History of Norway before Harald Hårfagre
Earlier story
The settlement of Norway began after the last Ice Age around the 10th millennium BC. BC, when hunters and gatherers followed the ice receding north. The oldest known permanent settlement dates from this time and was discovered near Sinavik on Ringvasøy north of Lofoten . By then the ice had already receded from the coast. Mammoth bones that are 30,000 to 40,000 years old have been found in Gudbrandsdalen . It is no longer possible to determine whether people have already been there in the interglacials ; because the traces could only be preserved after the last ice age. 10,000 years BC The outermost southwest coast was no longer glaciated. However, the final retreat of the ice sheet from the Norwegian coast (around 300 meters per year) dates back to around 8200 BC. To apply. At this time the sea level was about 100 meters lower due to the water masses bound in the ice. The mighty ice armor pushed the country of central Scandinavia down to over 800 m at the points of the most powerful ice armor. On the coast, the difference is less than today, it ranges from 85 m (further inside) to around 20 m (further outside). This meant that large parts of the land now populated were uninhabitable. In southern Norway the pressure was much lower than in central Scandinavia, so the country lifted there. With the disappearance of the ice in central Scandinavia, the land mass slowly rose and continues to do so today. The coastline of that time was very different from today's. To the north of Oslo it is in places 220 m above sea level. Initially the land rose by one and a half meters in 100 years, today it rises by 25 to 30 cm in this period.
The early finds
On Rennesøy in the Boknfjord off Stavanger stone tools (an ax and arrow / spearheads) were found in a layer of gravel , which are dated to an age of 10,000 years. Most of the tools are made of flint stone . However, the place was abandoned because of the advancing ice. Another site is Blomvåg in the municipality of Øygarden in Hordaland with artefacts dating back to 10500 BC. To be dated. This makes the place the oldest known human abode in Norway. The technical design of the stone artifacts is similar to that of northern German finds. However, this similarity is so widespread that it is not easy to infer a connection between the reindeer slaughtering sites northeast of Hamburg and the finds in southwestern Norway. The oldest known residential area in southeast Norway is near Rakkestad east of Moss in Østfold (between 7600 and 7000 BC) At that time, the whole of Østfold was under water and only the site on today's mountain Høgnipen stood out as an island. But the actual settlement began in 9500 BC. BC and took place mainly on islands and skerries, in any case near water. Hence, it is believed that the sea was the source of food. Although the coast was already 14,000 BC. It was free of ice until 9500 BC. Lasted until man - but then in a few centuries - took possession of the coast. One explanation for this is seen in the fact that the people immigrated from the sinking continental flatland (southern North Sea), where hunting with seaworthy boats was later developed due to the less favorable coastal conditions. Without this technology, long-term survival on the Norwegian coast was not possible.
Although the sea was about 100 m deeper 7000 years ago than it is today, it was impossible to get from Denmark to Norway with dry feet. But stone artifacts have been found in the North Sea and on the Viking Bank. They must have got there at the time of the land bridge between Norway and England (time of the Vistula glaciation up to 10,000 BC). As the ice melted, the sea level rose and flooded the earlier settlements ( Flanders Transgression 7000 to 5000 BC).
The residents of that time were evidently not settled, but changed their places of residence depending on the season.
In Finland, 10,000 year old sled runners were found, which testify to the mobility of people in winter.
The oldest culture
The oldest culture of southern Norway, the fosna-hensbacka culture is, after their first location as Fosna culture or Fosnakomplex called and v its beginning in the outgoing 10th millennium. Dated. It lasted from around 9000 BC. BC to 4500 BC The place Fosna is however near Kristiansund in central Norway. It was there that this culture was archaeologically proven for the first time. The finds in southern Norway are of a later date. The term “complex” is intended to indicate that there is a multitude of individual cultures. These cultures have been found on the Norwegian coast to Helgeland and on the east coast of the Oslofjord to Bohuslän . The focus was on southwest Norway. They were fishermen and hunters. The reindeer have so far been regarded as the main game. The main material of the artifacts is flint . But the relatively late settlement of the west coast, which is relatively poor in game, cast doubt on this theory. It looks as if the Fosna cultures on the west coast lived mainly from hunting on the water. So these immigrants did not follow the reindeer, but the seals. Fixed buildings were the exception. A pit house, with a floor and peat walls dug ½ m deep, has so far been discovered from this time. In contrast to earlier views, a great many Stone Age abodes with remains of fire and meals have also been found on rivers and lakeshores. No culture of its own developed inland, rather a strong bond with the coastal region can be observed. Because there is no flint in the highlands. So the Flint artifacts must have come from the coast.
