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Ebbs-Thesis-To-Print.Pdf (1.056Mb) Power and Information The Significance of Communication for Iceland’s Non-Persons and Social Elite Eira Kathleen Ebbs Master’s Thesis in Nordic Viking and Medieval Studies MAS4090, 60 Credits Supervisor: Jón Viðar Sigurðsson Department of Linguistic and Scandinavian Studies UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2016 1 Introduction 4 State of Research 4 Sources 5 Political Structure 9 The Importance of Family and Friendship 10 Culture of Isolation 11 Differences in Settlement Patterns 13 Structure 15 Chapter 1. The Non-Person Defined 16 Introduction 16 Non-Person Definition 16 Newfoundland and Saga Children as Non-Persons 17 Vagrant as Non Person 19 Shepherd as Non-Person 21 The Significance of Names 22 The Grágás Vagrant 25 The Dependency Laws 25 Vagrancy Defined 27 Perversity 28 Vagrants at the Assembly 29 Movement and Boarding 30 Treatment of Vagrants 32 Settled Lodging 33 Female Vagrancy 35 Conclusion 37 Chapter 2. Power, Information and Mobility 39 The Social Elite: Knowledge and Power 39 The Reputation of Knowledge 42 Information as Commodity 44 Information as a Commodity in Friendship 44 Counsel as a Commodity in Friendship 46 Counsel and Power 47 Information as a Commodity to Non-Persons 49 Information as a Commodity to Vagrants 51 Mobility 52 Gender and Mobility in Newfoundland and Iceland 52 Mobility, Relationships and Access to Information in Newfoundland and Iceland 54 Movement of Female Non-Persons in the Sagas 57 Non-Persons as Communication Channel 59 The Concepts of Face and Face-Work 60 Children as Information Carriers in Newfoundland and Iceland 61 Shepherds as Information Carriers 63 Vagrants as Information Carriers 64 Conclusion 66 2 Chapter 3. Information, Setting and Vulnerability 68 The Concept of Vulnerability 69 Vulnerability in Newfoundland 70 Vulnerability in Iceland 71 Reputation 73 Songs 75 Reputation and Non-Persons 76 Information Exchange in Cat Harbour, Newfoundland 77 Settings for Communication 80 The Meetings and Assemblies of Newfoundland and Iceland 80 Feasts 84 The Home 86 Sporting Events 86 Harmful Uses of Information 87 Guile 88 Non-Persons as Whetters 89 Voluntary Vagrancy 95 Conclusion 98 Chapter 4. The Classification of Information 100 Gossip Defined 100 Gossip Defined by Christianity 101 Gossip and Society in Newfoundland and Iceland 102 News and Gossip: The Classification and Reputation of Information 103 Gossip and Gender 106 Information Exchange: Gender, Prejudice and Non-Persons 108 Legality of Speech 110 Conclusion 112 Conclusion 114 Bibliography 117 The cover image dates from the early fourteenth century and is one of a number of instructional paintings known collectively as Warning against Gossip in St. Mary and All Saints Church, Little Melton, Norfolk. 3 Introduction “Often the solitary one finds grace for himself…” Wanderers are unpredictable, mysterious and lonesome. However, they are also a societal constant and an important and powerful force. Studies of medieval Icelandic history and culture have focused primarily upon the social elite but little attention has been paid to the wanderers, the lowest strata of society, those people who could be defined as non-persons. For this project I have chosen to concentrate specifically on these non-persons and their function as information carriers in Iceland, especially as it relates to the power game of the social elite, the wealthy farmers and chieftains who vied for control of territory and resources. The classification of non-person includes obscure members of society such as shepherds (hirðir) and children (barn), but most prominently vagrants (gǫngumaðr), all of whom were often overlooked by their contemporaries, including the saga authors. This is not to say that they are unrepresented within the genre, but that they are treated as a form of stock character, unlike the socially elite heroes, who are treated as individuals. Rather than being discouraged by the lack of attention and detailed information within the sagas, the anonymity of this group has encouraged me to ask: Historically, who were these people and what was their place and purpose within their communities? I propose that non-persons acted as an indispensable channel of communication in medieval Iceland and that their role had consequences for the entire society. Although not necessarily acknowledged as such, non-persons were a truly powerful and necessary group within their communities. State of Research Iceland’s power game has been discussed for centuries.1 Subjects such as the influence of friendship and kinship and the importance of householding have all been recognized as factors affecting the position of the social elite. Even details such as the number of chieftains and specific chiefly traits, like generosity in friendship, have been studied extensively. However, the vital role of information in Icelandic personal and political relationships has not yet been included in this discussion. The formal settings where information would have been exchanged, such as the assemblies, have been very thoroughly discussed, yet the passing of information which occurred there has not been examined. Furthermore, and even more importantly, the unofficial channels of communication and the culture which surrounded them have not been considered by researchers. These informal and unstudied forms of communication would have made up the majority of information sharing, creating a constant 1 See Byock, 2001; Karlsson, 2000; Johannesson, 1974; Sigurðsson, 2005 and 2014. 