The examples from England are taken from Michael Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record: England, 1066–1307 (London: Edward Arnold, 1979). Slavica Rancovic et al., Along the Oral-Written Continuum: Types of Texts, Relations and Their Implications (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010) deals with various aspects of orality and literacy in Scandinavia, including administrative literacy, as does also Arnved Nedkvitne, The Social Consequences of Literacy in Medieval Scandinavia (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004).
The observations on the importance of the court and the relationship between the king and the aristocracy are partly inspired by Jacob Tullberg, Beyond Feudalism: Comparative Perspectives on the European Middle Ages, PhD thesis, The Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2012. On the relationship between the king and individual nobles and their way of addressing one another, see Lars Bisgaard, Tjenesteideal og fromhetsideal. Studier i adelens tænkemåde i dansk senmiddelalder (Århus: Arusia, 1988).
On contemporary social theories, see Sverre Bagge, “Old Norse Theories of Society: From Rígsþula to Konungs skuggsiá,” Jens Eike Schnall and Rudolf Simek (eds.), Speculum regale. Der altnorwegische Königsspiegel (Konungs skuggsiá) in der europäischen Tradition (Vienna: Fassbinder, 2000), pp. 7–45. On slavery and its abolition, see Tore Iversen, Knechtschaft im mittelalterlichen Norwegen (Ebelsbach: Aktiv, 2004).
The question of feudalism in Scandinavia is discussed by Michael H. Gelting and Erik Opsahl in Sverre Bagge (ed.), Feudalism: New Landscapes of Debate (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011), pp. 159–201.
There has been considerable discussion on whether nationalism is essentially a modern phenomenon, originating in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, or whether it can also be found earlier. For the former point of view, see e.g., Ernest Gellner, Nations and Nationalism (Oxford: Blackwell 1983); for the latter, A. Smith, Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History (Cambridge: Polity, 2001). The Scandinavian discussion includes Sverre Bagge, “Nationalism in Norway in the Middle Ages,” Scandinavian Journal of History 20 (1995), pp. 1–18; Kåre Lunden, “Was there a Norwegian National Identity in the Middle Ages?” ibid. pp. 19–33; and Troels Dahlerup, “Omkring en dansk identitsfølelse i middelalderen,” Per Ingesman og Bjørn Poulsen (eds.), Danmark og Europa i middelalderen (Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2000), pp. 30–38. See also Brian McGuire (ed.), The Birth of Identities: Denmark and Europe in the Middle Ages (Copenhagen: Reitzel, 1996).
Chapter 4: Royal, Aristocratic, and Ecclesiastical Culture
For a survey of the various expressions of Scandinavian culture: religion, literature, art, and music, see CHS, pp. 465–555.
The European influences on various aspects of Scandinavian culture are discussed in Gerd Wolfgang Weber (ed.), Structure and Meaning in Old Norse Literature: New Approaches to Textual Analysis and Literary Criticism (Odense: Odense University Press, 1986) and J. Adams and K. Holman (eds.), Scandinavia and Europe, 800–1350: Contact, Conflict, and Coexistence (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004).
On books and libraries, see Alf Härdelin and Monika Hedlund, “The Monastic Library of Vadstena,” Acta Bibl. Reg. Universitatis Upsaliensis 29 (Uppsala: Almqvist och Wiksell, 1990) and Mia Korpiola, “Literary Legacies and Canonical Book Collections: Possession of Canon Law Books in Medieval Sweden,” Law and Learning, pp. 79–103. On the Norwegian fragments, see Åslaug Ommundsen, Books, Scribes and Sequences in Medieval Norway (Bergen: University of Bergen, 2007). On Scandinavian students abroad, see Sverre Bagge, “Nordic Students at Foreign Universities”, Scandinavian Journal of History 9 (1984), pp. 1–29.
On Scandinavian Christianity, see Bisgaard, Tjenesteideal; Anders Fröjmark, Mirakler och helgonkult: Linköpings biskopsdöme under senmedeltiden (Uppsala: Uppsala University, 1992); Christian Krötzl, Pilger, Mirakel und Alltag: Formen des Verhaltens im skandinavischen Mittelalter (Helsinki: Helsinki University, 1994); Anne Riising, Danmarks middelalderlige prædigen (Copenhagen: Gad, 1969); and Arnved Nedkvitne, Lay Belief in Norse Society, 1000–1350 (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2009). Haki Antonsson, St. Magnús of Orkney: A Scandinavian Martyr-Cult in Context (Leiden: Brill, 2007) contains much information on the cult of Scandinavian princely saints in general. For the distinction between “hot” and “cold” regions, see André Vauchez, Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
For an introduction to Old Norse literature, see Jonas Kristjánsson, Eddas and Sagas: Iceland’s Medieval Literature (Reykjavík: Íslendska bókmentafélag, 1997, repr. 2007). On the use and interpretation of Old Norse mythology, see Margaret Clunies Ross, Prolonged Echoes: Old Norse Myths in Medieval Northern Society, vol 1: The Myths, The Viking Collection 7 (Odense: Odense University Press, 1994).
