Viking Law and Order: Places and Rituals of Assembly in the Medieval North - Couverture rigide

Sanmark, Alexandra

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1474402291 ISBN 13 : 9781474402293

Editeur : Edinburgh University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Until very recently Viking and Norse assembly sites were essentially unknown, apart from a few select sites, such as Thingvellir in Iceland. The Vikings are well-known for their violence and pillage, but they also had a well-organised system for political decision-making, legal cases and conflict resolution. Using archaeological evidence, written sources and place-names, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of their legal system and assembly sites, showing that this formed an integral part of Norse culture and identity, to the extent that the assembly institution was brought to all Norse settlements. Sites are analysed through surveys and case studies across Scandinavia, Scotland and the North Atlantic region. The author moves the view of assembly sites away from a functional one to an understanding of the symbolic meaning of these highly ritualised sites, and shows how they were constructed to signify power through monuments and natural features. This original and stimulating study is set not only in the context of the Viking and Norse periods, but also in the wider continental histories of place, assembly and the rhetoric of power.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Alexandra Sanmark is Reader in Medieval Archaeology at the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Edinburgh University Press
• Date d'édition: 2017
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1474402291
• ISBN 13: 9781474402293
• Reliure: Relié
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 320
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible