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Along the way, he covers questions of how Icelandic society was stratified, the role of the chieftains/godhar, and the economics of the island. However, this is a somewhat different work as well. This study seems to have been written as a follow-up to Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power and covers much of the same territory. In an appendix he discusses the construction of turf buildings.In terms of questions of the uses of the Sagas as sources for history, Byock discusses the problems of doing so and the changing debate among historians, covering a large number of viewpoints here. While "Medieval Iceland" focuses much more heavily on the legal sources, this book attempts to use the sagas to reconstruct social structures in the earlier centuries of republican Iceland. This book, along with the author's other works, should be in the library of anyone who seriously wants to learn more about the Viking-Age Norse cultures.This book covers a wide range of topics, from the effects of human settlement on Iceland ecologically to the legal mechanisms that allowed blood feuds to play a stabilizing role on society. This section in particular is very helpful for those who may be trying to make up their minds as to whether the family sagas can be useful in the study of history.The book is very detailed in what it covers and provides a compelling picture of early Iceland. Highly recommended.
I read this book prior to my trip to Iceland, and it really served to give me a good sense of the country, how it was settled, who settled it, and how the population grew over time. It also explained the desolation of the countryside --- when you travel from the airport to Reykjavik, the land is like much like on the moon --- treeless crags abound. The book explains how this came to be. In addition, the book gives a good background to the sagas and other adventures of the people of Iceland, and those who came to its shores.Of course, this book will not explain Iceland's rise to financial success and despair in the early 21st century, but that is a tale for another time.(review by Kendall Giles)
this is a great book with an excellent price point that introduces all aspects on settlement Iceland. Most supporting evidence is found from the saga literature and archeology.
In retrospect, these men were seen as mighty warriors & great adventurers. Professor Byock provides this analysis within these pages.Yes, we are treated to tales of mighty warriors fighting against great odds, but we are also witness to the legal maneuverings of the Thing courts. It's interesting to note that it was contemporary foreigners, particularly Anglo-Saxon sources, who first labeled these men "Vikings". The term "Viking" itself is a misnomer for the majority of these Norse people.
From "Resources & Subsistence" to "Aspects of Blood Feud", Professor Byock offers a well-researched & well-rounded view of Iceland and its people as a whole. The appendix depicting turf house construction was especially interesting & makes one appreciate how these people learned to live in harmony with the land & its sometimes harsh climate. Instead of the marauding, pillaging hordes that traditional history has depicted them as for centuries, we are shown a more sympathetic view of their society & culture. To be called a Viking had evolved into a badge of honor to a culture that had gradually been assimilated into Christian European. We see political connections being forged & broken as these men sought influence & power from the fellow Icelanders.
If there is indeed such a thing as "Populist History", this book is an excellent example.One needs only to thumb through the pages to appreciate the diverse amount of material covered. By the time that the great Icelandic Sagas were written several hundred years after the fact, the Norse authors were freely using the term. Unfortunately in the process, these remarkable people & the society they had created became little more than villians & despoilers to the "civilized" world in which they existed.Professor Byock seeks to renounce these false ideas & does a remarkable job of it. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as purely escapist fare.
With the publication of this great work & similar tomes by other scholars, the Norse people of the early Middle Ages are finally getting their due. By placing the human participants depicted in the sagas into his discussion of Viking Age Iceland, Professor Byock has given the reader a face & life that he or she can easily identify with. I applaud his efforts & success. The numerous maps included are of great help in understanding how geography affected & influenced life. These sagas, originally thought to be nothing more than a collection of Icelandic folktales, have now taken on a more scholarly role in understanding these people. Learning history is seldom this much fun or fascinating. A Viking was the name originally given to those men, predominately Norse, who preyed on defenseless ships, villages, and monasteries.
I can not recommend it highly enough to either the casual reader of Norse/Viking material, lovers of the Icelandic Sagas who want to delve further into the factual basis of these stories, or the serious student. By using the Icelandic Sagas as his reference point, he ties in both the Norse contemporary stories with modern historical & anthropological research. While some of the characters, family connections, and incidents recorded might be questioned, the total picture of daily life, culture, values, and society are being proved accurate by modern analysis. Professor Byock's writing style is very layman friendly but still detailed & authoritative enough to be referenced in serious research. You will not be disappointed.
You use what is available: oral traditions, the sagas, and archeology. Historians typically use journals, diaries, and estate and government records on which to base their theories. What do you do when these don't exist. Often what their enemies write them has endured and skewed our understanding of them. Those who write about the ancient Celts and medieval Gaels should take note of this academic's method.
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