This book discusses the 3rd–11th century developments that led to the formation of the three Scandinavian kingdoms in the Viking Age. Wide-ranging studies of communication routes, regional identities, judicial territories, and royal sites and graves trace a complex trajectory of rulership in these pagan Germanic societies. In the final section, new light is shed on the pinnacle and demise of the Norwegian kingdom in the 13th–14th centuries.
This chapter's discussion of rulers and polities in 1st-millennium Scandinavia is based on evidence on the upper echelon of 'central places', those that may arguably be regarded as ruler's sites, as well as on written evidence, primarily the Old English poem Beowulf and the Old Norse skaldic poem Ynglingatal. The Roman expansion into continental Europe amplified interaction between Germanic peoples as well as with the Roman Empire, mainly through military campaigns and trade. The intensified mobility triggered deep cultural and societal integration processes within 2nd to mid-6thcentury Germanic Europe. This interaction and integration is evident in martial proficiency and in the rise of a new type of leaders, the dróttinn (army commanders), among many Germanic peoples. Challenging the authority of tribal rulers, the kindins and þiudans, some of the dróttinn became de facto rulers. In southern and middle Scandinavia, where a southern and a northern economic zone overlap, some dróttinn of the 3rd century established economic and political centres that also served as ritual and communal assembly sites. Sites such as Uppåkra, Gudme, Helgö, Åker, and Avaldsnes appear to have constituted the nodes where the dróttinn's networks into the two economic zones intersected. Commodities obtained through one network were conveyed into the other, and at the sites, raw materials were worked into commodities. At the core of each site was the residence and hall of the dróttinn; they were ruler's sites. In the decades around AD 500, royal lineages were initiated in several Germanic polities, the Merovingians the most prominent among them. In contemporary Scandinavia, the Skjǫldungar, the Skilfingar, and other royal lineages were initiated. In the same period, the number of tribes was reduced from the plethora of the 1st–6th centuries to predominantly three: the Danir, the Svíar, and the Norðmenn. The 6th century also saw the downfall of several ruler's sites and the emergence of new such sites. It is suggested that these three parallel developments were related to the introduction of kingship and the establishment of kingdoms. Following the downfall of southern long-distance networks and societal and climatic upheaval in late 6th to early 7th centuries, Scandinavia became less economically and culturally connected to the west and south. In the same period, most continental and British kingdoms were Christianised. No longer deeply integrated with the latter, Scandinavian kingship came to follow its own trajectory. Within the pagan universe, the heroic warrior ethos of the past was developed and refined, only to recur overseas in the 9th–10th centuries, embodied in sea-borne warrior bands. After a turbulent two centuries, Scandinavia was reintegrated among what was now the west-European normality: the Christian kingdoms.
Avaldsnes on Karmøy in Rogaland, which according to Snorre was King Harald Fairhair's royal estate, has been the center of a major research effort since 2007. Extensive excavations have, among other things, uncovered the remains of a lordly settlement from the AD 200s–400s and the ruins of a royal masonry complex from around AD 1300. Important insights have been gained about the place, the region, and the history of the Norwegian kingdom, and the results are also of significance for international scholarly debates.
The papers in this book are based on lectures from the Karmøy Seminar 2022, and have a joint spotlight on the nature of lordship and kingship. The themes range from tribal societies in Roman times via the first kings of the Viking Age to the Norwegian kingdom's collapse at Håkon 6. Magnusson's death in 1380. Prominent professionals from Norway, Sweden and England discuss, among other things, the migrations of Ryger, Goths, and other tribes in the continent in the first centuries AD, the queens and queen mothers of the Viking Age, Harald Fairhair's overseas contacts, and the Norwegian kingship's roots in Nordvegen, the sailing route along the western coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The papers are written to be readable by scholars as well as the interested public. - Avaldsnes på Karmøy i Rogaland, som ifølge Snorre var Harald Hårfagres kongsgård, har siden 2007 vært sentrum for en stor forskningsinnsats. Omfattende utgravninger har blant annet avdekket restene av en høvdinggård fra 200–400-tallet og ruinen av en kongsgård i stein fra omkring 1300. Viktige innsikter er vunnet om stedets, regionens, og det norske kongerikets historie, og resultatene har stor betydning også for internasjonale forskningsspørsmål.
Artiklene i denne boken baserer seg på foredrag fra Karmøyseminaret 2022, og har et felles søkelys på høvding- og kongemaktens vesen. Temaene spenner fra romertidens stammesamfunn via vikingtidens første rikskonger til det norske kongedømmets fall ved Håkon 6. Magnussons død i 1380. Fremstående fagfolk fra Norge, Sverige og England diskuterer blant annet rygers, goteres, og andre stammers vandringer på kontinentet i de første århundrer e.Kr., vikingtidens dronninger og kongsmødre, Harald Hårfagres oversjøiske kontakter og det norske kongedømmets utgangspunkt i Nordvegen, seilingsleden langs kysten fra Rogaland til Hålogaland. Artiklene er skrevet for å kunne leses av både leg og lærd.
Dagfinn Skre (f. 1954) er professor i arkeologi ved Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, og leder Kongsgårdprosjektet Avaldsnes. Han har tidligere blant annet ledet utgravninger av vikingbyen Kaupang i Vestfold. Frans-Arne Stylegar (f. 1969) er arkeolog, tidligere fylkeskonservator i Vest-Agder og direktør for Varanger museum IKS, og arbeider nå som kulturminneekspert i Multiconsult.
