Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia


 
 220px-Gísla_saga_Illustration_3_-_Thorgrim's_Slaying
The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia
Sefanit Tucker (Yale University)
Vexillum, Vol.3 (2013)
Abstract
The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia seeks to discuss the importance of honor and the established structure of revenge in Northern Europe, namely Iceland, between the 9th and 10th centuries. In spite of both modern and contemporaneous portrayals of a violent people without law, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate the specific cases in which Viking society condoned and employed violence. To this effect, the paper will use particular examples from several major sagas, the only written records of pre-Christian Scandinavia, to outline the precise nuances of violence that corresponded with particular circumstances and stature of the individuals involved.


Read the whole article on http://www.medievalists.net/2013/08/23/the-protocol-of-vengeance-in-viking-age-scandinavia/

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