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HERITAGE MAGAZINE

Editorial IN THIS ISSUE Fine prehistoric optics Chilly winds, the colourful leaves of autLlmn and the growing darkness or just finery? 3-4 here in t he North, all remind us of the approaching winter. What we need New Discoveries in Norwich 5 this time of t he year is a warming fireplace and some good reading. And here yo u are dea r readers - al l over the globe and in whatever climate 's Hammer you are living in - a new well-filled issue of Viking Heritage Magazine! - on the Viking-Age amulet- Let's start with the two articles dea ling with archaeological finds from pendants in 6-7 the Viki ng Age, one about the rock crystal lenses fo und on and the oth er about the popular Thor's hammer pendants. It is really amazing Viking folklore B-9 how much knowledge of the past we can get by doing extensive research on just one type of artefact. : Plundering Man y times we ca n see that mythology is involved in the practical use the for Centuries 10-11 p of an artefact, as is t he ca se with the Th or's hammer. As a continuation of and society I. th e article about Nord ic reli gion in the last issue of this magazine, we are About on 12-14 happy to present an article ab out Vi Folk lore in this issue. ~ Through out the ages folklore has been a way of interpreting reality and - Historical Center < makin g it un derstandable. in Vestfold was officialy In this iss ue we also take a cl oser look at some of the people of the opened May 21th 14-15 Viking Age who are rarely mentioned, the or the slaves. This is the ~. fi rs t of two articles, presenting the living con ditions for slaves on Iceland. The next article will be published in 4/00. ~ As usua l there is information about how the Vikings' heritage is dealt NOR TH SE A with in di ffere nt places. The past summer has seen so many kinds of VIKING LE G AC Y even ts re gard ing Vikin gs, that we cannot begin to mention them all. All these highlights and t he growing interest in Vikin gs an d th e Viking Age make it even more importa nt to ke ep up th is opportunity for spreading Viking Heritage the re su lts of different kin ds of sci entific research and investigations as Fifth Board Meeting held on , well as an insight into wha t is ha ppening in the Viking world of today. July 2000 16-17 So, feel welcome to contact us with your news, ideas, and suggestions! Viking exhibition in Como, Italy 16-17 I hope you will have a relaxing reading! A ship comes a-sailing Marita E Ekman The story behind the Editor "Viking Ship" find in Nattviken, Harnosand, 18 E-mail: [email protected] The Braid - A Unique Manx Farmstead 19

Reflections upon the Vikings! Words of 1000 Years event 20-21 New Viking-age presentations Wisdom in the Netherlands 2 2-23

To a false ftiend the foothpath willds Though his house be on the highway Heritage News To a sure ftiend there is {/ short C1/t, Though he live a long way off. Heritage News 23- 26 From "Havamal" (Words of "The High One")

\ ik:"ng VieWR oints ~.j-

About the front page: Viking Vie,'o'Doin:s 27 ~, Rock crystal lenses fro m the Vikin g Age, found on Gotland. Read about them on pa ge 3. Photo: Raymond Hejdstrbm. © Gotlands Fornsal. 1< ~ http://viking.hgo.se 2 VIKING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

By MICHAEL NEIR

In order to develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of slavery we have to get to know the structures of Icelandic society. Its background is deeply rooted - .----.. in the time when Iceland was colonised. In a country lacking executive institutions, the survival of the individual is strongly dependent on the power of his clan. If a person has been found guilty of a serious crime, he is denied legal protection by his kinsmen. He becomes a sk6garmaor (outlaw), which entitles anyone to take revenge on him without "'\ retribution. In that respect, Icelandic law matches perfectly ~i~\ with the Viking conception of the world, dividing the cosmos into inner- and outer spheres. The slave lived under the same conditions as the sk6garmaor. He was practically without rights and stood outside of law and society. There was only one reason for protecting a slave and that was because he was the personal property of a member of society...

