The Warrior Manor

During many of the 3,400 years prior to the royal manor’s waning following the fire in AD 1368, aristocratic presence is evident at Avaldsnes and along the Karmsund Strait (Ch. 27). What was the nature and context of that presence, and did it change from c. AD 200 and into the 11th–12th centuries AD? Focusing on this period, this chapter, as indicated in the ARM research plan (Ch. 4), explores these issues from a central-place perspective. Centrality may be perceived from two perspectives, either from the centre or from outside. From an outside perspective a site is identified as a centre if it serves certain communal functions. Regarding Avaldsnes’ centrality from the perspective of a local aristocracy, the following questions need to be addressed: what use did aristocrats make of the Avaldsnes manor and its surroundings, and what type of authority did they exert over the adjacent land and waters? The main result from these discussions is that there is little or no evidence to indicate that Avaldsnes had communal functions of the types found in the south- and east-Scandinavian central places. Given that such functions are the basis for identifying a central place, Avaldsnes does not appear to have been a site of that type. Regarding centrality from an aristocratic perspective, late Viking Age Avaldsnes appears to have been the manor of a vast estate comprising about 70 farms in northern Kormt and across the Karmsund Strait. Some 3–4 centuries later, the land rent from the farms in the estate will have sustained 120–170 men, probably not much fewer in the 10th–11th centuries. Through most of the period, Avaldsnes residents deliberately built up the manor’s monumental appearance facing the sailing route. The land along the narrowest section of the Karmsund Strait has been used for similar purpose: two monuments in particular, one on either side of the strait, may have connected the site with Þórr, the god that protected society from destructive beings, and the world tree Yggdrasil. Supplied by yield from the estate and bolstered by myth and monuments, military dominance of the sailing route appears to be the primary rationale for aristocratic presence at Avaldsnes and along the Karmsund Strait in the first millennium AD. Thus, Odd Nordland’s characterisation in 1950 of Avaldsnes as ‘the warrior manor’ (krigargarden) seems appropriate

Some reflections on Gotland. Slavery, slave-traders, and slave-takers

This chapter draws out the implications of two issues raised by contributions to the volume: the holding of slaves in Scandinavia; and the question of whether Gotlanders were involved in the slave trade in the ninth and tenth centuries. It suggests that slaveholding existed across most of the social spectrum and that it was more widespread in Iron- and Viking-Age Scandinavia than has been suggested, with Slavic slaves being held on Gotland and elsewhere in Sweden from the tenth century onwards. Slaves were an integral part of the honour culture which pervaded Vendel- and Viking-Age Scandinavia. The author suggests that the Gotlanders owed their ability to trade in slaves and other commodities, operating mainly between the Baltic and the Black and Caspian Seas, to networks developed through a longstanding culture of travel and trade. Hence Gotlanders appear to have been the first in Viking-Age Scandinavia to position themselves as merchants in a long-distance trading system

Sea Kings on the Norðvegr

In this chapter, Avaldsnes and the land along the Karmsund Strait are considered in a west-Scandinavian context. Was the manor one of a kind? Why did aristocrats reside there, and what may be inferred about their activities? Topographic, archaeologic, and Old Norse literary evidence is analysed to discuss these questions. In western Scandinavia, Iron Age settlement is found in the rather small patches of rich soil, primarily along the sea, especially where valleys meet the fjord. Only two larger areas of continuous fertile soil exist: Jæren and Trøndelag. However, through the whole 1st millennium AD, settlement also thrived in less fertile areas in highland valleys and in islands on the outer coasts. Unsurprisingly, 33 aristocratic manors are found in the lush inland regions between Rogaland and Møre; less obvious is the existence of 13 Iron Age manors on the outer coast. The latter are found in two zones, one in Rogaland and Hordaland, the other in Møre and Romsdal. Lying in the former zone, Avaldsnes is the site with the richest finds, most numerous monumental mounds, and the longest continuity. The mountainous landscape presents travellers, especially those with cargo, with few alternatives to sailing along the coast by the sea route known as the Norðvegr, which is protected from the open ocean by thousands of islands and skerries. The need to secure traffic along this sea route, vital to travellers from the whole of western Scandinavia, is identified as the reason why aristocrats settled on the islands. Emerging in the 3rd century AD, the martial character of these island communities is testified in literary evidence regarding the Viking Age. Indeed, Haraldr hárfagri appears to have emerged from this sea-king milieu, probably in Rogaland and Hordaland

Exploring Avaldsnes 1540–2005

Avaldsnes, Kormt, and the Karmsund Strait are frequently mentioned in the Old Norse written sources, often referred to as the residence and burial site of kings. The site has attracted the attention of scholars since the 16th century, first by the humanists who began to study the Old Norse texts; subsequently by historians and antiquarians, from the mid-19th century academic historians, and from the early 20th century joined by archaeologists. In this chapter, the significant contributions from this range of scholars are summarised. The literature on Avaldsnes tends to adopt one of two perspectives: some scholars focus their analysis on evidence from the site itself, while others situate the site within discussions of broader societal or political issues. Summarising scholarship of the first type, this chapter traces how various types of evidence became available at different times and how scholars have shifted in their assessment of the evidence. Discussions of the second type of scholarship identify the continuities and changes regarding the contexts in which Avaldsnes has been situated. One thread in particular has been winding its way through these 450 years of Avaldsnes research: the problem of why kings preferred to reside on the modestly fertile and windblown island of Kormt, rather than the lush densely populated regions further inland and along the fjords. The most significant shift in the scholarship is seen in the integration of Avaldsnes within the research into the rikssamlingen (‘the unification of the realm’). The unification process has a long research history, but one that before the early 20th century did not consider Avaldsnes’ location on the outer coast. In the 1990s the scope of this research shifted from a national, narrowly 9th–10th-century perspective to a regionally North European, long-term perspective. This literature review of Avaldsnes scholarship forms the foundation for the research strategy employed by the current research project, detailed in Chapters 4 and 5

