Viking Age Iceland

by Jesse L. Byock

The popular image of the Viking Age is of warlords and marauding bands pillaging their way along the shores of Northern Europe. In this fascinating history, Jesse Byock shows that Norse society in Iceland was actually an independent one-almost a republican Free State, without warlords or kings. Combining history with anthropology and archaeology, this remarkable study serves as a valuable companion to the Icelandic sagas, exploring all aspects of Viking Age feasting, farming, the power of chieftains and the church, marriage, and the role of women. With masterful interpretations of the blood feuds and the sagas, Byock reveals how the law courts favored compromise over violence, and how the society grappled with proto-democratic tendencies. A work with broad social and historical implications for our modern institutions, Byock's history will alter long-held perceptions of the Viking Age.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Mythology, Historical, Medieval History, Research

448 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2001

About the author

Jesse L. Byock is Professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Feud in the Icelandic Saga (1982) Medieval Iceland (1990), The Saga of King Kraki (1998), and Viking Age Iceland (2001).

Reviews

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one as a study of the society. The way society operated. It even has chapter names like 'The Sagas: An Ethnography of Medieval Iceland'. She conveys how they knew they had a chance to build a bit differently from back home in Norway, in 'The Founding of a New Society'; 'The Effect of Emigrating from Europe'. A lot were disgusted with events in Norway, when they sailed off. I came away with a healthy respect for their institutions, too. I also remember the study of feud in this book, how feud functioned, its place in the justice system: that was a strong point.

The whole is very much grounded in actual cases, whether from the sagas or archaeology or both, seen in detail. The case study approach that tells you so much.

[Vova · Rating 3 out of 5]

900 сторінок тексту - і тепер у мене відчуття, що я знаю все, що тільки можна уявити про ісландію 9-13 ст. - що робити, якщо народилась дитина, а вдома немає що істи (викидай в сугроб), або якщо з тебе клепують малі діти (лупаш їх по голові, а потім даруй всякі дрібниці, щоб сильно не ображались), або якщо ти приваблива дівчина, а твій чоловік, який мав би бути мужнім вікінгом, ходить по хаті в жіночому платті (хапай свої речі і втікай до батьків). да, цікава книжка, справді.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to the history and culture of the Icelandic Free state. Another reviewer praised it with the phrase "Freedom is possible." I had the opposite impression, for all the law and social structure which we have long been lead to believe was enlightened for its time, actual justice required having a goði to back you up. It reminded me of the tendency of those who can afford expensive attorneys getting better outcomes in the modern justice system. Plus ça change.....

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viking Age Iceland was an interesting read. I enjoyed the way Byock used a variety of sources, from the sagas to archaeological evidence, to paint a picture of life in Viking-age Iceland. It was a unique approach that mostly worked very well. The only downside was that certain sections felt a little dry, and given that, I think this is a book that will only appeal to those with an existing, deep interest in the topic. General readers may not find it as enjoyable. But if you are a fan of the sagas or are interested in medieval Iceland, this would be a worthwhile text to pick up.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très bon ouvrage, extrêmement détaillé, et qui ne se contente pas seulement de se réferer aux sagas pour nous livrer la vie quotidienne des vikings : il les cite également allégrement à titre d'exemples, ce qui nous permet une entrée et une familiarisation faciles avec la littérature scandinave médiévale.
Par contre, Jesse Byock s'intéresse beaucoup aux aspects politiques, administratifs et judiciaires de l'île, au détriment parfois, à mon avis, de la vie quotidienne, même si les quelques chapitres consacrés exclusivement à la nourriture, aux moyens de subsistance... sont d'une précision époustouflante.
Je conseillerais donc pour une première entrée en matière un ouvrage plus généraliste et facile d'accès comme "L'Islande médiévale" de Régis Boyer, que ce livre très approfondi permettra de compléter pour une étude plus ciblée et plus poussée.
En tout cas, dites adieu à tous les clichés et préjugés sur cette civilisation si méconnue !

