If you asked the average person how Vikings solved their problems, they probably wouldn’t say through lawyers. And yet, early Scandinavian people were sticklers for due process. This week, Danièle speaks with Robert Lively about how a person became a Viking lawyer, what the process was for solving disputes, and how fixing bad behaviour worked in this shame-based culture.
If you asked the average person how Vikings solved their problems, they probably wouldn’t say through lawyers. And yet, early Scandinavian people were sticklers for due process. This week, Danièle speaks with Robert Lively about how a person became a Viking lawyer, what the process was for solving disputes, and how fixing bad behaviour worked in this shame-based culture.
Robert L. Lively is a professor at Truckee Meadows Community College. His new book is Vikings Behaving Reasonably: Nordic “Hóf” in Civic and Legal Rhetoric.
The creator and host of The Medieval Podcast is Danièle Cybulskie. Click here to visit her website or follow her on BlueSky @5minmedievalist.bsky.social
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