Scandinavian Sources Research Articles

In Defence of Böðvarr bjarki

AbstractFor almost two centuries, Böðvarr bjarki has been a household name in Beowulf studies. The exploits of this monster-slaying champion of the Danish king match those of the epic hero at many points, and this has made Bjarki the subject of critical fascination. Many scholars have viewed the correspondences between Beowulf and Bjarki as evidence that certain aspects of Beowulf’s career may have been modelled on existing Scandinavian legend — a view with clear implications for our understanding of the originality of Beowulf. The value of the Bjarki story has also been challenged, largely on the basis that Scandinavian evidence is inconsistent in its presentation of this tradition. This article defends the usefulness of the Bjarki analogue by returning to the Scandinavian source material. It demonstrates that the various versions of the Bjarki story across Old Norse and Latin sources are structurally consistent and point to the existence of a coherent underlying tradition. This reopens the possibility that Beowulf and Bjarki may independently derive from the same legendary archetype.

Neidorf, Leonard. 2022. The Art and Thought of the Beowulf Poet. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 216 pp., $ 36.95.

Abstract This article presents an in-depth analysis of “Against a Wen”, a poetic charm from twelfth-century England that personifies, banishes, and annihilates a skin blemish. The study begins with a brief overview of the text’s linguistic features and then proceeds to discuss the charm in distinct sections. Each of these concentrates on the contextualisation of a specific passage. The article assembles analogues from previous research and also offers several novel parallels from a diverse range of incantations, Scandinavian sources, medieval medical texts, and the Old and New Testament. Combining these parallels not only helps clarify obscure passages in “Against a Wen” but also sheds additional light on the composition’s background. Specifically, unveiling the charm’s intertextual connections allows pointing out that “Against a Wen” incorporates riddling and bilingual wordplay, as well as biblical allusions. These findings challenge the long-held perception of the composition as vernacular and provide insight into the literary devices and healing strategies found in early medieval verse charms.

How Icelandic Is French Law? A Few Remarks about the Discovery and Usage of Icelandic Antiquities in French Legal Historiography during the Nineteenth Century

How Icelandic Is French Law? A Few Remarks about the Discovery and Usage of Icelandic Antiquities in French Legal Historiography during the Nineteenth Century

WODEN AND MAXIMS I

This paper reconsiders the passage in Maxims I in which Woden is said to have constructed wēos, a word that can be understood to mean “idols” or “pagan shrines.” It compares the passage to various euhemeristic narratives concerning Woden (or Óðinn) preserved by authors such as Ælfric, Æthelweard, Saxo Grammaticus, and Snorri Sturluson, and it argues that the Maxims I passage has more in common with ideas expressed in the later Scandinavian sources than in the earlier homiletic or insular historiographical sources. This exercise in comparative euhemerism suggests that the Woden passage in Maxims I is indebted to a narrative that resembled either the story of Óðinn's misadventure with an idol (preserved in Gesta Danorum) or the story of Óðinn as the builder of temples and founder of pagan religion (preserved in Ynglinga saga). In either case, it appears that a euhemeristic narrative of the sort preserved by Snorri and Saxo circulated centuries earlier in England. Toponymic evidence lends support to this conclusion, as place-names such as Wōdnes dīc and Grīmes dīc bear witness to the early circulation of otherwise unrecorded ideas about Woden as a supernatural builder. Finally, the presence of the Woden passage in Maxims I is viewed as a manifestation of the poem's indebtedness to the tradition of the wisdom contest, a genre associated with Óðinn in Old Norse sapiential literature.