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavoro estremamente interessante, mi sarebbe piaciuto un approfondimento della comparazione tra la civiltà vichinga in Islanda e quella in Scandinavia. Ci sono rimandi, ovvio, sarebbe inconcepibile scindere il tutto, solo che ne avrei voluti di più. In realtà il libro si ferma fino alla conquista dell'Islanda ad opera dei norvegesi nel 1260, quindi l'intento era proprio quello di mettere in luce le peculiarità dell'Islanda, che rimase, nel suo isolamento, sempre uno stato libero, indipendente e non gerarchico.
Il voto effettivo sarebbe di quattro stelline e mezza, per il fatto che a volte l'autore risulta essere eccessivamente prolisso, ripetendo più volte concetti quando non c'è reale bisogno.
Per il resto l'ho trovato ottimo, indispensabile per leggere e capire le saghe norrene. Se avessi letto questo saggio prima di affrontare l'Edda di Snorri, sicuramente avrei compreso immediatamente quei passaggi che al momento mi erano rimasti oscuri.

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable and fun. While breaking from traditional scholarly methods and interpretations, Byock still comes across as a bit old-school. He misses one major point: in several chapters on wealth, he completely overlooks the anti-trade values (not at all uncommon in subsistence-farming societies with strong honor codes) that made wealth acquisition problematic.

Miller's _Bloodtaking and Oathmaking_ covers much the same ground, including specific incidents drawn from the sagas: while less of a casual read, Miller is more insightful, and more contemporary in his methods, freed from the pull of traditional scholarship Byock apparently still felt.

[TRE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially as a philosophical anarchist since Byock ends up detailing the rise and fall of one of the world's most enduring (couple hundred year-run a'int bad) anarchist societies.

Highly recommend reading if you're of that philosophical bent, interested in medieval history, the vikings or even just Scandinavia as Byock goes into the characteristics that made Iceland unique from Norway then and now.

Can't wait to read the full sagas in their glory now!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent companion to the Icelandic Sagas, with great maps.

[Dorai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iceland is, without overstatement, a unique civics experiment. Tens of thousands of Norse (with some Celtic slaves or thralls) occupy an empty island that's far enough away from civilization to escape from tyrannical rulers, and just hospitable enough to provide very basic sustenance. There is no need for defense against external threats at least for the first few centuries. Christianity, which was poised to take over the mainland, is not politically potent yet this far out in the ocean. People have enough land to not step on each other's toes, and even though agriculture is minimal and hardscrabble, they can raise livestock and the seafood is reasonably plentiful. Construction materials are almost non-existent. The human conflicts are internal and get violent very quickly given they were all independent-minded. How does a group of people on an island create a form of self-governance if it is not to perish within a generation?

This book details how the original Icelanders tackled this existential problem, and the author does a great job keeping it interesting, given this is not about the usual raiding and pillaging, or about the dynasties that the Vikings uprooted or founded in the four or so centuries when they shook nearly every corner of Europe. It is about the unglamorous consensus work by hard-nosed farmers hammering out a working system so they could live in relative peace in a none too bountiful natural environment. This could so easily be eye-wateringly boring, but the book succeeds in making the case that Iceland is a valuable object lesson in how people can learn to survive as a social unit without being clouded by distractions that they couldn't afford.

The farmers' answer, now called the Icelandic Free State, was not to develop a rigid power hierarchy or a religious system that curtailed independence in return for stability. The original Icelanders were certainly not an inherently peaceful folk (they were Vikings after all), so feuds were rampant, yet there seems to have been a tacit social compromise to limit the damage from such inevitable violence in order to maintain some notion of the common good. As funny as it sounds, the solution appears to have been to channel the rapacious instincts of some of the population into becoming really cut-throat lawyers! A respect for law -- even if wasn't always just -- does seem to have preserved the peace. How is this different from religion, say, which has its own commonly followed and enforced guidelines, with its sets of winners and losers? Well, the lawyering was surprisingly pragmatic, based on arguments, posturing, settlement, compensation, and not least: third parties concerned that things didn't get out of hand.

