Rulership in 1st to 14th Century Scandinavia: Royal Graves and Sites at Avaldsnes and Beyond

Preface v
Abbreviations xv
Section A: The West-Scandinavian Coast
Einar Østmo
1. The History of the 'Norvegr' 2000 BC–1000 AD 3
1.1. Geography, technology, power, and time 4
1.2. Norway – northern or narrow? 5
1.3. The sea-route along the western coast of Norway 11
1.4. Navigation aids 18
1.5. Sea-route archæology 22
1.5.1. Stone Age craft 23
1.5.2. The Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age 25
1.5.3. Early Iron Age 36
1.5.4. Late Iron Age 45
1.6. Conclusion 50
References 51
Mari Arentz Østmo
2. Intraregional Diversity. Approaching Changes in Political Topographies in South-western Norway through Burials with Brooches, AD 200–1000 67
2.1. Introduction 67
2.1.1. Landscape and communication 70
2.1.2. A conceptual framework 73
2.1.3. Material and methods 78
2.1.4. Centres and socio-political structure as point of departure 80
2.2. Sub-regionality – a diachronic perspective 82
2.2.1. Roman Iron Age, phase C1b–C2 c. 210/220–310/320 82
2.2.2. Roman Iron Age, phase C3 c. 310/320–400 84
2.2.3. Migration Period c. 400–550 89
2.2.4. Merovingian Period c. 550–775/800 98
2.2.5. Viking Age c. 750/775–1000 105
2.3. Sub-regional trajectories 114
2.3.1. Karmsund on the outer coast 115
2.3.2. Jæren 116
2.3.3. The Fjord districts 119
2.3.4. The heathland/moorland 119
2.4. Changing sub-regions, changing political landscapes? 120
2.4.1. Explaining lacunae 120
2.4.2. Intra-regional diversity and parallel societal development 122
2.4.3. 'Similar difference' and connectivity 124
2.5. Concluding remarks 127
References 129
Appendix: Overview of brooches found in burial context 137
Section B: Rulership in First-Millennium Scandinavia
Dagfinn Skre
3. Rulership and Ruler’s Sites in 1st–10th-century Scandinavia 193
3.1. Germanic ruler terminology in the first millennium AD: 'þiudans', 'dróttinn', 'konungr', and monarch 196
3.1.1. The poetic evidence on Scandinavian rulership 198
3.1.2. Scandinavian rulers’ terminology in the first millennium AD 201
3.2. Peoples, lands, and rulers 203
3.2.1. Svíar and Svíþjóð 204
3.2.2. Danir and Danmǫrk 204
3.2.3. Norðmenn and Noregr 205
3.2.4. Tribes, amalgamation, and monarchies, the 1st–10th centuries 206
3.2.5. Polities and territories, 1st–10th centuries 208
3.3. Residences of the Skilfingar, Skjǫldungar, and the Vestfold Ynglingar 210
3.3.1. The Skilfingar in Old Uppsala 211
3.3.2. The Skjǫldungar in Lejre 213
3.3.3. The Vestfold Ynglingar in Borre and Skiringssal 214
3.3.4. Three royal lineages, four royal sites 217
3.4. The societal transition c. 536–650 218
3.4.1. Two generations of ruler’s sites 219
3.4.2. Economic and climatic upheaval 219
3.5. A tentative synthesis 221
3.5.1. From 'þiudans' to 'dróttinn' and 'konungr', 1st–6th centuries 222
The 1st-generation sites of the 'dróttinn' 222
The 2nd-generation sites of the 'konungr' 224
Germanic Europe: Scandinavia, Britain, and the Continent 226
3.5.2. From 'konungr' to monarch, 6th–10th centuries 229
The instability of kings and royal lineages 229
Kingship and heroic warrior ideals of the north: the Scandinavian trajectory 231
3.6. Epilogue: The stability of the rulership institution 232
References 234
Frode Iversen
4. Between Tribe and Kingdom – People, Land, and Law in 'Scandza' AD 500–1350 245
4.1. Introduction 245
4.1.1. Research questions and outline 246
4.1.2. Background 248
Tribes 249
Law provinces 250
Kingdoms 252
4.2. Material and methods 255
4.2.1. The onomastic evidence – ethnika of 'Getica' and 'Widsith' 260
'Getica' 260
'Widsith' 261
4.2.2. The archaeological evidence – cemeteries, graves, and hillforts 263
4.2.3. The royal manors and sites 271
4.3. Results 276
4.3.1. Location and size of the early tribes in Scandza 277
4.3.2. Hillforts and tribes 280
4.3.3. Royal sites and manors 285
4.4 Discussion – between tribe and kingdom 290
References 298
Jan Bill
5. The Ship Graves on Kormt – and Beyond 305
5.1. Ship burials – the archaeological dimension 307
5.1.1. Monumental ship burials – an 'ad hoc' definition 307
