Genesis of Ethnicities and Nations in Textual Evidence for Scandinavia, c. 750-c. 1000

Projektinformationen

GENTES

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 792006

DOI

10.3030/792006

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 13 März 2018

Startdatum 1 September 2018

Enddatum 31 August 2020

Finanziert unter

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Gesamtkosten

€ 178 156,80

EU-Beitrag

€ 178 156,80

Koordiniert durch

OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GENTES (Genesis of Ethnicities and Nations in Textual Evidence for Scandinavia, c. 750-c. 1000)

Berichtszeitraum: 2018-09-01 bis 2020-08-31

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

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.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

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.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

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.

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