of Narration in Medieval Scandinavia written by Roland Scheel and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-01-20 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disputes lie at the heart of the sagas. Consequently, literary texts have been treated as sources of legal practice – narrations of law – while the sagas themselves and the handling of legal matters by the figures adhere to ‘laws of narration’. The volume addresses this intricate relationship between literature and social practice from the perspective of historians as well as philologists. The contributions focus not only on disputes and their solution in saga literature, but also on the representation of law and its history in sagas and Latin historiography from Scandinavia as well as the representation of laws and norms in mythological texts. They demonstrate that narrations of law provide an indispensable insight into legal culture and its connection to a wider framework of social norms, adjusting the impression given by the laws. The philological approaches underline that the narrative texts also have an agenda of their own when it comes to their representation of law, providing a mirror of conduct, criticising inequity, reinforcing the political and juridical position of kings or negotiating norms in mythological texts. Altogether, the volume underlines the unifying force exerted by a common fiction of law beyond its letter.
Download or read book A Punishment for Each Criminal written by Christine Ekholst and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Punishment for Each Criminal is the first in-depth analysis of how gender influenced Swedish medieval law. Christine Ekholst demonstrates how the law codes gradually and unevenly introduced women as possible perpetrators for all serious crimes. The laws reveal that legislators not only expected men and women to commit different types of crimes; they also punished men and women in different ways if they were convicted. The laws consistently stipulated different methods of executions for men and women; while men were hanged or broken on the wheel, women were buried alive, stoned, or burned at the stake. A Punishment for Each Criminal explores the background to the important legislative changes that took place when women were made personally responsible for their own crimes.
Download or read book How Nordic are the Nordic Medieval Laws written by Per Andersen and published by Djoef Publishing. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains the proceedings from the conference "How Nordic are the Nordic Medieval Laws - Ten Years After?" which was held at the Carlsberg Academy (Copenhagen) in May 2013. This was the 10th in the line of conferences known as The Carlsberg Academy Conferences on Medieval Legal History. The main theme of the conference was a return to the topic raised at the first conference held back in 2003: the Nordic medieval laws as seen in a European context. In the 10 years since then, the interpretation of the Nordic laws have changed from a specific Nordic to a more common European perspective, understanding the Nordic laws as part of a common European tradition. Thus, the traditional interpretation - that the Nordic medieval laws were an expression of an ancient Nordic culture - has been undergoing change since the first Carlsberg conference. This book sums up the current stage of research. Contents include: How Nordic are the Ole Nordic Laws Ten Years Later? * How Nordic are the Nordic Laws? * Rights, Obligations, Domestic Relations, and 'ius naturale,' the Right Order of Things: A Strategy for Research into the Nordic Medieval Laws * Intestate Inheritance as a Family Matter: Ius Commune, Statutes, and Cases from Florence * The Swedish Ecclesiastical Legislation and the Question of Its Nordic Character * How Nordic are the Biblical Social Ideals as Expressed in the Early Scandinavian Church Laws? * The Origins of the Swedish Medieval Laws: A State of the Art, from My Perspective * Law, Language, and Crime in Denmark and England: A Comparative Approach * Indigenous or Universal? A Comparative Perspective on Medieval (Frisian) Compensation Law * Scandinavians by the Papal Well of Grace and Justice at the Eve of Reformation * Scandinavia Consults 'Rome,' ca.1104-1202: Contexts and Consequences * Papal Letters Relating to Medieval Scandinavia: A Survey from the 11th Century to the Beginning of the Western Schism. [Subject: Legal History, Nordic Law, Medieval Studies]
Download or read book The Meaning of Media written by Anna Catharina Horn and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Variance characterises the textual culture of the Middle Ages on all levels. Analysing this variance is paramount to understand the norms and transformations involved in the process of establishing a literate culture. This series focuses on the literate output in the Nordic region, from the perspective of Modes of Modification. In order to place the region in a larger context, it also encourages comparative studies with a wider European view.
Download or read book The Nature of Medieval Narrative written by University of Western Ontario. Department of French and published by Lexington, Ky. : French Forum. This book was released on 1980 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law written by Jeffrey Love and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2020-06-19 with total page 880 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of medieval Scandinavia. This polyglot dictionary draws on the vast and vibrant range of vernacular legal terminology found in medieval Scandinavian texts – terminology which yields valuable insights into the quotidian realities of crime and retribution; the processes, application and execution of laws; and the cultural and societal concerns underlying the development and promulgation of such laws. Legal texts constitute an unparalleled – and often untapped – source of information for those studying the literature, languages and history of medieval and Viking Age Scandinavia. The Lexicon is a welcome contribution to the study of medieval Scandinavia on two counts: firstly, it makes accessible a wealth of vernacular historical documents for an English-speaking audience. Secondly, it presents legal terminologies that span the languages and geographies of medieval Scandinavia, drawing on twenty-five legal texts composed in Old Swedish, Old Icelandic, Old Norwegian, Old Danish, Old Gutnish and Old Faroese. By collating and juxtaposing legal terms, the Lexicon thus offers its readers a fascinating, comprehensive window into the legal milieu of medieval Scandinavia as a unified whole. It is in this respect that A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law differs from the other major lexica that came before it: where relevant, it gathers closely related terms from multiple Nordic languages beneath single headwords within single entries. This approach illuminates the differences (and similarities) in usage of specific lexical items and legal concepts across geographic areas and through time. This dictionary contains over 6000 Nordic headwords, and is laid out as a standard reference work. It is easily navigable, with a clear structure to each entry, providing English equivalents; textual references; phrases in which headwords frequently appear; cross-references to aid readers in locating synonyms or cognate terms within the lexicon; and references to published works. Roughly one quarter of the headwords supply semantic analysis and detailed information on the textual and historical contexts within which a term might appear, which help the reader to engage with the broader legal concepts underlying specific terms. The Lexicon is thus designed to provide its readers not only with succinct single definitions of Norse legal terms, but with a sense of the wider Scandinavian legal landscape and worldview within which these concepts were developed. A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law is an ongoing project with a digital counterpart (https://www.dhi.ac.uk/lmnl/) created within the department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism at Stockholm University. It is part of the wider ‘Medieval Nordic Laws’ project based at the University of Aberdeen.