This is followed by the Komsa culture in the north to the Kola peninsula . It also set about 9000 BC. A, and their representatives are considered to be the forefathers of the Sami. Its name is derived from the Komsafjell near Alta . They were also hunters and fishermen. The rock carvings also begin here .
Rock carvings are divided into two temporally separate groups of motifs: hunting scenes and the later agricultural scenes.
The Komsa culture left remarkable rock carvings depicting hunting and dancing scenes or processions or people in boats. Their oldest place of residence was found at the North Cape and based on pieces of charcoal with the C-14 method on 9300 BC. Dated. Arrowheads, knives and scrapers were found for smoothing animal hides. The main material of the artifacts are quartz and quartzite . The somewhat coarser version is not due to old age, but to the material. The occurrence of Flint decreases to the north. There is no agreement on the character of the boats shown. It can dugout canoes or boats with leather covering similar to Eskimo Umiak be. However, the objection to the dugout theory is that, on the one hand, the trees in Norway, in contrast to Denmark, where one can find a dugout canoe from around 8000 BC. BC, were not big enough and that on the other hand these dugouts were unsuitable for coastal travel. So far, no remains of boats from the time of the rock carvings have been found in Norway. Only boat remains from the earlier Iron Age have been found, but so fragmentary that they cannot be assigned to one of the two boat types.
A variant of the comb ceramic with a pointed bottom from around 5000 BC Was found at the Varangerfjord . Such vessels are also known from the Kola peninsula , large parts of northeastern Finland and northern Karelia . Combed ceramics were widespread for a long time in Northern Russia and the Baltic States. This and the 10,000-year-old sled runners found in Finland point to contacts between the people in Lapland, probably via intermediate stops as far as the Baltic Sea on an alternative route that brought ceramic technology to Finnmark, and not via the route on the Norwegian coast.
However, the archaeological summaries based on the artifacts do not allow the conclusion that there is a common ethnic group with a common language.
9000 years ago the temperature rose sharply. The average temperature was 17 to 19 ° C compared to 15 ° C today. With increasing forest cover, the preferred and most important game, the reindeer, migrated to the seashore and out to the tundra on the receding ice edge. The hunters followed him. On the border between Rogaland and Vest-Agder is the lake Store Myrvatn , far inland , where you can find a very rich, completely intact living space with house foundations from the time from 8800 to 8600 BC. Has discovered. At that time, the glacier reached 10 to 20 km from the residential area.
Late Mesolithic
Around 7500 BC In the late Middle Stone Age , axes made of diabase appeared, which were mainly found near Egersund .
Around 7000 BC A warm period began for 3000 years. The temperature was about 2 to 3 ° C warmer than today. The land bridge between England and Norway disappeared. The reindeer hunters had to migrate to the highlands after the reindeer. There are around 1000 places from before 4000 BC. Known. People became more sedentary. Between 4000 and 2500 BC Chr. Slate was also a frequently used material. During this time the pit houses also became more common. But there are differences between the wooded inland valleys and the mountainous areas. In the inland valleys, for example, axes ( Nøstvet axes ) were found as normal tools. They are completely absent in the mountains.
The rock carvings essentially show game that can be hunted and extensive hunting scenes. The main prey was the reindeer. This results not only from the incisions, but also from the bones at the sites where they were found.
In the warm period, the tree line was correspondingly higher, at around 1200 m above sea level. M. Then it became more humid and swamps spread out in the high areas. The tree line apparently sank a few hundred meters. Not until 4000 BC The temperature rose again. The changes in the tree line resulted in changes in the migratory behavior of the reindeer and these also changed the hunting areas of the people. In the period between 5800 and 5000 BC The settlement activity in the southern mountain range decreased significantly for reasons that have not yet been clarified. At the same time, it increased significantly on the coast.