Sizes of ships in graves 310
Sizes of mounds 312
Sizes of ship settings 314
5.1.2. The Storhaug and Grønhaug ship graves 315
Storhaug 315
Grønhaug 318
Dendrochronological connections to other ship graves 322
5.1.3. Known monumental ship graves in northern Europe 323
Distribution patterns in time and space 329
Ritualization and ritual patterns in the monumental ship mound graves 331
5.1.4. Known monumental ship settings 340
5.2. Ship graves in written sources 345
5.2.1. Late traditions, examples nos. 5–19 353
5.2.2. Early traditions 356
Húsdrápa 356
Beowulf 361
The Vita of St. Gildas 367
5.2.3. King lists and royal pedigrees in the time and region of the monumental ship burials 368
5.3. Towards a synthesis 372
5.3.1. Monumental ship burial rituals – an interpretation 372
5.3.2. The ship graves on Kormt – harbingers of a new era 381
References 382
Section C: The High-Medieval Royal Manor
Anette Sand-Eriksen, Erlend Nordlie
6. The High-Medieval Royal Manor Complex 395
6.1. Discovering the Avaldsnes Royal Manor 397
6.2. Excavating the Avaldsnes Royal Manor 398
6.3. Before 1250: topography and archaeology 401
6.4. The high-medieval manor complex: physical remains 403
6.4.1. Main phases 407
Phase 1 – AD 1247 – c. 1300 407
Phase 2 – c. 1300–68 408
Phase 3 – 1368–1698 410
6.4.2. A60010 – Northern building 410
Walls and floor 413
Western portal 415
Northern entrance 416
6.4.3. A60030 – Connecting wall 417
6.4.4. A60020 – Southern building 423
Outer masonry walls 423
A60024 – Drainage 425
Cellar and doorway 427
A60021 – Ground floor partitions, internal walls 430
A60022 – Fireplace and oven 435
A60023 – Buttresses? 439
A60025 – Privy 443
6.4.5. The 1368 attack and 15th–17th-century continuity 444
6.5. The Avaldsnes high-medieval royal manor complex 447
6.5.1. New light on certain details of St Óláfr’s Church 454
References 457
Appendix: Radiocarbon datings 461
Alf Tore Hommedal
7. The Royal Edifice at Avaldsnes: A 'Palatium' for the King or a Residence for his Canons? 465
7.1 Historical setting and theoretical framework 466
7.1.1 What is a royal 'palatium' in the 13th and 14th century? 466
7.2. Norwegian parallels to Avaldsnes 468
7.2.1. Bergen – the royal residence at Holmen with the Church of the Apostles and the collegiate 469
The (second) chapel of the Holy Apostles 471
The two stone halls: The great 'Stone Hall' or 'Breiðastofu' (Håkonshallen) 472
The two stone halls: The smaller 'Yule Hall' 478
The first royal lodgings in stone, from the mid-13th century 480
The curtain wall with at least two gatehouses 481
The residential stone keep, 'the keep by the sea' 481
The second royal lodging in stone, from the late 13th
century 483
The (third) chapel of the Holy Apostles 484
Summing up the royal 13th-century 'palatium' in Bergen 487
7.2.2. Oslo 487
The royal residence with the St Mary church and the collegiate 487
A keep construction initiated by the later St Óláfr Church in Oslo? 489
7.2.3. Tønsberg – the royal residences, in the town and at Tunsberghus, with the St Michael Church and the collegiate 494
The royal edifice or 'palatium' located in the northern part of the town centre 494
The royal edifice or 'palatium' at the castle of Tunsberghus 494
The Royal Chapel of St Michael 497
The residential brick keep, 'Teglkastellet' 497
Bredestuen 498
7.2.4. Other west-Norwegian edifices 498
Utstein as a royal manor 498
Bergen – the archbishop’s residence 502
Stavanger – the bishop’s residence 506
The other Norwegian episcopal edifices 509
7.3. Conclusion: Avaldsnes in light of other Norwegian princely edifices 512
References 514
Erik Opsahl
8. Avaldsnes’ Position in Norway in the 14th Century 517
8.1. The Norwegian kingdom in the 14th century 519
8.2. The royal travels and royal building complexes in Norway in the 13th and 14th centuries 525
8.3. The use of the royal chapel organisation in the 14th century 532
8.4. Avaldsnes as a juridical and economic centre in the 14th century 534
8.5. The Hanseatic League and Avaldsnes 536
8.5.1 The burning of Avaldsnes 539
References 543