Norse Greenland : Viking peasants in the Arctic /: Viking peasants in the Arctic. (2018)

• Record Type: Book
• Further Information: Note: Arnved Nedkvitne.
• Authors: Nedkvitne, Arnved, 1947-
• Contents: Contents List of Figures Preface INTRODUCTION 1 The problem 2 Earlier research Rediscovery and mapping of the Norse ruins 1721-1920 The stone ruins are described and categorised 1921- ca. 1970 The university tradition enters Norse Greenland archaeology from the 1970-ies Natural sciences in Norse Greenland scholarship from the 1970-ies The present dominance of the ecological model 3 My contribution CHAPTER I THE INITIAL SETTLEMENT IN AD 985/6 1 The Icelandic sagas as historical sources Islendingabok and Landnámabok Who wrote the Vinland sagas and for what purpose? Categories of sagas which are relevant for Norse Greenland How reliable was the oral tradition on which the saga authors built? Sagas used as "narratives" or "remnants" 2 The first Greenlanders When did they go? What motivated them? Were the first immigrants Norwegians or Icelanders? The chieftain and his clients Was the Western settlement organised differently from the Eastern? Population size at Eirik Raudi's time and later 3 Conclusion CHAPTER II POLITICAL ORGANISATION 1 Ethnic identity Language How did they name their ethnic group? The Norse narrative tradition on Greenland Courtly culture imitated on Greenland? 2 Violence in a pre-state society The Groenlendinga tháttr as historical source The sense of honour Were feuds less common on Greenland than on Iceland? 3 Jurisdiction on pre-state Greenland Was there a Greenland law? Legal proceedings at the Gardar Thing How disputes in practice were settled 4 The Brattahlid chieftain as pre-state political leader 5 Ties to the Norwegian king before 1261 Collective obligations to the Norwegian crown before 1261? Were individual Greenlanders members of the king’s hird? 6 Attempts to organise a state administration after 1261 The submission in 1261 The courts of justice The royal manors at Foss and Hvalsey A state which failed its subjects CHAPTER III CHURCH AND RELIGION 1 Christianisation The pagans Collective and individual conversion The Norwegian king and the Christianisation of Greenland 2 Church organisation before the parish AD 1000-1124 Private chapels Minsters on Greenland? Flexible burial customs Bishops on Greenland before 1124 Power in the Greenland church before 1124 3 The parish 1124 – 1340 The tithe The number of parish churches at population maximum How many parish churches remained ca. 1360? How often did the Greenlanders attend mass in their parish church? Who owned the parish churches? What did the parish churches look like? The parish church as centre for the diffusion of literacy The Norse Greenlanders’ aesthetic models The parish as framework for social life and mentalities 4 The Gardar diocese The bishop Did the bishops live and work on Greenland? The Gardar diocese and the archbishop in Nidaros The Gardar diocese and the pope 5 The monasteries Economy Religious functions 6 The supernatural and the natural world Christian miracles and magic Geographic exploration A theoretical interest in the natural world Combining religion and practical rationality 7 The Greenland church in its final decades 1340-1410 The bishops The church organisation after the bishops had left Laymen’s religious rituals in their parish churches Laymen’s religious practices in their homes CHAPTER IV TRADE AND SHIPPING 1 The imports Necessities: iron and timber Luxuries conferring status How important were imports to the Norse Greenlanders? 2 The exports Walrus tusk and walrus rope Walrus tusks as raw material for objects of art The Norse Greenlanders’ "nordrseta" in the Disco region Hides and skins Falcons and polar bears Lamp oil Foreign trade and the Greenlanders’ material needs 3 Ships and boats Ocean-going ships Inshore ships of middle size Small boats for use in the fjords Driftwood as raw material in boatbuilding Were ships and boats built on Norse Greenland? 4 Crossing the Greenland Ocean Bergen – the commercial centre of the Norse realm Tackling the problems Those who failed to reach their destination How many ships reached Norse Greenland annually? 5 The merchants Country of origin Part time and professional merchants Retailing foreign goods on Greenland 6 The political framework for trade and shipping Pre-state Greenland Under the Norwegian state 1261 - 1380 Under Danish rule 1380-1410 The hypothesis about "the royal monopoly ship" Merchants and state CHAPTER V SUBSISTENCE FOOD PRODUCTION 1 The basis: animal husbandry The local resources Milk from cows Milk from goats and sheep Meat from domestic animals Pigs Horses Conclusions and sources of error 2 Providing fodder for domestic animals Indoor or outdoor winter feeding? Gathering winter fodder in outfields and common land Improving the meadow Summer pastures Sæters Tradition and flexibility 3 Animal husbandry in crisis? Landowners exploiting peasants? Soil erosion and soil exhaustion The climate Rising sea level Conclusion: A sustainable agricultural production 4 Hunting and fishing as flexible supplements Hunting and fishing open to all? Seals – less dominant than assumed? Reindeer –the most attractive game Whales Hunting expeditions to the east coast Cod and other sea fishes Char and other fishes in lakes and rivers How important was fish for the Norse Greenlanders? Edible plants Peasants and hunters 5 Did the quality of the diet decline? From terrestrial to marine food in the diet? Was the Norsemen’s "marine food" fish or seal? From cattle to sheep and goats? The Norwegian model CHAPTER VI ONE LAND – TWO SOCIETIES &
• Edition: 1st
• Publisher Details: London : Routledge
• Publication Date: 2018
• Extent: 1 online resource, illustrations (black and white)
• Subjects: 998.2; Vikings -- Greenland -- History; Peasants -- Greenland -- History
• Languages: English
• ISBNs: 9781351259583; 9781351259590; 9781351259576; 9781351259606
• Related ISBNs: 9780815366294
• Notes: Note: Includes bibliographical references.; Note: Description based on CIP data; resource not viewed.
• Access Rights: Legal Deposit; Only available on premises controlled by the deposit library and to one user at any one time; The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK).
• Access Usage: Restricted: Printing from this resource is governed by The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK) and UK copyright law currently in force.