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Patrick Wen...

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SCAND 50 Week 1, Tuesday Icelandic Settlement Exam 1: Tues, Oct 30 Exam 2: Thurs, Dec 6 Viking Age Iceland -Uninhabited Iceland discovered in 1850 -Limited land resources, far from Europe, subarctic ecology -Initial settlers were free farmers and a limited number of chieftains -Hrafnkel’s Saga is based on a conflict between a chieftain and a farmer Bookprose Theory -A belief in the written rather than the oral origins of sagas Icelandic Government -Thing = local assembly -Varthing (Springtime thing) = regional gathering of thingmen -Althing = annual gathering of chieftains and thingmen -Law Speaker = the only significant national office holder

Week 1, Thursday Vikings, Vendettas and Vengeance Viking Government -Althing: Occurs two weeks during the summer in good weather where most business was conducted -Lawspeaker: Only elected official who stood on the Law Rock and recited all the laws -Chieftains: Considered lawmakers, were required to go to the ceremonies held by the Lawspeaker so that they were well-versed in the laws -Judicial system: Against popular misconception against lawless Viking society, there were courts where people could handle grievances and conflicts -Problem: Althing only happened once a year in June so conflicts occurring at other times were taken care of by self-judgment -Self-judgment: Admit wrong and allow the injured party to dictate terms of settlement -Blood feuds: Eye for an eye for generations -The government itself has no responsibility for punishing criminals or carry out justice since it is a primary matter between citizens -No death penalty or executioner so the worst outcome you can receive is called full outlawry for when an individual exists outside the law => stripped of legal citizenship, exist outside the law -Icelandic society acknowledges the rights of farmers but there were no legal institutions to enforce those rights so you needed to get the support of powerful people (chieftains) to have any realistic chances in court...