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IMC 2021: Sessions

Session 107: A Scandinavian Sonderweg?, I: Networks

Monday 5 July 2021, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Peder Sather Center for Advanced Study, University of California, Berkeley
Organiser:Hans Jacob Orning, Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og historie, Universitetet i Oslo
Moderator/Chair:Alice Taylor, Department of History, King's College London
Paper 107-aFriends and Family: Networks in Scandinavia, c. 1000-1300
(Language: English)
Jón Viðar Sigurðsson, Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og historie, Universitetet i Oslo
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Law, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Paper 107-bFamily, Friends, Followers: Networks in the Low Countries
(Language: English)
Arnoud-Jan A. Bijsterveld, Department of Sociology, Tilburg University
Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Law, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Paper 107-cKings, Nobles, and Networks in High Medieval England and Norway: A Comparative Study
(Language: English)
Louisa Taylor, Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og historie, Universitetet i Oslo
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Law, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Abstract

This first of four sessions comparing Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian European political structures addresses para-political networks. Recent research has emphasized the importance of uninstitutionalized social and political bonds - family, friends, followers in G. Althoff's words - in fostering order in medieval societies. Were such bonds more important in Scandinavia than in the rest of Europe? Were they constituted in similar ways? Most important of all, was the relationship of kings to these networks different from other regions of Europe, and did it change as rulers' political power increased?