The Icelandic Free State did not -- could not -- last. The outside world inevitably barged in, as globalization was already by then our planet's destiny. Iceland's economy could not be totally self-sufficient despite the hardiness of its population, and so it accepted Christianization and submission to the Norwegian crown. Even these decisions were taken with a dispassionate legalistic soberness, choosing the lesser evil of subjugation when faced with existential threat. There was no war. They just signed legal documents on advice from counsel.

Icelandic literacy and sagas were just in time to document this human experiment for posterity. It may seem like a tragedy that it collapsed with nary a whimper within three centuries of its founding, and that too to the very forces that the pioneers were fleeing from. From one perspective, the cruel mainland reeled these brave individualists back in, relentlessly, breaking their spirit. From the modern view, however, maybe the influence the other way did eventually win out. Governance by law, rather than perfect monarchs or unquestionable religion, is, by a significant margin, the governance of choice in our era. Even kleptocracies and theocracies pay it the flattery of pretending to it. The Icelandic sagas, written just after the end of the Free State, with their mundane realism that so contrasts with the braggart epics of other cultures, may have been more influential than their authors could have conceived.

[Corpruga · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this book represents the flowering optimism I had for, like, the first week of January, that 2021 would be the year I read a bunch of books for research AND read a bunch of books for pleasure AND read a bunch of books to enrich my teaching. What a lovely five days those were! Anyway, this is a book I read for teaching purposes, as I'm teaching The Vinland Sagas again this semester, and it was really a fantastic source of background information on medieval Iceland to talk about in Zoom sessions with my students.

I'll start by saying that I probably wouldn't assign this book to my students, at least not immediately, because I think a little more background about the sagas really helps understand his use of them as examples of how theoretical issues of law, feud, marriage, or trade might have played out in real life. Even something like the intro to The Sagas of Icelanders would be a good preliminary reading before this one if I were going to teach a class on medieval Iceland. Which I won't, because I'm not a historian or a scholar of Scandinavian studies, but there you have it. That said, I really *like* the use of sagas as historical sources, not in the sense of "this definitely happened at this time* (and Byock certainly addressed the debate about whether the sagas are literature or history, and how their historicity touches on issues of national pride and the idea of literary traditions), but in the sense of "this is an illustration of how social conflicts might typically have been resolved among Icelanders and here's how a breakdown of negotiations could lead to violence."

The book covers a lot of topics, but I would class them roughly thus: the first few chapters cover the initial settlement of Iceland, its natural resources, and how the relatively small initial populace and amount of viable farmland that could support that populace created a situation of competition for good land and relative vulnerability to bad seasons. The next handful of chapters moves into the social impact of this ecological situation, explaining the construction and role of the central government (long story short, there was no monarchy or centralized executive branch of government, with limited executive and legislative powers allotted to gođar--singular gođi--who as 'chieftains' could serve as advocates, representatives, or small-scale local leaders for the farmers, who made up the main social class). Many chapters are devoted to the maintenance of social networks, both through gođi-follower relationships and through other organizing structures like kinship networks, the church, or what one might call mutual aid societies of farmers in a particular area. The flip side of this topic is what happens when conflict arises within these social networks and how that's handled, covering aspects like blood feuds and lawsuits. Later chapters address the changing character of Iceland as power and wealth concentrated in the hands of fewer chieftains and the church in Iceland became more closely connected with the continental European church, leading to the end of the "Free State" period, when Iceland submitted to Norwegian control in the 1260s.

The areas that were particularly useful to me were the discussion of the economic situation of Iceland, which struck me as relevant to the particular details about Vinland that the authors of the Vinland sagas bring up, and the way power was constructed and distributed among local "big men," which was useful to me in talking about how the 'protagonists' are characterized in the sagas. I will admit I got a bit lost in the weeds when it goes in-depth on points of Icelandic law and government, and I had a heck of a time keeping all the people straight, though again I did appreciate the illustrations from the sagas, even if I did have to keep flipping back and forth all, "Hold up, what was the deal with Arnkel gođi and Snorri gođi again?" Maybe if I teach this class again in the fall I'll do a reread, because there's a lot of good information in here for understanding the society of the sagas.

