Nordic Elites in Transformation, c. 1050-1250, Volume II explores the structures and workings of social networks within the elites of medieval Scandinavia to reveal the intricate relationship between power and status.
Section one of this volume categorizes basic types of personal bonds, both vertical and horizontal, while section two charts patterns of local, regional and transnational elite networks from wide-scope, longitudinal perspectives. Finally, the third section turns to case-studies of networks in action, analyzing strategies and transactions implied by uses of social resources in specific micro-political settings. A concluding chapter discusses how social power in the North compared to wider European experiences. A wide range of sources and methodologies is applied to reveal how networks were established, maintained, and put to use - and how they transformed in processes of centralizing power and formalizing hierarchies.
The engagement with and analysis of intriguing primary source material has produced a key teaching tool for instructors and essential reading for students interested in the workings of medieval Scandinavia, elite class structures, and Social and Political History more generally.
About the Author: Kim Esmark is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the Department of Communication and Arts at Roskilde University. His main research interests lie within the historical anthropology of the Middle Ages, where he has published articles and co-edited books on dispute processing, rituals, kinship, gift-giving, and religious patronage.
Lars Hermanson is Professor of History at the University of Gothenburg. He has published many works on medieval political culture and has co-edited several anthologies on the subject. His latest book is Friendship, Love, and Brotherhood in Medieval Northern Europe, c. 1000-1200 (Leiden, 2019).
Hans Jacob Orning is Professor of Medieval History at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo. He has written extensively on the political culture in medieval Scandinavia. His latest book is The Reality of the Fantastic: The Magical, Geopolitical and Social Universe of Late Medieval Saga Manuscripts (Odense, 2017).