The Image of Sweden and Finland in The Chronicle of the Whole World by Marcin Bielski: Prolegomena to Further Research

ABSTRACT The present article discusses the description of Sweden and Finland in the third edition of Kronika wszytkiego świata (The Chronicle of All the World) from 1564 by the Polish historian Marcin Bielski (1495–1575). This work is considered one of the most important chronicles of the Jagiellonian era. It is also the first so-called “universal history” (or “universal chronicle”) published in Polish vernacular. It is, however, based on numerous, mostly Latin sources by other authors, such as Pliny (23–79), Jordanes (6th century), Casiodorus (485–583) and Sebastian Münster (1488–1552). Aiming at universality, the historical account presented in this work attempts to embrace all written information about certain events, geographical and historical realities and the origin of nations, and to treat them in accordance with the scientific methods available at that time. Kronika wszytkiego świata (henceforward: Kronika) is an invaluable source of information regarding Scandinavia, its inhabitants, riches, etc., although the description is not complete. In order to reconstruct a more comprehensive picture of the Nordic countries, further research is required in analogous Polish and Scandinavian sources of that time.

Rus' in the concept of Ragnar Lodbrok's Empire: scandinavian sources through the prism of politics of memory

Rus' in the concept of Ragnar Lodbrok's Empire: scandinavian sources through the prism of politics of memory

THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPLE OF HISTORISM IN ETHNOGENETIC INVESTIGATIONS

This article deals with the relationship between the ancient Germanic and ancient Turkic tribes, that is illustrated in historical sources. Interaction between peoples requires contacts between their languages. The events mentioned in the article took place in Europe in the II-IX centuries AD. The historical process, known as the Great Migration of Nations, changed the ethnic and, of course, the linguistic map of Europe. Scandinavian sources claim that most of the central and North Germanic peoples migrated from Eastern Europe and Asia in the 5th -10th centuries AD. The process of the great migration of peoples is one of the most deeply studied events in world history. The beginning and end of the Great Migration of Nations have been periodically and geographically studied by many scholars, historians, geographers and others. However, since the study of this phenomenon has been mostly carried out by European scholars, it is natural that the assessment of this process has always been one-sided. Europeans, as civilized peoples with their highly developed culture, became victims to barbarian peoples, and these barbarians delayed socio-economic development for hundreds of years. This is the traditional European assessment of the Great Migration shared by Chinese, Japanese and other scholars and experts who follow the European scholars and agree with them. No one tried to answer the question of what language the participants in the Great Migration of Nations spoke, because the answer was incompatible with Western ideology, and in order to avoid such answers, they said that “there is no written evidence about this”. Only at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, specialists from Europe, Russia, Turkey and Central Asia realized that the main driving force behind the great migration of peoples was the Huns, and that they were Turkic-speaking peoples. The scholars of the world changed their point of view and focus because they realized that it was the most important part of the problem of the Great Migration of Nations. The article ends with an etymological analysis of the names of some Turkic and Germanic tribes that participated in the Great Migration of Peoples.

Transport Direction and Scandinavian Source Regions of the Saalian Glacial and Glaciofluvial Deposits in a Case Study of Łubienica-Superunki (Central Poland)

The article contains detailed petrographic studies, which covered a coarse and medium-grain gravel fraction of two layers of glacial till (units ŁS II and ŁS IV) and two layers of sand-gravelly outwash deposits (units ŁS I and ŁS III) related to the Odranian Glaciation (MIS6, Saalian) in Łubienica-Superunki, North Mazovian Lowland, central Poland. Additionally, the indicator erratics were identified to indicate their Scandinavian source areas and the directions of the ice sheet transgressions. This case study is discussed against the background of similar sediments and forms from the same age but from other places in the Polish Lowlands. Regardless of the facies types and fractions, crystalline rocks dominated over all other petrographic groups in all samples. The most common were the indicator erratics derived from the Åland Islands, followed by those from the south-eastern area of Sweden (Småland) and from Dalarna in central Sweden. Amongst the erratics of limited indicative significance, the most common were Lower Palaeozoic limestones and the Jotnian red sandstones. The complex petrographic analyses point to the dipartite nature of the studied profile. This separateness was confirmed by the TBC: 59.1–59.2° N and 18.0–18.2° E for the lower units and 58.8–59.4° N and 17.3–17.9° E for the upper ones.

