Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GENTES (Genesis of Ethnicities and Nations in Textual Evidence for Scandinavia, c. 750-c. 1000)
Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-08-31
The Scandinavian past in the ninth and tenth centuries -- forming part of what is usually referred to as the 'viking age' -- is an area of lively scholarly and, increasingly, popular interest. The origins of the modern Scandinavian countries and their identities are commonly anchored in this period. The narrative accounts of this period in Scandinavia have thus heavily been focused on seeking the origins of modern Danish, Norwegian and Swedish identities. In Norway in particular, heavy usage is made of the later medieval Icelandic saga material in producing narratives of this period, which leads to several difficulties due to their lateness relative to the date of the events they describe. This project set out to criticise the dominant narratives of the birth of the Danish and Norwegian kingdoms through the use of contemporary and near-contemporary sources, which scholars in the past had rejected for various reasons. It was suggested that a new and invigorating approach could be taken to Scandinavian history in this period in particular through the examination of Adam of Bremen's (writing in the 1070s) information on Norway.
Intensive work on Adam of Bremen's account of the reign of Håkon, Jarl of Lade, at the end of the 10th century in Norway revealed that this account was far more accurate than previous scholars had accepted. In particular, other evidence in the form of written sources and Old Norse verse were employed to argue that Håkon was in fact the first ruler to hold power over any entity that could reasonably be considered 'Norway', while the previous 'Fairhair' dynasty had at most local power in western Norway and much of the specifics about it were more legendary than history, and in fact may have been drawn from aspects of later rulers, including Håkon Jarl. These findings will be published in an open-access article in a peer-reviewed journal.
Further work was undertaken on the nature of ethnic terminology in Scandinavia, which bolstered the findings of the first article: it was argued that in the ninth and tenth centuries, the term Norðmaðr/Nordmannus/'Northman' primarily referred to North Germanic-speaking inhabitants of Scandinavia (and its diaspora), and served to contrast them with other neighbouring groups, such as the nomadic Sami in northern Scandinavia and the Slavs south of the Baltic. It was argued that tenth-century northern Norway, the focus of Håkon's power, was probably the time and place when this term came to mean more specifically 'Norwegian', in correspondence with the development of a new political unit. This article will also be published in a peer-reviewed collaborative volume.
These initial studies have laid the groundwork for a new monograph in which a new history of Scandinavia in this period will be explored. The Norwegian material mentioned above is supported by investigations of Danish identity and the political development of the Danish kingdom(s) in the ninth and tenth centuries, and by the examinations of viking activity in Europe.
Further work was undertaken on the nature of ethnic terminology in Scandinavia, which bolstered the findings of the first article: it was argued that in the ninth and tenth centuries, the term Norðmaðr/Nordmannus/'Northman' primarily referred to North Germanic-speaking inhabitants of Scandinavia (and its diaspora), and served to contrast them with other neighbouring groups, such as the nomadic Sami in northern Scandinavia and the Slavs south of the Baltic. It was argued that tenth-century northern Norway, the focus of Håkon's power, was probably the time and place when this term came to mean more specifically 'Norwegian', in correspondence with the development of a new political unit. This article will also be published in a peer-reviewed collaborative volume.
These initial studies have laid the groundwork for a new monograph in which a new history of Scandinavia in this period will be explored. The Norwegian material mentioned above is supported by investigations of Danish identity and the political development of the Danish kingdom(s) in the ninth and tenth centuries, and by the examinations of viking activity in Europe.
The results of the project have argued for a considerable change in the narrative of Norwegian history, which goes considerably beyond the state of the art. Within Danish history and Scandinavian history in general, the results will also challenge the dominant narratives. This will be valuable background for contemporary debates on identity within Scandinavia, and, through emphasising the dynamic evolution of concepts of identity, foster a more inclusive model of identity in Scandinavia.