“Medieval Iceland is an almost unique instance of a community whose culture and creative power flourished independently of any favoring material conditions, and indeed under conditions in the highest degree unfavorable. Not ought it to be less interesting to the student of politics and law as having produced a Constitution unlike any other whereof records remain, and a body of law so elaborate and complex that it is hard to believe that it existed among men whose chief occupation was to kill one another.” (James Bryce)
The society of Iceland has long perplexed scholars. It was a land settled by Vikings, yet the authority in Iceland was not fixated on warlords, warrior chieftains, or regional lords. Instead, it was a man skilled in law that was regarded as a great leader. Here are the opening lines from a saga (a history mixed with fiction) called Njal’s saga, for an example:
There was a man named Mord whose nickname was Fiddle. He was the son of Sighvat the Red, and he lived at Voll in the Rangarvellir district. He was a powerful chieftain and strong in pressing lawsuits. He was so learned in the law that no verdicts were considered to be valid unless he had been involved. (Njal, 3)
It is this aspect of Icelandic society that has made it such a unique settlement. Not only were the respect leaders men of knowledge, but there also lack a kingship. During the medieval period, this was an uncommon structure for a society. Even Scandinavia was moving towards this direction with kings such as Harald Bluetooth in Denmark.
Another aspect that makes Iceland’s settlement unique, is that these Norsemen did not come according to a planned migration, political movement, or upon any organized request. They were not claiming territory for kings like many European explorers would later do. Instead, they were independent undertakings, with the story of Iceland being just a large chapter of a three hundred year period of expansion called the Viking Age (800–1100).
Sources:
- Jesse L. Byock, Viking Age Iceland. (London: Penguin, 2001), 5-8.
- Robert Cook trans., Njal’s Saga. (London: Penguin Classics, 2002), 3.
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