Provenance and paleoenvironmental context of the Late Pleistocene thin aeolian silt mantles in southwestern Poland – A widespread parent material for soils

Thin loess deposits are widespread soil parent materials and important archives for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The origin of loess in SW Poland is attributed to the Great Odra Valley (GOV), following the general concept that large rivers play a major role in regional silt supply. Yet, the precise provenance (glacier sources and/or local rocks) of silts, possibly deflated from dry GOV braided riverbeds, is not clear. Our study of thin and thick loess mantles in SW Poland for the first time indicates the provenance of thin loess based on mineralogical (MLA-SEM) and isotopic analyses (143Nd/144Nd, 87Sr/86Sr). Luminescence ages of five localities point to thin loess mantle formation during and shortly (23.0 to 17.7 ka yr) after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our isotopic data indicate that thin loess deposits in SW Poland are the mixtures of two main components – local Sudetic and Scandinavian, the latter delivered by the Fennoscandian ice sheet (FIS). Also, detailed analyses of heavy minerals show that a single mineral (e.g., hornblende) may come from both Sudetic and Scandinavian sources. This research highlights the role of the (Pleistocene) GOV in collecting and homogenizing materials, while supplying the region with fine particles to be deflated by paleowinds from open surfaces. Anomalies in mineralogy and isotopic composition are connected with influence of Sudetic mountain rivers and locally blowing silt material by katabatic winds. Regional grain size differentiation of thin loess mantles explains transport distance and altitude.

Genealogy as a Method to Legitimise Rulership in Some Balkan and Scandinavian Sources

This paper will focus on several sources from Scandinavia and the Balkans, and compare the types of genealogies portrayed in them – descent from gods, descent from another kind of supernatural being, descent from a legendary hero. The paper will examine the types of genealogies and the purpose they serve; how and why they were commissioned? Is there a difference in the establishment of the image of the ruler if the latter has descended from gods, legendary heroes, or a specific clan or dynasty? Does Christianity change the tradition of writing genealogies and the stories they retell? Are personal qualities enough to provide legitimate claims?

Mutual Influences of Norman and Slavic Military Traditions. “Wolf Warriors” in the Kyivan Rus’ Army during the Great Wars of the 960s—970s AD

The article analyzes the tradition of “beast warriors”, specific military ritual associations, in the army of Kyivan Rus during the campaigns of the Kyivan Prince, Sviatoslav I the Brave in the 960s–970s AD. The article states that in the 10th century, the peoples of Northern and Central Europe had factions of “wolf warriors”, which stood out as a specific type of infantry and were involved in the most important combats. Legends about werewolves in the Slavic epics and descriptions of berserkers in the Scandinavian sources are analyzed. The intrusion of Normans into the territory of Kyivan Rus, and their participation in the Russo-Khazar and Russo-Byzantine wars of 964–972 is studied. The interactions between Slavic and Scandinavian military traditions, which are reflected in the archaeological findings of the ancient warriors’ equipment, are considered. Thus, scabbards of swords with specific images of birds (falcons) and predatory animals, as well as ritual rhyton horns form an example of the interaction of military totem cults and customs between the Slavic and Scandinavian traditions in the 10th century. The “beast-warrior” customs of Kyivan Rus troops’ combat style and the actions of separate assault detachments during the Balkan War of 971 (972) AD, mentioned in the Byzantine chronicles, are described in detail. The “beast-warrior” customs of Rus’ units and the actions of “wolf warrior” detachments in Prince Sviatoslav’s army were based on the totem fighting customs of the Slavic and Scandinavian tribes, as well as their mutual influence due to the involvement of Norman military contingents into the Rus’ army during the Great Wars of the 960s and 970s.