2 Sigurðsson, 2005 3 Clover, 2005 (281) 4 Ibid, (241-242) See also, Byock, 1988 (39-48) for social and political factors in twentieth and twenty-first century Iceland and their influence on the study of saga origins. 4 flow of conversation throughout the year across every commune and social class. As the topic of communication and information in Iceland’s power game is as yet untouched, it follows that the Icelandic non-persons, and their role as information carriers, have also gone unnoticed. None of the main topics presented in this thesis are even mentioned in a thorough summary of saga scholarship from 1970 to the present, including the introduction of ‘new’ ideas, topics and approaches.2 However, the lack of previous research has given me the opportunity to think independently and create my own opinions and ideas. It is my hope that the work done to create this thesis will improve the state of research and inspire further discussion within the study of the Icelandic power game. Sources Introducing ideas in a new area of study is interesting and exciting, however it is not without its challenges. Previous disinterest in the Icelandic non-person, as well as the role of communication in the power game of the society’s elite, has resulted in an absence of literature relating to either topic. It is for this reason that I have made a direct study of the Íslendingasögur episodes involving non-persons as well as the Grágás laws pertaining to vagrancy. Further investigation of Grágás, this time in regards to communication, along with an examination of the wisdom found in Hávamál, was used to expand on the cultural concepts and values presented in the sagas, especially those concerning interaction and relationships. These sources provide an excellent base for gathering information about the way Icelandic society regarded its lowliest members and demonstrate their function as communication channels. As well, they offer possible motivations for the behaviour of the sagas’ social elite and demonstrate the importance of information in the struggle for political power. The Íslendingasögur, or the family sagas, describe events which are said to have taken place in Iceland during the tenth and eleventh centuries, they were, however, recorded anonymously during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These prose narratives have a particular focus on genealogies and family histories. There has been much debate about the source of these sagas. The Icelandic school, based primarily on the work of Sigurður Nordal, has traditionally maintained an interest purely in sagas’ literary sources with little consideration being spared for a potential oral background. Source analysts, on the other hand, have tried to look at the content and style of each saga individually. Although these researchers have found components that indicate an oral element, for example recurrent motifs and plot devices,3 in the sagas’ authorship it is impossible to know anything precise about oral culture at the time 2 Sigurðsson, 2005 3 Clover, 2005 (281) 5 of their creation.4 Dating sagas and assigning specific authors has also proven to be quite challenging. The oldest surviving fragments, pieces of Egils saga, Eybyggja saga, Heiđarviga saga and Laxdæla saga, have been dated to the mid-thirteenth century although it is possible that some predate 1200.5 Source analysts have attempted to create a chronology of manuscripts with some difficulty caused by the homogeneity of the style and lack of definite authorship. The uncertainty surrounding the sagas’ origins has also created serious discussion about their historical merit. To what extent should these texts be taken as fiction and in what sense can they be interpreted as fact?6 I believe that, although the family sagas cannot be taken as factual histories which accurately portray real people and events, they do offer the reader insight into the culture that existed at the time of their creation, including personal and societal values. It is reasonable to believe that these sagas represent a society that was recognised and understood by their audience, therefore I suggest that they resemble the time period in which they were recorded more closely than the one in which the actual events are meant to have taken place. That being said, there would also have been many themes and details which could represent both time periods. The struggle for supremacy amongst the upper classes, the existence of outcast or dispossessed members of society and the desire to understand ones’ surroundings through access to information could all be classified as social constants.
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