Our main sources of information describing When referring to the leading classes, wo rking on the landowners' properri es . To the slaves' siruation are the eld er Norse texts. we need to menrion the Pingmenn, meaning round off the pi cture we mustn't forget the We need menrion the Icelandic Grdgds as most the farmers who were ri ch enough to follow peopl e who li ved on chari ty (6magi). Dating imporranr, but law texts from the Norwegian their gooi to the AJthing. T he goooro was a back to the siruation at the ti me of the land colonists' home di srri cts are also of great ki nd of chi eftain , this power was held by a acquisition, all free men we re regarded as interes r. Especiall y in ea rli er times, scienrists limited number of men. Aside from makin g hav ing equal rights. O n the other hand, also preferred ro view literature like the laws and electing judges at the AJthing, the political influence had become a question of landndmab6k and the Sagas as hisro rical goilar also held a key-position in Icelandic economical power. Accordingly, the free state so urces. H owever they underes ti mated their society in many other ways. Every thingmaor seems to be an attempt to uni fy twO d iffe renr character as independenr pieces of arr. In was obligated to affili ate hi mself with a gooi. rea li ties: a democratic- and an aristocratic acrual fact, the Sagas were not wri tten down However he could choose freely, making a one. Later on, the te nsion between these two unril ce nruries after slavery had disappea red . gooi's power strongly dependenr on the concepts will cause the fin al breakdown of This casts some doubt on the pi crure of number of his followers. Since it was a Icelandic society. slavery as introduced in the Sagas. We wi ll inherited privil ege, the goooro 5 power was re rum ro this question at a later stage. based on pres ti ge rather than wealth. In that In contrast to all the other classes, By decision of the great AJthing, Icelandic respect the gooi was a kind of "primus inrer slaves we re not subject to the grea t AJ . law was written down during the years 111 7- pares" . As already menrioned, the Icelandic To the Icelandic people, a slave (Prd!!l; fem ale IS. Prior to the law book, the duties of upper class consisted of the ri ches t farmers = ambdtt) stood ourside society; explaining G ragas, one of the law speakers - the symbolic (bomdIY . Nevertheless, in the context of th e why he neve r could be a legal person. Instead head of the free state - was to recite the grea t Althing th e Pingmenn also represented he was consid ered to be someone else's common laws. Among the three things, the all members of free Icelandic society. property, just like cattle - and was protected A/thing had national imporrance; it was the To name the members of of a b6ndi's on the same conditions, so to say. O f course, place fo r poli tical and juridical disputes. It household in order of imporrance we must no one can expect a hu man bei ng to behave became the meeting poinr for Icelandic begin with the free tenanrs, the leiglendingar. in the same way as an animal. T his gave the leadership. The btiosettumenn were dependenr to much slave a rather ambiguous position, grea ter ex tenr and had to make a living by somewhere between person and thing. http://viking.hgo.se 12 VIKING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

rhe counrry or for a prize higher rhan rhe debr. Neverrheless nor even rhese limira rions Sagas and society I. we re beyo nd recall : By run ning away rhe debr-slave would srep ourside sociery irrevocably.