Scandinavian historiography is discussed in the following works: Sverre Bagge, “Scandinavian Historical Writing, 1100–1400,” in Sarah Foot and Chase F. Robinson (eds.), The Oxford History of Historical Writing, vol. 2 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 414–27; Karen Skovgaard-Petersen, “Historical Writing in Scandinavia,” ibid., vol. 3, pp. 449–72; Ildar H. Garipzanov (ed.), Historical Narratives and Christian Identities on a European Periphery (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011); and Lars Boje Mortensen (ed.), The Making of Christian Myths in the Periphery of Latin Christendom (c. 1000–1300) (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006). On the Old Norse saga literature, see Sverre Bagge, Society and Politics and From Gang Leader to the Lord’s Anointed: Kingship in Sverris Saga and Hákonar Saga Hákonarsonar, The Viking Collection, (Odense: Odense University Press, 1996); Theodore M. Andersson, The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180–1280) (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006); and The Partisan Muse in the Early Icelandic Saga (1200–1250) (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012). Generally on historiography in the Middle Ages, including the term “civil service historiography,” see Beryl Smalley, Historians in the Middle Ages (London: Thames and Hudson, 1974).
Most of the literature on Saxo is in the Scandinavian languages, including Inge Skovgaard-Petersen, Da tidernes Herre var nær (Copenhagen: Den danske historiske forening, 1987) and Kurt Johannesson, Saxo Grammaticus: Komposition och världsbild i Gesta Danorum (Stockholm: Almqvist och Wiksell, 1978). A classic analysis is Curt Weibull, “Saxo Grammaticus” in his Källkritik och historia (Stockholm: Aldus/Bonnier, 1964), pp. 153–240. However, there are several excellent studies in English by the editor of Gesta Danorum, Karsten Friis-Jensen, including Saxo as Latin Poet: Studies in the Verse Passages of the Gesta Danorum (Rome: Bretschneider, 1987) and “Saxo Grammaticus’s Study of the Roman Historiographers and His Vision of History,” in Carlo Santini (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus: tra storiografia e letteratura (Rome: Ed. Il Calamo, 1992), pp. 61–81. See also Karsten Friis-Jensen (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus: A Medieval Author between Norse and Latin Culture (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1981).
Select Works from the Scandinavian Middle Ages in Translation
Egils Saga, translated from the Old Icelandic, with introduction and notes by Gwyn Jones (New York: Syracuse University Press, 1960).
Erikskrönikan: The Chronicle of Duke Erik, a Verse Epic from Medieval Sweden, translated by Erik Carlquist and Peter C. Hogg, introduction by Eva Österberg (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2012).
The First Grammatical Treatise, ed. and trans. by Hreinn Benediktsson (Reykjavík: Institute of Nordic Linguistics, 2002).
Heimskringla, trans. by Lee M. Hollander (Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1964, repr. 2005).
The King’s Mirror, translated into English by Laurence M. Larson (New York: Twayne, 1917).
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology, translated with an introduction and notes by Jesse L. Byock (London: Penguin Books, 2005).
The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Vadstena, trans. by Denis Searby, introduction and notes by Bridget Morris (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).
The Saga of Hakon and a Fragment of the Saga of Magnus with Appendices, trans. G. W. Dasent, Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores vol. 88.4 (London 1894, repr. 1964).
; The Saga of King Sverri of Norway, trans. J. Sephton (London: David Nuff, 1899).
Saxo, Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes, trans. by Peter Fisher, ed. by Hilda Ellis Davidson vols. 1–2 (Cambridge: Brewer, 1979).
Strengleikar: An Old Norse Translation of Twenty-One Old French Lais, ed. and trans. by Robert Cook and Mattias Tveitane (Oslo: Norsk historisk kjeldeskriftinstitutt, 1979).
Chapter 5: The Later Middle Ages: Agrarian Crisis, Constitutional Conflicts, and Scandinavian Unions
On the Black Death, the late medieval desertion, and late medieval society, see CHS, pp. 559–675. Svend Gissel et al., Desertion and Land Colonization in the Nordic Countries, ca. 1300–1600: Comparative Report from the Scandinavian Research Project on Deserted Farms and Villages (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1981) presents the main results of the Scandinavian project on the agrarian crisis.