Words of Turkic origin in ancient Greek

The article notes the functioning of turkisms in many languages of the world, including Greek, English, French, Russian and other languages. It is known that the Turks established socio-political and cultural ties with many ancient peoples, and sometimes settled on the territories of these peoples or in areas close to them. Such areal contacts caused language and lexical borrowings.N.A. Baskakov in the book “Russian surnames of Turkish origin”, wrote that the origins of 300 noble Russian families go back to Turkic roots, including genealogy and the scientist A.Kh. Khalikov notes numerous Turkic words in the Russian language. In the book “500 generations of Turkish-Bulgarian-Tatar origin, known as Russian”, he explores 500 surnames of Turkic origin. In the book “Turks in the ancestral roots of the Russians” also gives information about the origin of the Turks and the Turkic generations, known as the Russian generation. According to Chingiz Aitmatov, one third of Russian words are Turkic.Similar language Turkish loanwords are observed in ancient Greek and modern Greek, which is the subject of this article. According to some researchers, the Indo-European languages on the territory of the Balkan Peninsula appeared thanks to the Greeks. Even in ancient times, researchers noted that in the territory of modern Greece once lived people who did not speak the Indo-European language, which is approximately 2500 BC. The era of 2500-1600 BC is associated with the Hittites, later the Greeks settled on the territory of Hellas.According to some researchers, the most ancient inhabitants of the territory of Ancient Greece were the traki, whose language was later assimilated with the language of the hittites, and then the Greeks. In ancient scandinavian sources, there are relics of the language of tracts belonging to the Western branch of the proturks, which is confirmed by the praturkian vocabulary and onomastics. The Greek-Turkic language substrata and units imprinted in ancient Greek confirm the presence of Turkic loanwords, which have not lost their relevance in modern language contacts between Turkish and Greek

Patronat świętego Olafa nad kupcami morskimi i jego przejawy w testamentach lubeckich Bergenfahrer

The cult of St. Olaf among sea merchants and its manifestation in testaments of Lübeck Bergenfahrer St. Olaf was one of the most vivid symbols of religious life in the northern part of medieval Europe. Many churches devoted to him were scattered across Scandinavian countries and his resting place in Nidaros (Trondheim) cathedral attracted numerous believers. As a patron saint of Norwegian kings and various organizations he seems to be a religious icon that permeated into some lay aspects of life, including the economic sphere. Although relatedness of his cult to sea is apparent in the oldest liturgical texts, Scandinavian sources pointed out in this article provide no certain evidence proving its relevancy to sea trade. However, in the Late Middle Ages St. Olaf’s cult gained popularity among the Bergenfahrer – Lübeck sea merchants strongly involved in the commercial activity in Bergen. Testaments left by the Bergenfahrer constitute a set of evidence that illuminates the role that St. Olaf’s cult played among this group of merchants. This role seems to be twofold: St. Olaf’s cult was a symbol which shaped corporate identity of the Bergenfahrer, contributing to the organisational sphere of their activity, and provided spiritual support which shaped personal identity of individual merchants.

Епоха вікінгів у Східній Європі: слов’янсько-сканди- навські зв’язки в період формування ранніх слов’янських держав

Background : The problem of Slavic–Scandinavian relations in the Viking era is debatable in historiography. The research has traditionally been limited to exploring the impact of Scandinavians on the development of Slavic states. In doing so, researchers studying the activities of the Normans in the east of the European continent rarely resort to analogies and comparisons with Western Europe where the Viking era is well reflected in the sources and is better studied. Purpose : To establish the patterns and specific features of the initial stage of the Viking era in the West and East of the European continent; to find out the level of economic and political development of the Slavic nations of Central and Eastern Europe on the eve of the Viking era and in its initial phase; the nature of the contacts of the Slavs and Scandinavians in the VIII–IX centuries and their role in the international Baltic trade, as well as in the trade between the Arabian East and Byzantium which took place in the Caspian and Black Seas. Results : The study of the Viking era in the east of the European continent proves its universal character: at its first stage in the VIII–IX centuries, here as well as in Western Europe, the activities of the Normans were limited to short–term plunder raids on coastal settlements. According to Scandinavian sources, at that time the "sea nomads" were mainly attracted to the rich monasteries and churches of the West European coast, especially the British islands. In Central and Eastern Europe large state formations of the Slavs were formed before the beginning of the Viking Age (IV–VIII centuries): the Union of Ants, the Dolyubian–Volynian Union, Great Croatia, the state of Samo. In the Baltic region unions of ruyans, obodrits, lutych–viltst (state of velets), pomoryan were also formed. In this region where the most intensive Slavic – Scandinavian contacts took place there is clear influence of the Slavs on the development of crafts and trade of Scandinavians since in the VIII–IX centuries Slavs dominated on the southern coast of the Baltic region and in Baltic trade. Their cities such as Veligrad–Rerik, Starigrad, Volyn, Arkon and others served as international trade transits that united the Frankish kingdoms with the Arabian East. Only in the second half of the IX century Scandinavian cities such as the Danish Hedeby and the Swedish Birka began to play a prominent role in the Baltic trade. Slavic–Scandinavian contacts at that time also included mutual plunders, military–political alliances and dynastic ties, military mercenaries. The Slavic Rus with its center in Kyiv emerged on the European scene at the end of the VIII – the first half of the IX century, conducting maritime trade and plunder raids on the Caspian and Black Seas, trade with the Arabian East and Byzantium, establishing embassies in Byzantium and the Frankish kingdom. Sources indicate that its more or less regular contacts with the Normans began not earlier than in the Xth century. Therefore information and contemporary interpretations of the sources about the nature of Slavic–Scandinavian contacts in the VIII–IX centuries do not give grounds for concluding that at that time Scandinavians dominated in the Baltics and in international trade, and about their allegedly crucial influence on the formation of the early Slavic states. Key words : Viking Era, Normans, early states of the Slavs, Rus, Slavic–Scandinavian relations, Norman theory.

