Aspects of Royal Power in Medieval Scandinavia

Description

The history of medieval Scandinavia provides numerous instances of the manifestation of the royal ideology which invite and enable modern historiographical studies on the various phenomena related to its rise and development. The current state of research, although too vast to be satisfactorily recapitulated here, includes enquiries into the relationship between power and religion (both pagan and Christian), analyses of the relation between the mythicization of royal power and identity-formation, discussions of royal legitimacy, and of the commemorations of royal deeds. With the present volume we intend to contribute to the ongoing examinations of this crucially important subject. The papers it consists of resulted from a seminar entitled 'Aspects of Royal Power in the Medieval North' which was held at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, in February 2016. The volume has drawn together an international group of scholars representing various disciplines (history, literary studies, legal, and religious studies), who approach the problem of royal power from the specific angles pertaining to their subject areas, and who investigate a number of individual issues and cases related to it. Abbreviations 7 Introduction: Royal Power Reconsidered / Jakub Morawiec, Rafał Borysławski 9 Anne Irene Riisøy / Conversion, Things, and Viking Kings 13 Jakub Morawiec / Sveinn Haraldsson – The Captured King of Denmark 27 Łukasz Neubauer / Between History and Propaganda: Examining the Royal and Military Attributes of Knútr inn ríki in 'Liðsmannaflokkr' 43 Bjørn Bandlien / Coinage and Kingship in the Late Viking Age. The 'Facing Bird' Pennies of King Óláfr Haraldsson 55 Erin Michelle Goeres / The Dangers of Generosity. Money, Power, and Politics in 'Vestrfararvísur' and 'Kálfsflokkr' 79 Rafał Borysławski / 'Hlæfdige' and 'Hlaford'. Gendered Power, and Images of Continuity in 'Encomium Emmae Reginae' 99 Marion Poilvez / A Wolf among Wolves. Kings, Outlaws, and Discourse in the Icelandic Sagas 113 Arngrímur Vídalín / Ideals of Christian Kingship. The Implications of 'Elucidarius', 'Konungs skuggsiá', and 'Eiríks saga víðfǫrla' 129 Leszek P. Słupecki / A Crown on a King’s Head: Royal Titles and Royal Sovereignty in the Tenthand Eleventh-Century Poland and Scandinavia 139 Bibliography 147 Index 159 Streszczenie 163