Unlike the inland hunters, everything indicates that the coastal inhabitants were sedentary. The richest settlement finds were made in places with strong tidal currents. They also show that the same site was used over a very long period of time.
The settlement site that has so far been the most closely examined and richest in finds is Kotedalen in Radøy municipality . Thick layers with a lot of organic settlement residues and a lot of pieces of waste from the production of stone tools were found here. Many bones from various animal species have been discovered. 7008 pieces of bone were found at a fireplace. Thirteen different species of fish, birds and amphibians have been identified, most notably mackerel, deer and alke. However, many other settlements that were permanently occupied were found close to tidal currents on the fjord. It turned out that there were several separate cultural layers, so that there must have been longer intervals between the settlement phases. In Kotedalen there were 16 distinct settlement layers .
Beginning of agriculture
In Kotedal , traces of wheat and barley were also found in the layers of the early Stone Age. The little that has been found with the bones of grazing cattle suggests very modest agriculture. At best, it could have been a marginal additional food or resources for celebrations.
Between 4000 and 2900 BC The beginning of agriculture is to be set. It began after the signs of slash and burn on the coasts of Østfold and on the sandy moraines there. They were simple types of wheat and maybe barley. Sheep and goat were probably kept as animals. It was probably only the meat that mattered, because according to the findings they were slaughtered very young. Apparently wool and milk have not yet been obtained. It is controversial whether the hunters and gatherers gradually began to use agriculture, or whether the agriculture was carried out by immigrants who already mastered the technology. It is noticeable that the hunters apparently settled more on the coast, but agriculture continued to be practiced inland.
The oldest known pottery shard in western Scandinavia dates from around 4000 BC. Around the middle of the 4th millennium BC The cord ceramics and the funnel cup culture can be proven.
6 amber pearls , which were found near Hammerfest at a settlement site, date from the same time . Amber from this period was also found on Magerøya . There are no deposits of amber in Norway. A dagger made of cold-hammered copper from around 2000 BC. BC, which was found in the innermost part of the Varangerfjord , speaks for contacts via an eastern route to north-west Russia and the Baltic Sea. It is the oldest metal object found in Norway.
More yurt-like dwellings became real stone buildings with thick walls. The population seems to have grown.
From 3300 BC Megalithic tombs have been proven in southern Norway . This means that social differences were already emerging in southern Norway during this period. The battle ax culture was widespread around the Oslofjord and the Stavangerfjord . Archaeologically, however, there are objects that do not belong to these cultures, and there are no objects that are to be expected. Therefore, this classification is only of limited use. Around 3000 agriculture and animal husbandry declined and hunting and gathering increased again. After the upswing and downswing, agriculture began around 2500 BC. To disappear systematically and ended 1800 BC. In all of Norway. Both sexes were involved in the hunt: the men are represented with big game, the women with birds. They probably also did fishing with boats and collected edible plants.
Bronze age
From 2000 BC The first bronze devices can be proven. The actual Bronze Age for Norway is from 1800 BC. BC. The Arctic Bronze Age can be clearly distinguished from the rest of the Nordic Bronze Age, both in terms of its origin and the type of objects . But bronze was not important for survival. Stone tools were still used in daily life. The bronze devices must have been status symbols. This is supported by the fact that only a few hundred bronze finds exist in Norway over a period of 1300 years, while in Denmark there are thousands. But "Bronze Age" is not so much related to the use of the material, rather it refers to a certain culture that is reflected in funeral customs and in the rock carvings. One speaks of a "bronze aristocracy".
The finds focus on three core areas: The oldest area is in the south-west near Jæren and Lista . Later the area around the Oslofjord and the best arable farming areas in the interior of the east were added. In third place was the Karmsund and the area around the Sognefjord .
In the south-west (Jæren, Lista), as early as 1800 BC A new culture in appearance. The bronze finds, graves and house types refer so clearly to North Jutland that a connection via the Skagerrak is not to be doubted, yes, one can assume an immigration from North Jutland. The most impressive pieces are two luras , as they were also found in Jutland, from Revheim near Stavanger , which were recovered from a bog there in 1894. The first imposing burial sites, the barrows, began at this time . As the population increased, power structures emerged like in southern Norway.