Heritage Norwegian Vowel Phonology and English Dialect Formation

I present an acoustic analysis of the English and Norwegian spoken by contemporary heritage Norwegian-English bilinguals from northwestern Minnesota to evaluate claims of Norwegian substrate influence on the development of Upper Midwestern American English dialects. Specifically, this paper focuses on the English /o/ vowel, as in ‘goat’ or ‘boat,’ with a flat or falling trajectory (i.e., monophthongal /o/), that is a regional feature of the English of Minnesota and North Dakota (Allen, 1973–1976, vol. 3, pp. 22–23; Moen, 1988; Purnell, Raimy, & Salmons, in press; Thomas, 2001). Thomas (2001, p. 72) points to transfer from the Scandinavian languages’ (primarily Norwegian and Swedish) long [oː] vowels, which in many varieties of Norwegian are typically monophthongal (cf. Endresen, 1988, p. 84), as the source for monophthongal English /o/ in the region. Thomas (2001) relies on the relatively large settlements of Scandinavian immigrants in the Upper Midwest to support the Scandinavian source of this feature, yet so far we lack tests of this hypothesis. This paper seeks to fill this gap by providing both acoustic and phonological data from heritage Norwegian speakers. These data are situated in a discussion of how vowel productions reflect dialect differences within Norwegian-American communities, which enriches analyses of the adoption of substrate features into this regional variety of American English.

Eustatic and climatic control on the Upper Muschelkalk Sea (late Anisian/Ladinian) in the Central European Basin

The Upper Muschelkalk in the Central European Basin (CEB) is a key example of eustatic and climatic controls on inland seas. The late Anisian rapid transgression from Tethyan waters culminated in a large semi-enclosed inland sea stretching across the CEB. Subsequently, the slow but successive retreat in the early Ladinian resulted in a small remnant sea. The pronounced stratal pattern architectures are translated into a framework of 3rd- and 4th-order T–R sequences. The latest Illyrian 3rd-order maximum flooding surface corresponds to maximum abundances of carbonates and marine phytoplankton. An euryhaline marine ecology is indicated by prasinophycean algae dominating over acritarchs and δ18OP values of 18.9–22.4‰ VSMOW corresponding to Tethyan references. During the 3rd-order regressive phase successive freshening up to hyposaline conditions is indicated by up to 3‰ depleted δ18OP values, shifts to more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios and maximum abundances of terrestrial palynomorphs. Likewise, 4th-order T–R sequences are constrained by commutated stratal pattern architectures, palynofacies and geochemistry.The favourable correlation of middle Triassic 3rd-order sequences of Tethyan and peri-Tethyan basins demonstrate the principle control of circum-Tethyan eustatic cycles. 4th-order sequences are evident and, although not yet correlatable in detail, indicate 106-year scale eustatic cycles which may be attributed to glacioeustatic sea-level changes.The subordinated control of arid to semiarid low latitude and semihumid to humid temperate mid latitude climates affected the Upper Muschelkalk Sea in particular during 4th-order sea-level lowstands. Substantial fresh water input from Scandinavian sources caused temporal stratification leading to stagnant bottom waters and/or sediments as indicated by palynofacies and U/Th and Ni/Co redox indices. The herein reconstructed middle Triassic zonal climates are in agreement to previously published Late Triassic zonal climates.