The unions and conflicts in the Later Middle Ages are dealt with in CHS, pp. 679–770. Most of the more specialist literature is in the Scandinavian languages: Kristian Erslev, Danmarks Historie under Dronning Margrethe og hendes nærmeste Efterfølgere, vols. 1–2 (Copenhagen: Jacob Erslev, 1882–1901); Erik Lönnroth, Sverige och Kalmarunionen 1397–1457 (Gothenburg: Akademiförlaget, 1969 [orig. 1934]); Lars-Olof Larsson, Kalmarunionens tid: Från drottning Margareta till Kristian II (Stockholm: Rabén Prisma, 1997), who differs from Lönnroth on several important points; and, most recently, Harald Gustafsson, Gamla riken, nya stater. Statsbildning, politisk kultur och identiteter under Kalmarunionens upplösningsskede, 1512–1541 (Stockholm: Atlantis, 2000). On the explanation of the decline of Hungary in the early sixteenth century as a result of the strength of the aristocracy, see Engel, The Realm of St. Stephen, pp. 345–71.
Unless otherwise indicated, all translations of the sources are my own.
INDEX
A Speech against the Bishops, 120, 121, 219
Abel, King of Denmark (1250–52), 42, 146, 162, 163
Åbo, 46
Absalon, Bishop of Roskilde, Archbishop of Lund, 40, 82, 85, 170, 212
absolutism, 284, 286, 289
Achilles, 12
Adam of Bremen, 63
Aegidius Romanus, 220
Aethelred, King of England, 31
Agnes, daughter of King Håkon V of Norway, 155
Agnes, Queen of Denmark, 163
agriculture, 9, 10, 11, 133, 134, 139
Akershus Castle, 114, 287
Albrecht of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden (1364–89), 244–46
Alexander III, King of Scotland, 44, 240
Alexander III, Pope, 80–82
Alfred, King of England, 22, 25, 131
Allting, 44, See also assembly
Alsnö stadga (the Statute of Alsnö, 111
Alvastra monastery, 72, 196, 200
Amalekites, 78
American Revolution, 283
Anders Sunesen, Archbishop of Lund, 74, 82, 180
Andrew III, King of Hungary, 239
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 21, 108
Annales School, 4
Ansgar, missionary, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, 25, 63
Anund Jakob, King of Sweden (d. c. 1050), 33
Arab world, 23
Aragon, 267, 268
archbishopric, 68, 72, 253
archbishops, 2, 79, 85, 159, 281
archdeacons, 72, 91
Ari the Wise, 24, 63, 64, 205
Arinbjørn, Norwegian chieftain, 87
aristocracy, culture of, 176, 231, 223, 228, 231; formation of, 56, 121, 123, 149, 216, 218, 226, 235, 270, 271; political role of, 48, 50, 58, 66, 85, 92, 93, 129, 140, 146–49, 152, 157, 160–65, 167, 168, 172, 219, 235, 245, 246, 248, 249, 251–54, 256–61, 263, 272, 274, 275, 277, 278, 280, 281, 284, 286, 287, 289; privileges of, 92, 111, 265; and religion, 70, 77, 98, 179, 194, 201; revenues of, 122, 123, 130, 133, 139, 234; stratification of, 116, 234, 279, 281
Aristotle, 121, 150, 180, 219–22
Arkona, 39, 40
Asbjørn, Norwegian chieftain, 17–20
Asgjerd, 86, 87
Åsle, Battle of, 246
assemblies, local, 71, 91, 92; national, 44, 55, 148, 149, 255, 257, 272, 280; provincial, 87, 103
Athalstan, King of England, 153
Atlantic, 11, 24, 43, 46, 72, 264
Augustinians, 73, 179
authority, 2, 20, 91, 102–04, 106, 143, 156, 158, 168, 169, 187, 270, 275, 280
ballads, 223
Baltic area, 33, 40, 47, 112
Baltic Sea, 7, 29, 46, 47, 69
baptism, 64, 65, 71
Beckett, Samuel, 229
Bergen, 112, 118, 132, 133–35, 137–39, 143, 158, 176, 177
Bergenhus Castle, 287
Berg-Onund, 87
big man, 19
Birger, Earl of Sweden (d. 1266), 56, 57
Birger Gunnersen, Archbishop of Lund, 278
Birger Magnusson, King of Sweden (1290–1319), 116, 148, 150, 155, 161, 163, 164, 171, 215–18, 241, 242, 245, 269
Birger Persson, Birgitta’s father, 196
birth, illegitimate, 54, 87, 153, 154, 240; legitimate, 2, 53, 54, 87, 154, 238, 239
bishops, 2, 40, 54, 77, 84, 85, 130, 137, 143, 149, 157, 160, 161, 176, 177, 179, 202, 207, 234, 235, 237, 251, 259, 261, 272, 277, 279–81, 284–86