Around this time, a development of individual dwellings without connection to one another to agglomerations ( turf houses ) with up to 20 to 30 stable houses takes place in Northern Norway , most of which were always inhabited. The normal were 4-6 houses. The regularity of the house arrangement suggests clear rules that were observed by everyone. At the beginning of the Bronze Age, the families in Northern Norway were apparently all equal. Metal objects are rare.
All of the above-mentioned finds and large tombs indicate profound social changes. The formation of a chief society begins where agriculture and livestock have been practiced on a large scale. That was apparently the south-west of Norway. House construction also changed there: the wooden longhouse emerged , as can also be found in northern Denmark. The most famous find is on Hundvåg , a district of Stavanger. The place has been inhabited for around 10,500 years. The longhouses discovered in 2002 date from the time around the birth of Christ ( lit .: Stavanger Museum). The longhouses that were discovered in Forsand between Lysefjord and Høgsfjord date from the older Bronze Age . A characteristic of the houses was that the cattle were housed at one end and the people at the other.
Between 1100 and 500 BC In the south-west of Norway there was a decline, while in the east the prosperity increased. The reasons for this cannot be determined with certainty. But apparently the close connection to Jutland has diminished, but trade has taken its new route via the Kattegat . Many treasures found under stones or in the rubble in south-east Norway show artistically outstanding bronze jewelry. Others were sunk in rivers, lakes or moors. It is mainly women's jewelry. The artistic execution suggests a high position of the owners. A society of chiefs and aristocrats displays their special position through the value of their treasures. The chief graves differ from those in the west: They are rubble graves on mountain heights with a wide view or on islands, in any case away from human habitation. The rubble graves were either round like the barrows or elongated rectangular. The longest is on the island of Herføl in front of the town of Hvaler and is 100 m long and 7 m wide. Of the round rubble graves, the one on Hornnes in Skjeberg , a district of Sarpsborg , is 40 m in diameter and 5 m high. To erect such a monument requires a powerful family who knew how to organize the work of many people. At the bottom of the rubble graves was a box made of heavy stone slabs, often several hundred kilos. In the older Bronze Age the stone boxes were about two meters long, big enough for an outstretched body. Later the boxes were small and only suitable for an urn. The change to cremation is one of the hallmarks of the transition from the older to the younger Bronze Age. This bronze culture was not only widespread on the coast, but extended far inland to Gudbrandsdalen and Telemark . Large rubble graves have been found in northern Norway, the largest in Troldnes (part of Steinkjer ) in Trøndelag : This is a burial area with 20 large rubble graves, which are isolated and used for several burials. Rich grave goods made of bronze have been found. A particularly large 2500 year old bronze treasure comes from Store Stavå in Oppdal in Sør-Trøndelag : 19 pieces of jewelry and tools. The high metal value shows that 500 BC BC an aristocratic stratification also took place here.
Around 2000 BC The first signs of a belief in higher powers can be found: In special places, particularly beautifully crafted objects are placed. There are also dolls that probably represent the deceased and were kept in the house as their representatives. The later rock carvings are also interpreted religiously, because the motifs are distributed over a large area and repeat themselves over and over again. But apart from that, they are also assigned a social prestige function similar to bronze jewelry.
Trade connections can now be proven over great distances: Norwegian flint reaches Denmark, Jutian amber to Northern Norway, Baltic amber to central Norway, Russian flint from Olonez to the North Cape and to Kola. Asbestos from central Finland was added to the clay in northern Norway (asbestos ceramic).
The main connection went via Denmark - Gothenburg - west Swedish coast to Oslo. Then the way parted. One path went along the coast around southern Norway, the other over the highlands to central Norway. But Norway's south-west gradually became central to conveying bronze to the north and skins from the north to the south. A secondary route is adopted across the Gulf of Finland , Lake Ladoga , Karelia , White Sea and the Kola Peninsula to Finnmark . On Varangerfjord were found bronze spearheads and daggers of bronze of the Ural region . While the finds before the first millennium BC Chr. Are only sporadic, they become widespread afterwards and indicate a stronger exchange between Fennoscandinavia and the bronze-producing companies in the east. A connection to the ananino culture on the upper reaches of the Volga could probably be established. Apparently there was a regular exchange of furs from the north for metal from the east. The spread of the small bronze axes and their molds from the Anino culture to Fennoscandinavia speaks for this. The decorations on asbestos ceramics were used as early as 2000 BC. BC aligned with the decorations on the small bronze axes (zigzag band delimited by two double lines). The trade connections did not end until centuries after Christ.