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

No King but Only Law

This book is either more or less than it seems. The back cover promises a lot, but the book delivers something rather different. If you are a scholar of early Iceland, this will be a top, must-read book. If, like me, you are just generally interested in history, it may prove too detailed. With VIKING AGE ICELAND, you get a very well-researched, extremely well-developed study of law and government in the "free state" period of Icelandic history, that is, from earliest settlement in the last quarter of the 9th century to the 13th century. Between ten and twenty thousand people arrived on the big, but often-barren island in the first sixty years, occupying all the usable land. Within the first century, they had caused so much environmental damage that all the forest was lost and half of the grassland. They established a stratified, but decentralized society with a parliament of sorts that met each year....the Althing. As no towns or villages ever grew up, Iceland operated as a single, island-wide village. "Early Iceland was an ideal laboratory for exploring the forces that cause and prevent social stratification." (p.11) But how can we study such a society, given that archaeology has yielded only scant remains, and is unlikely to reveal many details of how social stratification actually occurs ? Byock turns to the sagas, the ancient Icelandic epics, which, it turns out, have not often been used for anthropological purposes. He skillfully mines these for examples to show how individuals used both violence and negotiation to solve disagreements and build alliances for their own profit. The larger part of the book focusses on such topics---law, feuds, negotiation and arbitration, and the ways in which big men became bigger. It is full of fascinating examples from many different sagas, and contains some great maps. (I loved the maps !) Thus, if you are interested in `legal studies' or the anthropology of law, you have definitely come to the right place. This is a 5 star book for you; I can't think why you wouldn't get hold of this book immediately.

However, if you wanted a general history of Iceland in those Viking times, this book is less than it seems. Though economics plays some role in the discussion, and there is a large section on the conversion to Christianity, these are seen in the light of how previous patterns of government/law influenced economic and religious life or were influenced by them. For example, Iceland's peaceful conversion is often labelled `amazing', but given the society Byock depicts---one devoted to compromise and arbitration---such an explosive issue as change of religion could be solved with little violence (p.301). The legal system operated without an executive authority. Order was maintained mainly by negotiation and compromise, often through the arbitration of `big chieftains'. Prosecution and carrying out of penalties was a private matter. Iceland differed from both Europe at the time, and later, from early America. Therefore, to understand medieval Iceland and the sagas, Byock argues (p.308), you must have some familiarity with its law. The sagas and laws together illustrate the way Icelanders thought their society worked. This may be fascinating stuff for you. I found it interesting enough, but I felt that I had bought a book that offered something other than what I expected.

[Bibliowulf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesse Byock combines environmental science, anthropology, and archaeology to view the Icelandic family sagas through the lens of human adaptation and environmental change in the region. Sagas thus become accounts of the daily reality of survival within these conditions, and seen from this perspective, the events depicted in the sagas are indeed not infrequently driven by struggles for scarce resources. It is worthwhile, however, to mention at this point what the author emphasized several times himself in his talks and seminars - namely, that the purpose of this methodology is not an attempt to "prove that the sagas are true" in all their plot details (they certainly have literary value of their own), but rather to emphasize that the sagas are not devoid of sociological information. As such, they prove to be valuable research tools in the study of structure and dynamics of early Icelandic society.
Medieval Icelanders had a need of such stories to circulate about themselves, their past, and their legal structure. What could be done in an escalating conflict with one's neighbor who is better connected or has more sons, for instance? The absence of a specialized policing force in medieval Iceland placed the responsibility of action upon the individual. Saga narratives regularly make these subjects the center of their focus, informing the audience what could be done in various situations and what actions their protagonists undertook when faced with the same dilemmas and choices; which approaches were successful and led to increased renown, and which approaches brought failure and ridicule; what worked and what did not. Such constant emphasis on reality-based scenarios, often dictated by competition for scarce resources (whether they be material, such as forest land; legal, such as support at a þing; or more personal, such as prestige), demonstrates that the saga audience was interested in hearing this material and that it was still relevant to them in their own times. The sociological information in the sagas, coupled with the wide range of variability in which this information is presented, allows them thus to be approached as ethnographic accounts, giving a comprehensive portrayal of a unique medieval society.
The interdisciplinary approach to the sagas taken in this book remains as refreshing today as when it was printed nearly fifteen years ago.

