Ideology and Power in Norway and Iceland, 1150-1250.

Intro -- Table of Contents -- List of Maps and Tables -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter One -- 1.1 Methodology, Medieval studies -- 1.2 Historiographical Observations on the Subject -- 1.3 Remarks on Political Theory and its Historiography -- 1.4 Ideology -- 1.5 Political Power -- 1.6 Ideology and Power -- Chapter Two -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Ideal Royalty in Sverris Saga -- 2.2.1 King Sverrir and den borgerkrigstiden -- 2.2.2 Sverrir and Saint Óláfr -- 2.2.3 Sverrir - dux militum -- 2.2.4 A King's Luck -- 2.2.5 Sverrir the Orator -- 2.2.6 Sverrir the Upholder of Tradition -- 2.3 Konungs skuggsjá - The King's Mirror -- 2.3.1 Context: The consolidated Norwegian monarchy -- 2.3.2 The Pious King -- 2.3.3 Royal vs. Episcopal Power -- 2.3.4 Rex Justus - The Ideal of Monarchy -- 2.3.5 Wisdom makes Justice -- 2.4 Hakón Hakónarson - King and Knight? -- 2.4.1 Introducing the Source -- 2.4.2 King Hákon Hákonarson -- 2.4.3 Patron of the Letters -- 2.4.4 Monarch and Knight-Erudite -- 2.5 Networks of Power in High Medieval Norway -- 2.6 Conclusion -- Chapter Three -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 A Survey of Þjóðveldið Ísland -- 3.3 Íslendingabók -- 3.3.1 Overview -- 3.3.2 Bishops and Chieftains -- 3.3.3 Lineage(s) of Power -- 3.4 Egils saga Skallagrímssonar -- 3.4.1 Preliminaries -- 3.4.2 Comparative view of forn siðr - the Old Way in Kingship -- 3.4.3 The King as Outsider -- 3.5 Laxdoela saga -- 3.5.1 Peculiarities -- 3.5.2 Icons of Kings -- 3.5.3 Icons of Icelanders -- 3.6 Þórðar saga kakala -- 3.6.1 A New Context -- 3.6.2 Chieftains as Kings in nuce -- 3.6.3 Deconstructing Kingship -- 3.7 Conclusion -- Chapter Four -- Bibliography -- Index of Names.

This book provides an analysis of the ideology of power in Norway and Iceland as reflected in sources written during the period 1150-1250. The main focus is explaining the way that Kings' power in Norway, and that of chieftains in Iceland, was idealised in important texts from the 12th and 13th centuries (Sverris saga, Konungs skuggsjá, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, Íslendingabók, Egils saga, Laxdæla saga and Þórðar saga kakala). The originality of this work consists in the fact that it is the first monograph to comparatively analyse the ideology of power in Iceland, looking specifically at representations of king(s) and chieftains during the Civil Wars period, and compare the findings to those pertaining to Norway.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.