Other than the liberated, considering children of mixed unions of freeborn and About slavery slaves as a separare cl ass can be regarded more or less as a new invenrion caused by rhe special condi rions on Iceland. T he need ro define one's ancesrry exacdy can probabl y be explained by rhe ri sk for exrensive social on Iceland mobili ry orherwise. In rh is res pecr law is a grear insrrumenr in cemenring social consrrucrions. Before we consider any excepri onal cases H owever we have ro concl ude rh ar rhe The imporrance of a perso n's ancesrry is we have ro describe rhe ordinary simarion. incidences in which a slave appeared ro be mos r obvious in quesri ons of inherirance. In Generall y speaking, a slave was nor rreared as a person were srricrl y limired ro rhis conrexr ir seems quire surprising rhar responsible for his acrions. He could be mosrly personal busin ess. Generally speaking, Icelandic law also pays some considerarion ro boughr, renred or used as currency. Killing a slave srood ourside rhe law and was subjecr illegirimare children, nor wirhour dealing one's own slave was a legal acrion, ar leasr if ro his masrer's mood. rh em some disadvanrages, of course. rh e homicide was announced wirhin rhe The same idea is also refl ecred in rhe H owever, children of mixed unions, are nor same day. H urring someone el se's slave on rh e procedure of manumiss ion. As a firsr srep we enrided ro inherir from rheir free parenr ar orher hand, was rreared as a capiral crime. In musr menrion rhe free-giving by rhe owner, all. In rhar conrexr ir seems rhar ir is rhe case of bearing, a fi ne for insulr had ro be morivared by eirher benevolence or paymenr. morher's social background rhar derermines a paid ro rhe owner. For wounding or killing As we already have learned, rhe slave was child's social srams. Hence rhe child of a free rhe slave rh e offender was required ro repl ace allowed ro save some money of his own. man and a slave woman (hrisungr) is rhe los r manpower, which in rhe worsr case However, ro receive a full y-l egal considered a slave, while rhe descendanr of a meanr nor more rhan rhe slave's rrading manumission, rhe freed man had ro swear an freed woman can acquire legal srams by value. oarh in fronr of rhe goo i ar rhe vdrthing, one swearing rhe oarh in fronr of rhe gooi. of rhe smaller rhings in addirion ro rhe grear Inversely, rhe child of a free woman is always However more severe punishment could AJrhing. This procedure was known as a free one, independenr of rhe farh er's srarus. be expecred if rhe slave died prorecring his "enrering inro rhe law" . However, we can In any case a child of a slave/freed man masrer (skoggangr). The facr rhar a slave hardly speak of a rrue emanciparion: being a (hornungr) can nor receive any inherirance couldn' r be punished for larceny if he parr of his omagi, rhe former owner was from rhe marernal t£tt. One can wonder if commined rhe crime rogerher wirh a free obligared ro supporr his freed man in cases of rhis special definirion of a child's social srams man demonsrrares perfecrly rhe exrenr ro need. O n rhe orher hand he could crave mighr reflecr an older - so ro say - which slaves were regarded as norhing more blood money for his dependenr and marriachal conceprion of sociery. On rhe rhan rools. In cases of homicide rh e slave's furrhermore he was also enrirled ro inherir if orher hand ir seems more logical if we owner would be held responsible as long as rh ere were no children. Acrually, ir would remember rhar a woman, in rhe eyes of rhe he didn'r dissoci are himselffrom rhe slave. see m rhar rh e conceprual ries are nor severed , could never esrablish a legal exrra­ T here is probably no ben er regularion ro unril rhe nexr generarion. mariral relarionship. Paradoxicall y, ir was express rhe common conrempr for slaves: In fu ll y legal for any man ro keep a few slave cases of larce ny, rhe Prt£ll and ambdtt would Debtors were condemned ro a sorr of misrresses (d karndoi sir). be auromaricall y regarded as guil ry unless rempora ry enslavemenr. T hus rhey did nor Ar rh e same rime, rhere had probably proven innocenr. form a class of rheir own. H owever rhe never bee n any pracrical need ro conrrol rhe O n rhe orher hand rhere are some debror's freedom was gready resrri cred. H e hornungar, child re n of freeborns and slave regulari ons wh ich do nor ro fir in ro rhe could be fo rced ro work, while rh e pro firs misrresses who we re pres umably no rari ry. An picrure, suggesring some legal sram s for wenr ro his crediro r. O ne of rhe crediror's inreresring observarion was wherher hrisungr slaves. For example, a slave was enri rl ed ro obligarions was ro supporr hi s debror's or hornungr were enrided ro inherir from acquire weal rh - wirhin limirs, of course. dependenrs, which was cerrainly no hinder ro rheir morher's fam il y. A logical explanarion H owever he could also lose his money qui re forcing rhem ro work as well. The only would be rhe low srams of rheir orher parenr, soon ifhis masre r refused responsibili ry for exceprion would be rhe debror's wife. which means rhar rh ey enrer rhe t£tt" empry­ his behaviou r. In case of a fi ghr berween rwo According ro rhe spirir of rh e marriage­ handed". slaves, rh e bearen one gor 113 of rhe fine conrracr she jusr had been given ro her meanwhile his masrer was enrirled ro 2/3. husband as a ki nd of ward. T his meanr rhar Generally speaking, the institution of Bur rhere is one siruari on in whi ch a slave rh e cred iror had ro ger her fami ly's kinship can be defin ed in rwo differenr ways. had more righrs rhan rh e free man: ''A slave permiss ion. Furrhermore he had ro supporr T he lineal definiri on refl ecrs rhe individual's can kill for his wife, eve n rhough she is a his debror for a liferime ifhe rel eased him ances rors, making ir rarher imporranr in cases slave. Bur a free man is nor all owed ro , nor when he was roo old ro supporr himself. of rransferr ing in herirance. Neverrhel ess even if rhe slave was his wife. " By raking on Wirh regards inherirance, rhe debror only livi ng kinsmen can be expecred ro be more rh e husband's role, rhe co mmirrer of rhe could in herir movable goods; rhis was ro imporranr ro a perso n rh an dead ones. On crime also lefr his social sphere making him prorecr rh e inregri ry of rh e fa mily land. Iceland one of rh e t£tts obligari ons was ro rh e slave's equal. One can wonder abour all Simil ar ro a slave, rhe debro r became a manage rh e fa mily land. H ence rhe ooal cases when a slave was punished for his skogarrmaor when he killed hi s masrer: he belonged ro all fami ly members. Logicall y, acri ons like a free man - perhaps jusr beca use should be maim ed. land could never be sold as personal properry. he had enrered rhe sphere of rh e freeborn) Finally we also have ro menrion some The real characrer of marriage as an all iance Like a member of sociery when kill ing his imporranr laws meanr ro prorecr debrors. of rwo t£ttir is revealed in rh e wedding acr, 11 masre r, a slave (Urns inro a skogarmaor. Logically, rhey could eirher be so ld ourside when rh e bride is give n ro her husband as a "