[Gary Reger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medieval Iceland was a peculiar place in the European world. Settled by Vikings from Norway and the British isles starting around 860, the island never fell under the control of a king or island-wide hierarchical authority; rather, local "big men" scattered all over enjoyed local respect and were turned to for help, but did not have political authority. There was no feudal system; farmers owned their own land and remained independent. The Althing, an annual meeting, passed laws and decided disputes, but feud was a continuing mechanism for dispute resolution and law enforcement stayed a "do-it-yourself" proposition. These circumstances changed in the thirteenth century, as some leaders attained broader authority and sought to impose political control, but their efforts ultimately failed and the island came under the Norwegian king Hakon in 1263.

Byock's history of Iceland isn't a standard this happened, then that kind of book. He is much more interested in the unique social and cultural features of the island. In contradistinction to many historians, he takes the sagas seriously as sources precisely for these aspects of Icelandic society. The challenge here is that the sagas -- which are one of the earliest and best vernacular literatures in Europe -- were written long after the events they describe. Many are infused with Christian elements; the populace accepted Christianity in 1000, but the power of clerics and the Church remained limited and often ineffectual till much later. Byock makes his case that the sagas can indeed be mined for the kind of social practices that interest Byock. The result is a fascinating picture of a culture unlike any other western medieval society.

Byock filled his book with plenty of maps and illustrations and explores in depth incidents in the sagas to elucidate the realities of Icelandic life. Flaws are few; the only deficiency that struck me was evading an analysis of what changed in the thirteen century to open up opportunities for a handful of Icelanders to try for supremacy. But this is a quibble. "Viking Age Iceland" is a terrific introduction to a less known culture and a great companion to reading the sagas.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book - very well-written, thorough, & informative. Follows a very logical order of revealing information and is not hard to keep up with.

This book was extremely interesting, and the appendices were definitely bonus treats. If I could study with Jesse Byock at UCLA, I would love to; however, I wouldn't even be able to begin to apply to school at UCLA because I definitely can't afford it.

Here are some interesting things I learned from this book:
- Icelandic women were allowed to seek divorce from their husbands for a handful of reasons, most of them very predictable (e.g. incompatibility), but one of the reasons that surprised me was "when the husband wore feminine clothing" (320). Can't make this shit up.
- The longhouses in which the Icelanders lived were made of turf, and the latrines had room for several people at once because apparently bathroom trips were a "communal undertaking" (368). In fact, "one saga reveals that the latrine of a Viking Age farmhouse in Norway had room for 'eleven people to sit on either side'" (368). Jesus Christ.
- Skyr is apparently VERY old.

And now some general takeaways:
- Icelanders valued honor highly and allowed feuding but tried to avoid it through compromise.
- It was hard to gain a lot of power in Iceland; the structure & culture simply didn't allow it.

In any case, I learned a lot and hope to keep learning more about Viking Age Iceland. I also hope to check out more of Jesse Byock's work - love the guy.

[Danien · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author explores the settlement of Iceland by Vikings through to the end of the Free States period in the early 14th century when it came under Norwegian rule.

He presents a different perspective of the unique Icelandic Viking culture by combining historical fact with information extracted from the sagas. He describes how the largely agricultural population formed complex social and legal systems, based on advocates, and a political system without executive heads of state.

The text is interspersed with story bits from various sagas to illustrate these structures and general life on the harsh island but can be a little dry at times.

A good read overall that presents a more complete picture of what most people consider a violent culture.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellently organized, coherently written overview and analysis of life in the free republic of Iceland. Jesse Byock is a lead scholar of Scandinavian history at UCLA and writes with great authority and detail on the subject. Although much of the material of this book appeared in an earlier work of his (Medieval Iceland, University of California Press) he has added new conjectures and explanations to provide a fuller description of life on the island. While at times a bit dull (mostly because I'd read the Medieval Iceland, rendering parts of Viking Age Iceland redundant), this is a must-have for anyone interested in Vikings, Iceland, and the Sagas.

