Vikings Behaving Reasonably: Nordic Hóf in Civic and Legal Rhetoric
By Robert L. Lively
ARC Humanities Press
ISBN: 9781802700633
This book offers more than just a clever title. It shows how Norse communities relied on the ideal of hóf—a cultural expectation of moderation and restraint—to resolve disputes and maintain order, often without the need for a strong central authority.
Excerpt:
Medieval Nordic studies rely on a variety of disciplines to create the mosaic of the Viking north. Scholars use a variety of methods, including historical records, runology, numismatics, saga studies, archaeology, manuscript studies, folklore, and rhetorical studies, to create a better picture of the Viking Age. Each field of study lays a tile in the mosaic—another place where scholars can examine a facet of medieval Scandinavia. This book examines the civic and legal rhetoric of the Viking Age in hopes of shedding light on the topic from a rhetorical point of view, another angle of research, another tile laid.
Who is this book for?
Those with only a superficial understanding of Norse or Viking society might assume it was largely lawless. However, there is extensive evidence for well-developed legal traditions, and this book makes excellent use of that material to show how disputes were often resolved through dialogue rather than violence. The four case studies—drawn from Icelandic sagas and the island’s conversion to Christianity—are particularly effective in demonstrating the author’s argument.
This will be especially useful for those studying Norse society, as well as readers interested in the intersection of law and social history in the medieval world. It will also appeal to anyone who enjoys in-depth analysis of Icelandic sagas.
The Author
Robert L. Lively is a professor at Truckee Meadows Community College. In this blog post, Robert explains that this book “was written to try and make sense of the rhetoric shown in the Icelandic family sagas, but I expanded its scope to look more at how the medieval Scandinavians dealt with conflicts in both the civic and legal arenas. I found through my research that the medieval Scandinavians had a native rhetorical tradition outside of Classical influence.”
Vikings Behaving Reasonably: Nordic Hóf in Civic and Legal Rhetoric
By Robert L. Lively
ARC Humanities Press
ISBN: 9781802700633
This book offers more than just a clever title. It shows how Norse communities relied on the ideal of hóf—a cultural expectation of moderation and restraint—to resolve disputes and maintain order, often without the need for a strong central authority.
Excerpt:
Medieval Nordic studies rely on a variety of disciplines to create the mosaic of the Viking north. Scholars use a variety of methods, including historical records, runology, numismatics, saga studies, archaeology, manuscript studies, folklore, and rhetorical studies, to create a better picture of the Viking Age. Each field of study lays a tile in the mosaic—another place where scholars can examine a facet of medieval Scandinavia. This book examines the civic and legal rhetoric of the Viking Age in hopes of shedding light on the topic from a rhetorical point of view, another angle of research, another tile laid.
Who is this book for?
Those with only a superficial understanding of Norse or Viking society might assume it was largely lawless. However, there is extensive evidence for well-developed legal traditions, and this book makes excellent use of that material to show how disputes were often resolved through dialogue rather than violence. The four case studies—drawn from Icelandic sagas and the island’s conversion to Christianity—are particularly effective in demonstrating the author’s argument.
This will be especially useful for those studying Norse society, as well as readers interested in the intersection of law and social history in the medieval world. It will also appeal to anyone who enjoys in-depth analysis of Icelandic sagas.
The Author
Robert L. Lively is a professor at Truckee Meadows Community College. In this blog post, Robert explains that this book “was written to try and make sense of the rhetoric shown in the Icelandic family sagas, but I expanded its scope to look more at how the medieval Scandinavians dealt with conflicts in both the civic and legal arenas. I found through my research that the medieval Scandinavians had a native rhetorical tradition outside of Classical influence.”
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
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