Particulate emissions from residential wood combustion in Europe – revised estimates and an evaluation

Abstract. Currently residential wood combustion (RWC) is increasing in Europe because of rising fossil fuel prices but also due to climate change mitigation policies. However, especially in small-scale applications, RWC may cause high emissions of particulate matter (PM). Recently we have developed a new high-resolution (7 × 7 km) anthropogenic carbonaceous aerosol emission inventory for Europe. The inventory indicated that about half of the total PM2.5 emission in Europe is carbonaceous aerosol and identified RWC as the largest organic aerosol source in Europe. The inventory was partly based on national reported PM emissions. Use of this organic aerosol inventory as input for two chemical transport models (CTMs), PMCAMx and EMEP MSC-W, revealed major underestimations of organic aerosol in winter time, especially for regions dominated by RWC. Interestingly, this was not universal but appeared to differ by country. In the present study we constructed a revised bottom-up emission inventory for RWC accounting for the semivolatile components of the emissions. The revised RWC emissions are higher than those in the previous inventory by a factor of 2–3 but with substantial inter-country variation. The new emission inventory served as input for the CTMs and a substantially improved agreement between measured and predicted organic aerosol was found. The revised RWC inventory improves the model-calculated organic aerosol significantly. Comparisons to Scandinavian source apportionment studies also indicate substantial improvements in the modelled wood-burning component of organic aerosol. This suggests that primary organic aerosol emission inventories need to be revised to include the semivolatile organic aerosol that is formed almost instantaneously due to dilution and cooling of the flue gas or exhaust. Since RWC is a key source of fine PM in Europe, a major revision of the emission estimates as proposed here is likely to influence source–receptor matrices and modelled source apportionment. Since usage of biofuels in small combustion units is a globally significant source, the findings presented here are also relevant for regions outside of Europe.

Metodologisk partikularism i den postkoloniala bronsåldersdiskursen

Methodological particularism in the postcolonial BronzeAge discourse. Over the past few years Bronze Age researchhas witnessed an unfortunate separation between large-scaleand small-scale studies. This separation is maintained by aforceful critique of the ethical and political consequencesof large-scale perspectives, grand narratives and a pan-European identity in the making.By profound influence from postcolonialism and related ideologies, this critiquerepresents a discourse that strives instead to constructalternative small-scale methodologies. In order to developnew ethical perspectives and methodological approachesaiming to integrate different scale levels, I believe thatcritical examinations of small-scale perspectives and theirarchaeological influence are required.By inspiration from the concept methodologicalparticularism, I will discuss some problems with thecontemporary ideological-political and methodologicalcritique of large-scale studies. I will furthermore highlightnarrative aspects of small-scale studies put forward in regardto Scandinavian source materials. I argue that small-scalestudies, to the same degree as large-scale studies, havecreated a tale of Bronze Age society and cosmology whichaffect research results and preferred interpretations. Thisstory is, in short, about local identities in tribal societies, with shaman rituals and life-course practices at differentmeeting places in the landscape. As a closing reflection,it is proposed that cosmopolitanism could be used as analternative ideological driving force when developingintegrated studies in the future.

Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early Medieval Scandinavia ed. by Bjørn Poulsen and Søren Michael Sindbæk (review)

Reviewed by: Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early Medieval Scandinavia ed. by Bjørn Poulsen and Søren Michael Sindbæk Jane-Anne Denison Poulsen, Bjørn and Søren Michael Sindbæk, eds, Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early Medieval Scandinavia (The Medieval Countryside, 9), Turnhout, Brepols, 2012; hardback; pp. xvii, 337; 20 b/w illustrations, 7 b/w tables, 16 b/w line art; R.R.P. €95.00; ISBN 9782503531311. Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early Medieval Scandinavia covers and further develops the research presentations of Aarhus University's 2008 Interdisciplinary Conference on 'Land and Lordship: Settlement and Social Power in Viking and Early Scandinavia'. Editors Bjørn Poulsen and [End Page 298] Søren Sindbæk are recognizable as current academic leaders in the fields of medieval Scandinavian and Viking history and archaeology, enabling the volume to bring these two disciplines together extremely successfully. Like many areas of medieval study, much needs to be done to breathe new life into academic research rather than relying on the scholarship from last century, and volumes like Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early Medieval Scandinavia are one of the most effective ways of achieving this goal. Poulsen and Sindbæk clearly recognize the problems many medievalists experience when comparing settlement and lordship in early medieval Scandinavia with the rest of Europe. They ascertain that lordship in the north was very different from other parts of Europe, a view supported by the research presented in the book. The chapters of the book are grouped into four thematic sections, 'Changing Aristocracies', 'Settlement and Social Development', 'Magnates and Manors', and 'Lords, Slaves and Tenants', and this division works well. The Scandinavian sources, both literary and archaeological are carefully considered within each chapter. Moreover, these sources are assessed across the concepts of aristocracy, social ties, landholding, and the development of a unique cultural landscape. Sometimes the authors of individual chapters disagree with existing scholarship, but this is a positive point. Accessing such recent research naturally means that there is fresh debate about what the evidence actually represents. An obvious example is found within Judith Jesch's chapter, 'Runic Inscriptions and the Vocabulary of Land'. Within this chapter, it is refreshing to see discussion on the definition of thegn within Scandinavian society. Jesch asserts that in many cases the word drengr has been used misleadingly, believing it to refer to 'an established landowner', rather than the more traditional 'position of agent for the monarchy'. This is but one example found within the volume where a disagreement within traditional scholarship has been examined, with new conclusions drawn from the available evidence. An interesting choice for inclusion in the volume is the chapter by Johnny Jakobsen, 'High Medieval Magnate Farms in North-West Sjælland, Denmark: Analyses of Magnate Farms in an East Danish Region, c. 1100-1400'. It is the method rather than the contents that make this chapter stand out, with the author applying a quantitative approach to the study of the development of settlements within eastern Denmark. Jakobsen urges the reader to consider that while such an approach is sometimes unpopular with medievalists, it works for scholars who want to investigate the geographical relationship between magnate farms and parishes. Janken Myrdal's chapter is another stand out. 'Milking and Grinding, Digging and Herding: Slaves and Farmwork 1000-1300' considers the [End Page 299] work performed by slaves, while also touching on the same tasks, which had previously been performed by slaves, after the early fourteenth-century abolition of slavery. Myrdal argues that the elite needed slaves for the operation of their farms and estates, but as he indicates, neither the written nor the archaeological sources can completely answer all the questions one could ask about medieval Scandinavian slavery, so it is an area of continuing debate. However, Myrdal presents a useful starting point from which to develop a better understanding of the roles of slaves in the farms, primarily using the saga literature and written laws. He concludes with the comment that during 1000-1300, the division of labour was in a state of flux, while simultaneously the actual tasks needed did not change. Each chapter could easily have...