Bismarck, Otto von, 7
Black Death, 9, 113, 122, 193, 232, 236, 281, 287
Blekinge, 18, 244, 267
Bloodbath of Stockholm, 259, 282
Bluetooth dynasty, 34
Bo Jonsson Grip, Swedish magnate, 246
Bohemia, 7, 35, 69, 77, 239, 268
Bohus Castle, 287
Bohuslän, 118, 267
Boleslaw, Duke of Pomerania, 256
Bolin, Sture, 23
Bornhøved, Battle of, 42
Brandenburg, 7
British Isles, 36
Brunkeberg, Battle of, 258
bureaucracy, 3, 59, 60, 72, 78, 83, 84, 119, 140, 143, 147, 161
Canones Nidrosienses, 79, 84
canons, 79, 80, 137, 141, 207, 234, 281, 286
castellans, 146, 147, 236, 255, 269, 281
Castile, 267
castles, 42, 107, 114, 116–18, 128, 129, 135, 147, 166, 244, 269, 272, 281, 287, 288
cathedral chapters, 72, 80, 137, 281
celibacy, 75, 78, 80
chancellor, 95, 141
chancery, 141, 142, 147, 254, 262
Charles I of Anjou, King of Hungary, 239
Charles II, King of Hungary, 239
Charles III, King of France, 22
chivalry, 59, 217, 223, 226, 229, 282, rules of, 59, 170, 217
Chretien de Troyes, 223
Christ, 5, 17, 18, 60, 62, 178, 180, 198, 199, 204–06, 211
Christian, Count of Oldenburg and Union King (1448–81), 49, 257, 262–64, 266, 276, 280
Christian II, Union King (1513–23), 259, 263, 266, 273, 274, 280, 282–84
Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway (1534–59), 270, 285, 286, 291
Christianity, introduction of, 2, 12, 17, 18, 21, 23, 27, 29, 34, 35, 37, 40, 44, 47, 48, 60, 62–72, 77, 119, 175, 185, 187, 189, 190, 192, 195, 205, 206, 211, 212, 217, 231, 239
Christoffer of Bavaria, Union King (1440/42–48), 252, 257, 261, 262, 273, 274, 276
Christoffer, Count of Oldenburg, 284
Christoffer, Danish prince (d. 1363), 242
Christoffer I, King of Denmark (1252–59), 162, 237
Christoffer II, King of Denmark (1320–26, 1330–32), 42, 93, 148, 150, 163, 237, 243, 274
Chronicle of Erik, 59, 170, 229, 231
Church (institution), 4–6, 8, 16, 21, 41, 45, 48, 54, 58, 62, 67, 71, 74, 77–79, 81–85, 88, 98, 99, 101, 104, 106, 120, 122–24, 130, 131, 140, 147, 149, 157–161, 163, 164, 167, 169, 172, 174–76, 178, 181, 189, 190, 192–95, 200, 202, 203, 211, 214, 219, 221, 234, 235, 258, 259, 272, 277, 279, 281, 283–86, 289; Russian Orthodox, 47, 69
Church provinces, 72, 74, 77–79, 81, 83, 182, 21
churches
(buildings), 45, 60, 66, 71, 74, 77, 79, 161, 177, 189, 190, 193
clans, 16, 98
Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, England and Norway (d. 1035), 24, 31, 32, 40, 52, 55, 68, 108
Code of the Realm, Norway, 51, 92, 99, 100, 102–04, 109; Sweden, 56, 101, 102, 149
cogs, 134
coins, 55, 126, 128
compurgation, 88, 90, 91
constable, 140
constitutional ideas. See also regimen politicum, 150, 271, 275
conversion. See Christianity, introduction of
Copenhagen, 130, 139, 143, 183, 254, 262, 278, 284, 285
coronation, 35, 57, 81
Coronation Charter, 248, 249
Corpus iuris civilis, 104
Council of Basel, 170
council of the realm, 59, 148, 149, 167, 235, 245, 246, 249, 251, 254–56, 259, 261–64, 270–75, 278, 280, 286, 289, 291
court, royal, 25, 62, 131, 146–48, 152–54, 156, 159, 183, 185, 201, 215, 220, 222, 223, 226, 228–31, 243, 261, 262
courts of law, ecclesiastical, 71, 91, 159; secular, 86–89, 91–93, 289
crime, 50, 51, 88–91, 93, 95, 97, 98, 213; concept of, 88, 89
crisis, agrarian, 9, 14, 233–36, 288
crusades, 46, 47, 69, 84, 238, 289
cult, pagan, 62, 66, 67, 70, 71
Dacia, province of, 74, 180–82
Dalaborg, 246
Dalarna, 123, 136, 250–54, 258
Danehof, 148, 149. See also assemblies
David, 58, 78, 178
De regimine principum, 220
De regno, 219
Decretum, Gratian’s, 79, 102, 220
desertion of farms. See agrarian crisis
Didrik of Bern (=Theodoric), 170, 215
diets, 92, 280, 283, 285. See also assemblies
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