From Viking Stronghold to Christian Kingdom: State Formation in Norway, c.900 - 1350

450 Pages·2010·1.824 MB·English

by  Sverre Bagge

From Viking Stronghold
to Christian Kingdom
State Formation in Norway,
c. 900–1350
Sverre Bagge
Museum Tusculanum Press
From Viking Stronghold
to Christian Kingdom
For Matilde
From Viking Stronghold
to Christian Kingdom

State Formation in Norway, c. 900-1350
Sverre Bagge
Museum Tusculanum Press
University of Copenhagen
2010
From Viking Stronghold to Christian Kingdom:
State Formation in Norway, c. 900-1350
© Museum Tusculanum Press and Sverre Bagge, 2010
Consultant: Niels Lund
Copy editor: Jordy Findanis
Cover design: Erling Lynder
Set and printed by AKA-PRINT A/S
ISBN 978 87 635 0791 2
Cover illustrations:
Upper register of the frontal from the church at Nedstryn, Western
Norway, ca. 1315. It depicts the Persian king Chosroes capturing the
Holy Cross and his defeat by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. The
narrative sequence shows: 1) Heraclius decapitating Chosroes, 2) Heraclius
triumphantly riding with the Cross to Jerusalem, 3) Heraclius, barefoot and
humble, carrying the Cross through the gates, 4) The elevation of the Cross
on the altar. Photo: Svein Skare, Bergen Museum.
Viking Age animal head post from the Oseberg burial, Tønsberg, Vestfold,
Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway. Photo: Ove Holst.
Viking Age sword from Steinsvik, Hol, Nordland, Museum of Cultural History,
University of Oslo, Norway. Photo: Eirik Irgens Johnsen.
This book is published with financial support from
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Bergen
The Research Council of Norway
Museum Tusculanum Press
126 Njalsgade
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark
www.mtp.dk
Contents
9
Preface
11
Introduction
21
The Formation of the Kingdom of Norway
The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms 23
From Harald Finehair to Harald Hardrada 25
Unification and Division – the Moving Forces 33
External and Internal Factors 39
The “Civil Wars” 40
Pretenders and Factions 42
The Basic Factors 47
The Consequences of the Civil Wars 53
From the Civil Wars to the Age of Greatness 66
69
War, Military Organisation and Social Change
From Plunder to Internal Exploitation 69
The Origin and Development of the leidang 72
Leidang and Elite Forces 79
The Norwegian Empire and its Foreign Policy until 1319 85
War Made the State, but Did the State Make War?
– The Military Challenges 1240-1319 101
The Social and Economic Basis of the Norwegian Military System 110
The Towns – Centres of the Monarchy and the Church 121
The King’s Revenues 126
Conclusion 133
137
Religion, Monarchy, and the Right Order of the World
Old Norse Religion 137
The Conversion to Christianity 148
The Right Order of the World and the Christian Monarchy 157
The Emergence of the Dynasty and Hereditary Monarchy 165
The Courtly Culture 170
Patriotism and Secular Legitimation of Monarchy 174
Conclusion 177
179
Justice, Law and Power
The Regional Laws 179
What Was Law? 182
Law and Society 190
God’s Law: The Rise of Royal and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction 195
Royal and Ecclesiastical Legislation: A New Concept of Law 201
The Emergence of Public Justice: Intent and Evidence 206
Justice in Practice 215
A Legal Revolution? 220
Conclusion 226
Royal and Ecclesiastical Administration
229
– a Step towards a Real Bureaucracy?
The Ecclesiastical Administration 229
The Royal Administration 233
A New Bureaucracy? 238
From Oral to Written Administration 243
Writing in the Royal Administration: The Quantitative Evidence 250
Writing in the Royal Administration: The Qualitative Evidence 256
Predictability and Distance 267
The Leaders: King and Bishop 272
Did Norway Become a State? Government, Obedience and Clientelism 282
Conclusion 291
293
The Division of Power and its Social Foundation
The King and the Church: From the Foundation of the
Church Province to the Death of Håkon Håkonsson 294
The Conflict about Jurisdiction and the Concordat of Tønsberg 297
The Conflict in the 1280s 303
The Results of the Struggle – Monarchy and Church
in the Fourteenth Century and Later 312
The Ideological Aspect: A Brain Trust in the Service of the Monarchy 316
Regnum and Sacerdotium in Norway 319
The Secular Aristocracy 324
The King and the Aristocracy: Ideology 329
From Assemblies of the Best Men to the King’s Council 335
Who Were “The Best Men”? 340
The Decision-Making Process 342
The Problem of Regencies 356
Monarchy, Aristocracy and Union during the Reign of Magnus Eriksson 360
A Strong Monarchy 365
The King and the People 371
Conclusion 375
How, Why, When and How Much? The Extent and Character
379
of Norwegian State Formation in the Middle Ages
389
The Kings of Norway, c. 900-1380
391
Literature, Sources and Abbreviations
431
Index

Preface
This book forms part of the projects Periphery and Centre in Medieval Europe and
The Nordic Countries and the Medieval Expansion of Europe. New Interpretations
of a Common Past, which are carried out currently by the Centre for Medieval
Studies at the University of Bergen and the Nordic Centre for Medieval Studies at the
Universities of Bergen, Gothenburg, Odense and Helsinki and funded respectively by The
Research Council of Norway and NOS-HS.
Although mainly focused on Norway, the book is also intended as a contribution to
the general discussion of medieval state formation and the importance of Scandinavia
in this context. During the period of writing, I have profited greatly from the stimulat-
ing atmosphere of these two research centres and from discussion with and advice from
colleagues in Bergen and within the Nordic network. In particular, I want to thank the
members of the State Team within the Nordic Centre: Thomas Lindkvist, Leidulf Melve,
Lars Hermanson, Erik Opsahl, Auđur Magnúsdóttir, Antoaneta Granberg, Geir Atle
Ersland, Frode Hervik, Ildar Garipzanov, Thomas Foerster and John Lind, who have read
and commented on the manuscript or parts of it. I am also grateful to Niels Lund and
Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde for useful comments and to Jena Habegger-Conti for correcting
my English.
Sverre Bagge
Bergen, October 2009