[Stephanie Ricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating look at the political and sociological environment of Viking Age Iceland, the Free State. The time period is examined partly through the lens of the sagas and partly from other sources, all of which show meticulous research. The intricacies of law can be a little dry (okay, they're definitely a little dry if you aren't as madly obsessed with everything Icelandic at the moment), but even to the less obsessed, the depiction of Iceland's unique structure is fascinating. Its history is unlike that of any other country I know of.

"Among them [the Icelanders] there is no king, but only law."

[Ken Davidian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an academic work covering Icelandic history between the settlement (~920) until the end of the Free State era (1260ish?). It was probably a lot deeper and more limited than I needed for my trip to Iceland, but having said that, it was an easy and very interesting read. If I had the time, I'd read the second volume, covering the Medieval Iceland era too. I'm looking forward to seeing the Althing and hopefully the Gragas and other legal codices that comprised the body of Icelandic law during this early part of their history... very interesting material!

[Iñaki Tofiño · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking the sagas as his literary map, Byock embarks the reader on a journey through the settlement years and the times of the Icelandic Free State. Its is extremely interesting to see how a new society develops and creates its own set of rules relying on rules and compromise instead of going for uncontrolled violence.
In many senses it helps to understand contemporary Iceland.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes a literary, saga-based approach to the history of Viking Age Iceland. The focus is on society and culture rather than any sort of narrative, and it's really great as an aid in understanding the sagas.

[António Sarzedas · Rating 5 out of 5]

As pessoa que hoje se espantam com a forma como a Islândia resolveu os seus problemas durante a crise financeira, esquecem-se que a verdadeira Democracia europeia não é grega, é escandinava e germânica. Os gregos deram-nos o termo, o norte deu-nos o espírito.

[Janice Sheufelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history, especially on how the immigrant settlers “experienced a de-evolutionary change”, and the establishment of a new society and culture. Only 3 stars due to excessive minutiae on some topics. Excellent incorporation of the sagas.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years, there have been many books written on the Vikings and still new findings lead to new or improved insights. I've already more than a few books on these people (fiction and non-fiction, of course) - the last one being Les Vikings: Histoire et Civilisation by Régis Boyer, but never one focussing on the life in Iceland. Jesse L. Byock is one of the experts on Vikings and decided to focus on the life and politics of Vikings in Iceland. For this, he took the Icelandic sagas as a basis to try to give account of what life was back then, even if the sagas were written much later and aren't a proper historical source. The fictional part of these sagas can not be dismissed, of course.

Penguin and other publishers have put out the sagas over the years and they are still available. Also online you can find them, like on sagadb.org. For an introduction, I can recommend this work: The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga (Cambridge Introductions to Literature) by Margaret Clunies Ross.

Mr Byock has thus taken the various sagas, even cited from them, depending on the subject and context, to try to provide an as clear picture as possible of life in Iceland: where the people settled, how they ruled the country, how they traded, and so on. One must not have read any of the sagas to read this book, however. That's a big plus. It does help, of course. Then again, after you've read this book, your interested should be sparked to dive into the sagas, if only a few of those Mr Byock used in this exposition.

In 19 chapters and 4 appendices, you get a pretty clear overview and better understanding of how the Vikings lived their lives, closed off of the European mainland, though there was trade, of course. You learn about their housing, their nutritional ways of life, the hardships, the politics (e.g. Althing), the acquiring and accumulating of wealth and power, law and order, feuds and vendettas, marriage and divorce, ... up until the Catholic Church discovered the island (via homeland Norway, of course, as Norway in a way supervised what was going on up north, if only as a way for Iceland to continue to be able and allowed to trade and what not).

Aside from a lot of text, the book contains many references, various illustrations and maps. The appendices contain a list of the law speakers, a list of the bishops during the Free State (because Iceland had its own government/rules/laws), a detailed explanation on the turf constructions (housing), and finally a short story on a woman who travelled from Vinland to Rome.