Aristocratic Presence along the Karmsund Strait 2000 BC–AD 1368

Pursuing the ARM research strategy (Ch. 4), this chapter summarises, analyses, and contextualises the evidence on aristocratic presence at Avaldsnes and along the Karmsund Strait presented in previous chapters in this book. In SP I (2000–350 BC) aristocratic presence was introduced and long-distance overseas connections to southern Scandinavia were established. In SP II (350 BC–AD 200) these connections were maintained, warrior burials were introduced, and agrarian production increased,probably leading to population increase. In SP III (AD 200–600) major changes occurred.Princely graves were entombed in the ancient Flaghaug mound, a prominent stone monument was raised, a monumental hall building, a boathouse, and a longhouse were erected;most of these buildings and monuments are without parallel in western Scandinavia, while the stone monument and one of the graves are unique in the whole of Scandinavia. The evidence for aristocratic presence is strong in SP III’s first two centuries, somewhat weaker in its latter two centuries. Features are few from SP IV (AD 600–900), the most substantial of which are remains of a palisade, which indicates external threats and hostilities as well as local military capabilities. Near Avaldsnes, the Salhus mound from early SP IV and the Grønhaug and Storhaug shipgraves from late SP IV provide evidence for aristocratic presence in this period. In early SP V (AD 900–1250) food-processing activities in the farmyard increase, and around the turn of the millennium a building appears to have been raised on the location where the hall building stood in SP III. Doubts regarding the historicity of literary evidence for royal residence at Avaldsnes in the 10th–early 11th century are counterbalanced by the surprising consistency among the sources. The archaeological evidence contributes somewhat to this assessment

The Raised Stones

The spectacular raised stone north of the St Óláfr’s Church at Avaldsnes, the so called Jomfru Marias synål (Virgin Mary’s Sewing Needle), is the most prominent preserved prehistoric monument at the site. Before its height was reduced c. 1840 from approximately 8.3 metres to the present 7.2 metres, it was the tallest in Scandinavia – the others rarely surpass 5 metres. A similar stone, about 6.9 metres tall, is known to have stood on the southern side of the church until the early 19th century. A 12th–15th-century runic inscription on one of the two stones was described in 1639 but has not been identified since. The stones were mentioned by Snorri in Heimskringla, and have received copious scholarly attention from the 17th century onwards. In this chapter, the existing evidence is reassessed, and the original number of raised stones at Avaldsnes, their sizes, and the location of the runic inscription are discussed. With the aim of arriving at a probable date and original number of stones, the monument is compared to stone settings in the same region and elsewhere in Scandinavia. It is concluded that the runic inscription was likely incised on the southern stone, which was severely damaged in 1698 and finally was taken down in the early 19th century. Probably, the two existing stones were originally corners in a triangular stone setting – a monument of the 3rd–6th centuries AD. An assumed third stone would have stood in the southeast and would probably have been removed prior to the mid-17th century, possibly around 1300 when masonry buildings were erected there. The stones were raised in the period when a hall building was erected and prestigious graves were entombed in Flaghaug, one of the two Bronze Age mounds at Avaldsnes. All four monuments were situated along the eastern edge of the Avaldsnes settlement plateau, evidently to communicate the site’s past and present prominence to those who sailed the Norðvegr

Rulership in 1st to 14th century Scandinavia. Royal graves and sites at Avaldsnes and beyond

This book discusses the 3rd–11th century developments that led to the formation of the three Scandinavian kingdoms in the Viking Age. Wide-ranging studies of communication routes, regional identities, judicial territories, and royal sites and graves trace a complex trajectory of rulership in these pagan Germanic societies. In the final section, new light is shed on the pinnacle and demise of the Norwegian kingdom in the 13th–14th centuries

Monetary practices in early medieval western Scandinavia (5th–10th centuries AD)

A SOCIAL APPROACH TO MONETISATION shifts the attention from the classic money media — gold and silver — to the dissemination of two social practices: valuing and paying. When these two monetary practices first became widespread in western Scandinavia during the gold rich migration period (in the 5th to 6th centuries ad), they were not introduced in the sphere of trade, but instead were features of traditional or customary payments, such as weregeld (atonements for murder or offences against the person) or marriage dowries. By the Viking Age, in the late 8th to 10th centuries ad, despite flourishing commodity production, precious metals were used as payment in trade solely in towns. Even in towns, this commercial use seems to have been adopted late, and was employed only occasionally. This paper reviews the changing approaches to money and monetisation, and draws attention to the potential for regarding monetisation as the spread of a set of social practices. The final version of this research has been published in Medieval Archaeology. © 2017 Taylor & Franci