There was no evidence of organized trade in western Norway during this period. The bronze artifacts were decorated with traditional local decors. Only at the beginning of the Iron Age, when bronze lost value, are finished imports from Denmark.
Since the middle of the 3rd millennium, the motifs of the rock carvings have changed. The previous hunting scenes have been replaced by agricultural scenes. The rock carvings of Alta belong to this period . Now mainly individuals were shown together with reindeer and pregnant (?) Women. Grain cultivation, alpine pasture and livestock farming are the associated ways of life.
Iron age
After 1000 BC The earth burial that had been common up until then was gradually replaced by cremation. 500 BC In addition to those made of bronze, pieces of jewelry made of iron were added to the urns. But iron was still a rare material at that time. The connection with the mainland urn field culture is unclear. After 500 BC There is a period of remarkable lack of finds. The grave goods decrease. Nor was there any copper or tin mining in Norway.
The northernmost Norway was oriented to the east and had connections with Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia such as the Ananino culture. The iron found in Northern Norway certainly came from there. The spread of asbestos ceramics around 800 BC BC over northern Norway, northern Sweden and all of Finland coincides with the area of the Sami at that time . It has not yet been decided whether the Sami developed autochthonously or whether they immigrated. A Germanic-speaking population settled in the rest of Norway. In the first centuries after Christ the trade connections to the east came to a standstill and only flourished again towards the end of the Viking Age around 900.
Archaeologically, the Iron Age is divided into the pre-Roman (up to the turn of the ages) and Roman (up to approx. 400 AD), the Migration Period (up to 550 AD), the Merovingian Age (up to 800 AD) and the Viking Age (up to 1050 AD). The transition from the older to the younger Iron Age is also set around 550.
Around 500 BC The use of iron began. Local iron processing in Norway began from 200 BC. The specialty is that iron production took place far away in the high valleys. Today we have the following explanation for this: The hunters did not need the iron, at least not in the quantities in which it was produced. The farmers could have used it. But apparently they did not have the technology and the personnel for the wood procurement of the required size. In the settlements near the coast, there are hardly any iron objects from this period. The very complicated and extremely error-prone production method suggests that specialists from Central Europe were at work there. Oral tradition from local travelers could not have replaced the necessary practical experience. The names in this context indicate that iron processing was taken over by Celtic-speaking groups from Central Europe before the conquest by the Romans. Because the word for iron was derived from the Celtic word “ isarno ” and not from the Roman word “ ferrum ”. The hunters in the high valleys learned about iron production and initially exchanged iron for grain, until it turned out that the procurement of the required amounts of wood tied up too many people who were needed for the hunt, so that iron production was soon almost stopped. It took a few hundred years before a less labor-intensive production was developed. This happened in the Viking Age. Smaller but more effective ovens have been developed. They weren't nearly as labor intensive as they used to be. Iron production increased by leaps and bounds in the first millennium, making new weapons and shipbuilding possible for the Vikings.
The boats depicted on later rock carvings in Østfold and Bohuslän resemble the Hjortspringboot from around 300 BC. BC, which was found in Denmark. A boat was recovered in northern Sweden that had the same row benches as the Hjortspringboot. The boats were built using the Kraweel construction method, by first making the hull and then stabilizing it with connections and row benches. The Hjortspringboot shows a craftsmanship that must go back to a long tradition in wood processing for boat building. It is believed to date back to the Bronze Age. This type of boat was apparently widespread in large parts of Scandinavia. For rowing, straps were used that were attached to a single curved oarlock (" keip ") with a loop . The oldest boat with such oarlocks was found in Mangersnes , part of Radøy Municipality in Hordaland and dates back to between 30 BC. And dated 250 AD. At that time, rowing must have replaced paddling. There are also rock carvings from this period that indicate rowing. Possibly the rowing of Roman vehicles on the Rhine was copied.
