The history of medieval Europe is incomplete if it does not take Iceland into account. Jesse Byock's reassessment of medieval Iceland uses all the available sources--the medieval Icelanders' historical writings, extensive saga literature, and intricate laws--to explore the way Iceland's social order functioned.
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"Byock has written an important and authoritative account of how one collectivity of human beings avoided the Hobbesian war of all against all in a society that allowed almost no role for government."--"Contemporary Sociology
About the Author
Jesse L. Byock teaches Old Norse and medieval Scandinavian subjects at the University of California, Los Angeles and is the author of Feud in the Icelandic Saga (1982).
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4.6 out of 5 stars
8 reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read This First to Understand Icelandic Sagas & Society
10 Feb 2001
By James Paris
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The twilight world of the great Icelandic sagas can be difficult for an outsider to understand. We are so fixated on the values of the Western European mainland that it is easy for us to overlook Iceland's many contributions. The great 13th century sagas like Burnt Njal, Laxdaela, and Egil are high water marks of medieval literature -- far more sophisticated than the Arthurian fantasies circulating in Britain and France at the time.
To read and understand these sagas properly, one requires a key. And this is precisely the value of Byock's work: It places the sagas in a societal context and shows us that -- while Europe was stuck in a feudal rut -- Iceland was a unique republic in which power was distributed among many 30-50 chieftains. If a chieftain failed to be responsive, a landowner could change his allegiance to another, irrespective of his location. Because there were no standing armies in the time of the sagas, it was the responsiveness of the chieftain in assisting with disputes that was the prime determinant of his power, and not brute force.
Byock shows us how the system worked by a series of helpful extended examples taken directly from the sagas. These are by far the best parts of the book. Read this book, and you will see that at the heart of the great sagas are tales of how conflicts were resolved, sometimes over a period of many generations. Although many lives were lost, the fabric of society remained whole and relatively undisturbed because a consensus was finally reached.
I look forward to reading Byock's other Icelandic book on Feud in the Icelandic Saga.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful analysis of power structure
26 Mar 2000
By Susan Zuckerman
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Byock has written a very perceptive analysis of the power structure in Viking and Medieval Iceland. As a historical fiction writer, writing about this time period, this book gave me many insights. Byock uses some well-know and lesser-known saga characters to illustrate the power alliances, which I found fascinating. With no royalty, Iceland deveoped a unique democracy, which Byock explains in much detail. The maps and diagrams are very helpful. While it is an academic read, it is certainly not difficult. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of Iceland.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding work!
18 Dec 2008
By Christopher R. Travers
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In this book, Professor Byock seeks to address a number of previously unsolved problems in Icelandic studies, including the development of the power structure of Iceland and some areas relating to the precise role of the chieftains. He succeeds quite well, and this work is sure to be a classic in the field.
The bulk of the work describes the role of the chieftains relative to the bondir and the landless tenant farmers. He paints a picture which shows how different Iceland was from other Scandinavian nations, and shows how the society evolved with the chieftains functioning largely as power brokers and lawyers.
Of particular interest is the analysis given to a few specific topics, such as the sources of income for the chieftains, and the social structures which provided mechanisms mutually beneficial political relationships.
The bulk of the work describes the role of the chieftains relative to the bondir and the landless tenant farmers. He paints a picture which shows how different Iceland was from other Scandinavian nations, and shows how the society evolved with the chieftains functioning largely as power brokers and lawyers.
Of particular interest is the analysis given to a few specific topics, such as the sources of income for the chieftains, and the social structures which provided mechanisms mutually beneficial political relationships.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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