Work Package 3
History of the two valleys
The historical inquiry investigates the origin and evolution of social stratification in the research area and Iceland as a whole. What can we know about stratification in the settlement period?
Building on the archaeological record, this work package evaluates the written sources from the 12th and later centuries and their ideas about the past. Here, a comparison with other settler societies is essential. If early Iceland was an egalitarian society it raises the question of how and why social stratification emerged. This necessitates a theoretical investigation considering general theories of stratification and inequality from anthropology, economics and other social sciences but also from network theory, evolutionary science and complexity theory. Such theories should underpin an investigation into the evolution of power structures during the Commonwealth period and how they relate to social formations elsewhere. The research area has unusually good sources for some aspects of power relations, especially in the Saga of Guðmundur dyri, which shows a rich tapestry of dependencies, alliances and conflicts around AD 1200. The research area also has unusually good sources for the settlement history of the 15th century, enabling a good overview over the consequences of the Black Death in 1402-1404.
Articles, publications, slides etc.
Click on link to download file
Work Package 3
History of the two valleys
The historical inquiry investigates the origin and evolution of social stratification in the research area and Iceland as a whole. What can we know about stratification in the settlement period?
Building on the archaeological record, this work package evaluates the written sources from the 12th and later centuries and their ideas about the past. Here, a comparison with other settler societies is essential. If early Iceland was an egalitarian society it raises the question of how and why social stratification emerged. This necessitates a theoretical investigation considering general theories of stratification and inequality from anthropology, economics and other social sciences but also from network theory, evolutionary science and complexity theory. Such theories should underpin an investigation into the evolution of power structures during the Commonwealth period and how they relate to social formations elsewhere. The research area has unusually good sources for some aspects of power relations, especially in the Saga of Guðmundur dyri, which shows a rich tapestry of dependencies, alliances and conflicts around AD 1200. The research area also has unusually good sources for the settlement history of the 15th century, enabling a good overview over the consequences of the Black Death in 1402-1404.
Articles, publications, slides etc.
Click on link to download file.