Chapter One. In The Norwegian Kings’ Sphere Of Interest

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to show that the historical conditions existed for the integration of the tributary lands in the realm of the Norwegian king in the thirteenth century. We shall therefore look more closely at the formation of a Norse cultural sphere and the Norwegian kings' connections with all the Norse island communities before the incorporation process gained momentum from the end of the twelfth century, in the case of the Faroes, Orkney, and Shetland, and from the 1220s for Iceland. Even if the norse island communities to the south-west were in the Norwegian kings' sphere of interest from the eleventh century, and the kings at times had some influence over political development in the islands, it is doubtful whether we can claim that the Norwegian kings exercised any form of rule over the Norse island communities until towards the end of the twelfth century.Keywords: Faroes; Iceland; norse island; norwegian king; orkney; Shetland; twelfth century