Franks, Northmen, and Slavs: Identities and State Formation in Early Medieval Europe , and: Pokhodzhennia Rusi , and; Liudi i kniaz´ v drevnerusskikh letopisiakh serediny XI–XIII vv (review)

Reviewed by: Franks, Northmen, and Slavs: Identities and State Formation in Early Medieval Europe, and: Pokhodzhennia Rusi, and; Liudi i kniaz´ v drevnerusskikh letopisiakh serediny XI–XIII vv Edward L. Keenan Ildar H. Garipzanov, Patrick J. Geary, and Przemysław Urbańczyk, eds. Franks, Northmen, and Slavs: Identities and State Formation in Early Medieval Europe. 212 pp. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2008, ISBN-13 978-2503426157. $81.00. Omelian (Omeljan) Pritsak, Pokhodzhennia Rusi (The Origin of Rus´), 1: Starodavni skandinavs´ki dzherela (krim islands´kykh sag) (Old Scandinavian Sources Other Than the Icelandic Sagas). 1,073 pp. Kiev: Oberehy, 1997, ISBN 9665131001. 2: Starodavni skandinavs´ki sagy i Stara Skandynaviia (The Old Scandinavian Sagas and Old Scandinavia). 1,303 pp. Kiev: Oberehy, 2003. ISBN 9665132156. Tat´iana L. Vilkul, Liudi i kniaz´ v drevnerusskikh letopisiakh serediny XI–XIII vv. (The People and the Prince in Old Russian Chronicles from the Mid-11th to the 13th Centuries). 406 pp. Moscow: Kvadriga, 2009, ISBN-13 978-5917910185. In 2002, Grigorii Iakovlevich Perel´man solved, in three widely acclaimed papers, "Poincaré's Conjecture," which had troubled mathematicians since 1904. In two little-noticed volumes that appeared between 1981 and 2003, Omeljan Pritsak (1919–2006) did much to resolve the so-called "Varangian problem," which has challenged historians since 1749.1 Mathematicians, however reclusive, work much faster than do historians. Although it may seem strange to review, in 2011, a work that first appeared in English in 1981—and in translation 8–14 years ago—I believe that Pritsak's sophisticated analysis has not received the attention it deserves. The conclusions that Pritsak reached are: yes, what we call Ruś was established by merchant warriors from Scandinavia; yes, the evidence is there—in a wide variety of sources; and yes, we should acknowledge that the germ of the Kyivan state, like those of [End Page 501] the French and English kingdoms, was introduced by what we call (somewhat carelessly) Vikings. Pritsak—a Slavist, Orientalist, and Scandinavianist—marshaled his evidence from a vast array of times and places. We should not be surprised: he had been investigating matters concerning the peoples of Eurasia—first in Germany, as editor of the Ural-Altaische Jahrbücher, more recently in the United States and his native Ukraine—since the 1950s. Pritsak's research is far-reaching, profound, and for practical purposes universal. His bibliography and source base contain works in a vast array of Western and Eastern languages, including what appear to be all relevant sources, accessed in the original. He declares: "What has been presented here is another theory…. In the eighth and ninth centuries a multiethnic, multilingual, unified social and economic entity (of low culture) emerged, represented by the maritime and trading society of the Mare Balticum and transplanted by the bearers of the culture of the Mare Nostrum." In his view, this new entity was "transformed into a Christian and linguistically Slavic high culture that became Kievan Rus´" (33). For all its tendency to overreach, Pritsak's is a stunning achievement.2 It does incline to repetition; at times he takes us a bit fast on the curves; volume 2 includes a few typos (for which he is not, presumably, responsible). It may seem imprudent to attempt to summarize a work that already runs to 2,400 pages, with several volumes apparently yet to come. Pritsak himself, however, provided a systematic overview in volume 1 ("Exposition to the Entire Work," 3–33; 1:67–98 of the Ukrainian translation), upon which the following remarks are based. Pritsak begins his story (3) with the familiar 1749 scandal involving Gerhard Friedrich Müller (Fedor Ivanovich Miuller, 1705–83), Nikita Ivanovich Popov (1720–82), and Mikhail Vasil´evich Lomonosov (1711–65), and Müller's contention that the Kyivan state was founded by Norsemen.3 Having listed the views of the various parties, Pritsak concludes, "historians have too often substituted political (or patriotic) issues for improved techniques of historical methodology … and they have been biased in their use of source materials … [disregarding] the semantics of the original, relying … on translations, instead of acquiring knowledge of the sources and the cultures from which they come" (7). [End Page 502] (The...