Society, Law, Gender And Slavery Flashcards
Why is there a lack of knowledge about Viking society?
This is due to a lack of written sources.
What contemporary society did Scandinavia possibly have similarities too?
Anglo-Saxon.
What kept Viking communities together?
A common judicial system.
What was the typical landscape for judicial focal sites?
Mounds/hills suitable for assemblies
What was the purpose of judicial focal sites?
Places people met for legal discussion.
What type of social structure did Vikings live in?
Not entirely sure, could be a egalitarian peasant society or a hierarchical one.
Is it fully known who constructed the assemblies and led them?
No.
When do the earliest written Scandinavian laws come from?
Late Middle Ages.
What Icelandic saga chronicles a Thing meeting?
Heinskringla.
What issues may be taken from the Heinskringla account of the Thing meeting?
It is not contemporary.
What evidence give certainty to the existence of Thing sites?
Ballsta Rune, outside Stockholm.
As well as runic evidence, how else may thing sites be discovered?
Through archaeological excavation.
Give one example of a Thing site discovered using archaeological investigation.
Reykjavik.
What piece of indisputable evidence tells of Viking law?
The Forsa Rune Ring
Where is the Forsa Rune Ring located?
Hanging on the door of a parish church just outside Stockholm.