It's well known that Vikings spread out over the world: British isles, European mainland, Asia, Iceland, Greenland, and even North America (long before . Most books focus on their time on the British isles and the European mainland, but 'Viking Age Iceland' is a more than recommended book for those wanting to learn (more) about the people's time in Iceland in particular. And then maybe have a saga or two later on.

[Cameron DeHart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense history textbook on Viking Age Iceland (duh). The Free State period of Icelandic history before the covenant with Norway is fascinating, from a "state development" perspective. The society was legalistic and based on feuds, that were not necessarily lining up along kinship lines, and were adjudicated by chieftains who "owned" a finite number of titles. The title wasn't strictly tied to jurisdiction, and the chieftains would "advocate" for different parties at the annual Althing (kinda like a legislative court). The chieftain-advocates would argue in the Althing and local things to settle feuds. There was no military or executive power (police, king, governor), so the whole system relied upon settling feuds rather than dictating and enforcing strict policies from on high. Violence was entirely privatized. The Church of Iceland never developed much power and was kept out of lay society, in part due to their poor land holdings. All the valuable land had been distributed by the time Christianity arrived, and the original Icelanders were fiercely protective of their property, such that most of the land given to the Church was formally retained by private citizens.

I wrote a paper about Iceland's unemployment benefits system, which is unique among the Nordic countries for being not-super generous. I found that most Icelanders exercise their "exit" option by moving to England or Scandinavia during weak economies, and many men of working age are happy to attend university (generously subsidized) or work in fishing-adjacent industries. The biggest factor, however, was their flexible exchange rate which they played with whenever the economy slipped. Unemployment rarely went above 3%, and with the absence of any sizeably socialist or communist parties in Iceland in the 19th and 20th centuries, there wasn't an impetus to expand to welfare systems like there was with the Red-Green parties in Scandinavia.

I'm super intererested to learn more about the period in between my two encounters with Iceland, the Viking Age and rise of modern statehood in the 20th century. This book stops at the convenant with Norway, but I'd like to learn more about the effects of empire-building and what conditions led Icelanders to embrace nationalism and push for autonomy in 1918 and independence by 1944.

[Riet]

Een prima boek, als je geinteresseerd bent in IJsland. Soms een beetje saai, maar over het algemeen heel interessant. Het gaat over de periode van de aankomst van de eerste Vikingen in IJsland tot ca 1260, als de z.g. Vrijstaat onder de Noorse koning gaat vallen. Interessant zoals een gemeenschap functioneert zonder leiding of bovenklasse. Uiteindelijk blijkt dat ze toch wel leiders nodig hebben en geleidelijk ontstaat er een bovenlaag, die toch meer privileges heeft.
Knap zoals de schrijver dit alles heeft uitgezocht. Hij gebruikt daarvoor de sages, die toch pas in de 13de eeuw voor het eerst werden opgeschreven. Af en toe wel moeilijk om alle personages uit elkaar te houden. De namen zijn moeilijk en komen steeds weer in een iets andere vorm terug.

[Emily Van Coolput · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, but at times I had the feeling of reading the same information over and over again and some chapters (particularly the ones devoted to the various roles of the Godi) could probably have been merged with minimal loss of information. Other topics were touched upon so superficially it left me a bit frustrated, but it's entirely possible there's not an awful lot more information available in the first place. Nevertheless, I picked this up shortly after a holiday in Iceland and it proved an enlightening read.

[Confaederica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se amate tutto ciò che è nordico e vichingo, questo testo è ciò che fa par voi! Attraverso l’uso delle saghe prodotte in Islanda, Jesse Byock ci offre un quadro completo, curioso e travolgente sulla società del tempo. Molto gradevole alla lettura e con molte citazioni a saghe portanti della cultura nordica.
Da leggere assolutamente!
👍🏻

[Book]

If you're looking for stories about Vikings, this isn't it. This is a mostly academic look at the settling of Iceland during the Viking Age. I read it for research purposes and I found it quite useful.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly useful and informative book about Iceland in the Viking period