Northern Routes to Kingship

Více o produktu ↓

This book argues that tribal Scandinavia was set on the route to kingship by the arrival in the AD 180s–90s of warrior groups that were dismissed from the Roman army after defeating the Marcomanni by the Danube.

This book argues that tribal Scandinavia was set on the route to kingship by the arrival in the AD 180s–90s of warrior groups that were dismissed from the Roman army after defeating the Marcomanni by the Danube.

Using a range of evidence, this book details how well-equipped and battle-seasoned warriors, familiar with Roman institutions and practices, seized land and established lordly centres. It shows how these new lords acquired wealth by stimulating the production of commodities for trade with peers and Continental associates, Romans included, to reward retainers and bestow on partners. In these transcultural circumstances, lords and their retainers nurtured artisanal production of exquisite quality and developed a heroic ethos and refined hall etiquette. The topic of warfare, created by the volatile politics of lordly cooperation and competition, is also explored. Venturing substantially beyond the usual scope of syntheses of this period, this book looks at how the break-up of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of 'Great tribes' such as the Franks and Goths influenced lords and tribal leaders across Scandinavia to form kingdoms, emulating what they for centuries had considered the superior polity, the Roman Empire.

This book’s fresh take on disputed research topics will inspire scholars, students, and interested readers to delve further into this pivotal period of European history.

Obsah

List of Figures; List of Tables; Abbreviations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; PART I Coming to Grips with Early Kingship – 1. Post-1970 Kingship Studies: How to Proceed?; 2. Rulers and Polities: Tribes, Lordships, and Kingdoms; 3. Religiously Derived Ethics: A Societal Perspective; Part II The Military Twist: Armies, Lords, and Retainers (AD 180–450) – 4. Warriors and Traders; 5. Kinsmen and Strangers; 6. Settling and Sustaining the Men; PART III Obtaining Wealth for Gifts and Rewards (AD 180–450) – 7. Long-Distance Routes and Relations; 8. Iron from the Woodlands; 9. Arctic Wildlife Commodities; 10. Raiding for Slaves; PART IV Olden Ways, New Beginnings (AD 180–500) – 11. Wealth and Warfare: The Precarious Politics of Lordship; 12. The Transformative 5th Century; PART V Building the Kingdom – 13. Swearing in the Men; 14. Granting the Land; 15. Kingship in the Heroic Age; Epilogue: Colonialist and Emic Approaches; Notes; Bibliography; Index.