COA10 - Law and Belief in Pagan Iceland

- 2 mins

Law and Belief in Pagan Iceland

In this episode we conclude our discussion on Pagan practice in Iceland by exploring the close connections between the law and pagan beliefs. Along the way we talk about oath rings, the assemblies of the gods and a rather nasty conflict revolving around excrement.

I do hope you enjoy.

Our recommended reading for this week is Viking Law and Order by Alexandra Sanmark. In this readable and beautifully illustrated book, Professor Sanmark reviews the latest archeological evidence for þing-sites throughout Scandinavia. This book highlights the similarities and differences of these sites and provides an excellent guide to these important locations. You should pick it up.

Sources

Eyrbyggja saga. translated by Pálsson, H., & Edwards, P. G.

The Book of Settlements: Landnámabók translated by Pálsson, H., & Edwards, P. G.

Grágás I the Codex Regius of Grágás with material from other manuscripts. translated by Dennis, A., Foote, P., & Perkins, R. M.

Grágás II the Codex regius of Grágás, with material from other manuscripts. translated by Dennis, A., Foote, P., & Perkins, R. M.

Haraldskvæði (Stanza 19) by Thorbjorn Hornklofi. Translation from Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages Volume 1.

Fagrskinna translated by Alison Finlay.

Blót and Þing. The function of the tenth-century Goði. In A Piece of Horse Liver by Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson

A Piece of Horse Liver and the Ratification of Law. In A Piece of Horse Liver by Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson

The Viking diaspora. by Judith Jesch.

The powerful ring. Door rings, oath rings and the sacral place by Marianna Hem Eriksen in Viking Worlds: Things, Spaces and Movement.

Þing goða —The Mythological Assembly Site by Nanna Løkka in Debating the Thing in the North I.

Sacred Legal Places in Eddic Poetry Reflected in Real Life? by Anne Irene Riisøy in Debating the Thing in the North I.

Viking Law and Order by Alexandra Sanmark.

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