13 http://viking.hgo.se VIKING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

I J

Midgard - Historical (enter in , Norway was officialy opened May 27th

By JAN LINDH in Vestfold counry. public areas cover about 550 sq.m. , the The County Council has set as ide cafe 100 sq.m., administration 100 sq.m. and workshops and technical rooms etc. Midgard - historical cenrer in Vestfold, a NOK 25 million (about EURO 3.1 150 sq.m. The Midgard Centre is no one hour drive south of , is a visitors' million) for the project. The rotal cost for traditional museum, but an information center at the gravemounds of Borre, aimed the cenrre is es timated to about NOK 32 centre linked ro the Borre mounds. at presenring the cultural remains of the million. Naturally therefore, the presenration will counry of Vest fold to the public. It is focus on the huge burial mounds in the centred primarily around remains from The Centre Borre National Park ("on-site the late and the Viking Age. The visi tors' cenrre, designed by information"), but the centre will also W ith household names li ke Oseberg, &5laatto in Oslo, covers an area of present the rest of the county's cultural Gokstad, Borre and , this period 1,050 square meters, of which the history of the period with a short of Norwegian heritage is well represented exhibition area, auditorium and other presentation of the overall cultural history of Vest fold: "10.000 years in Vestfold". Borre as a centre of power is very much H kind of ward, i.e. completely dependent. under the title: The fall ofthe Fee state and " On Iceland, the integratio n of the the end ofslavery. How credible is the picture in focus, as is 5norri's history of the in vidual in the t£tt is most essential for hi s (or ofslavery in Icelandic literature? Vestfold . The main principles and her) su rviva l. We have already mentioned the content guidelines have been evaluated tOta l lack of executive structures in the Literature source: Hastrup, Culture and and accepted by the project's panel of History on medieval Iceland, 1985; Wilde­ Icelandic free state. This leaves the family as experts consisting of Professors Ulf Stockmeyer, Sklaverei aufIsland, 1978 the only institution that guarantees personal Nasman, Arhus, Bj0rn Myhre, Cambridge secu ri ty and enforces one's lega l interests. The and Gro 5teinsland, Oslo and Eli stronger one's fami ly the better for the About the author: U lriksen, M .A., T0nsberg. individual. Hence an offence against one Mic hael NeiB has studied Archaeology person was punished li ke an offence against "Everyday life in the Viking Age" and and Scandinavian studies at the the whole fam il y. It will be no surprise that "The Norse Religion, Worldview and th is made an excellent hotbed for bloody Humboldt University of Berlin . In 1998 Mythology" are other subjects in the he continued his studies of feuds. To prevent this, in cases of homicide exhibitions that were opened May 27th by Arch aeology at the University of the offender's t£tt was obligated to pay a fi ne Stockholm and now he is a student Q ueen 50nja of Norway. 50 far the center of penance to five male relatives of the of comparative religion at the same has been a success. On its first day open to victim. Payment was made to those men who University. His special interests are: the public Midgard had more than 850 were expected to take most revenge for thei r dead kinsman. This would also explain, why later Iron Age, ornamental art and visitors, and by the middle of July we have the slave son of the deceased is also counted iconography interspersed with had 7.000 vis itors. religion and society. as one of the five sakaukar. .. Target groups E-mail: [email protected] In the next issue, the article will continue Vestfold is an active county offering a wide

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