Dugouts have also been found, but they are by no means particularly old. The oldest dugout canoe in Norway was found in the Glomma river near Sørumsand and dates back to around 300 BC. Dated. Another was found in Siljan in Telemark and is believed to have been built around 200-300 AD. Influences from the English boat building tradition can be excluded. The boats there have different, more massive hull constructions.
Germanic tribes in present-day Norway were first mentioned by Jordanes around 550 .
After the turn of the century up to approx. 550 AD
Around the turn of the century and in the first two centuries afterwards, the cultural influence of the Roman Empire was also noticeable in Norway: burial again came up with rich grave goods. These grave goods often contained goods imported from the south. This also applied to bronze objects. Shortly before the turn of the century, a bronze kettle was used as an urn in Sola (near Stavanger ), which was made in northern Germany or in the Celtic region of Central Europe, which was certainly a rarity at the time. The flow of goods to Norway only increased after the turn of the century. Glass, bronze vessels but also precious metals were wanted. The goods came from workshops in northern Italy and on the Mediterranean, including the western Roman provinces. The main meeting point was in Denmark, only some of it then made it further north. First of all, you can find the goods in Østfold because this is closest to Denmark. There you can find the richest and most prestigious grave goods from this period with gold, silver and bronze objects. The graves also show a pronounced social stratification. After the turn of the ages, a new elite evidently developed, a kind of warrior aristocracy. This broke with the tribal society built on kinship and built on their fighting ability, which could hardly produce a stable society. Among other things, round settlements for a few hundred people came up, in which around 16 m long houses were built wall to wall in a circle. They were in use from Stavangerfjord in the south to Troms in the north for around 400 years and were abandoned around AD 400. Signs of female activities were not found. It is evidently a question of men's accommodation, be it thingstations or retirement homes. It is probably the first sign of a chieftainship.
Although contacts between the Germanic-speaking population from the Lofoten to the Roman Empire can be proven, the migration of peoples and the collapse of the Limes around AD 400 did not result in any direct break in cultural development. Only the funeral customs changed and became more economical. The transition between the late Roman period and the late Migration Period (400–550 AD) did not bring about as significant changes as the period around 200 AD. There are no more finds from any prehistoric period in Norway than from the years between 200 and 550 AD. All of a sudden the amount of finds and their wealth of variants explode across the whole country, so that this growth can almost be compared with the Viking era. Trade with the south and the Roman provinces took off.
The rich graves show that the chiefs procured luxury goods from the Roman Empire, items made of gold, silver, bronze and glass. An important trade route went from Aquileia in northern Italy north to the Danube, on to the Baltic Sea and Denmark. Another route led from the Rhine overland to the Weser and Elbe to the north, and another along the North Sea coast of the Netherlands and Friesland to southern Scandinavia. In the late Roman period, the flow of goods was controlled by powerful families in Sjælland . From there the goods went to the chiefs in Østfold (southeastern Norway) in exchange for hides and furs. Imports meant above all wealth and authority and was limited to the chiefs.
Boathouses for ships with up to 20 rowers were built along the coast. Finds of boat parts in Norway show that shipbuilding has made progress, as can be seen on the Nydam ship . The planks were now connected with iron nails. The picture is mixed: on the one hand, castles built on hills, weapons finds and buried treasures that indicate war, on the other hand, the growing number of imported goods, new settlements and extensive burial grounds over several generations, which indicate a peaceful development of society. The background is the onset of population growth. In many previously unpopulated valleys, new farms measuring 4 to 11 hectares were built around 300 AD. Be a particularly rich source, who Flurnamen shown that have survived more than 1000 years. There are over 50,000 of them in Norway. At different times, field names were formed in different ways, so that certain conclusions about the development of settlement can be drawn from them with reservations.
Whether this population increase was a local development or was caused by immigration has not yet been decided in Norwegian science. After all, the local tribal names "Ryger" and "Horder", which are mentioned in the oldest historiography, point to the rugii mentioned by Tacitus and the harudes mentioned by Caesar .
The Germanic taste developed from geometric figures (up to the 5th century AD) to animal ornaments (dominating from the 2nd half of the 5th century). The motifs are taken from Roman art, first as chip carving, then in Metal transferred. The most common occurrence was in southern Norway. After the Angles , Saxons , Jutes and other peoples had established themselves in England, trade contacts were established around the North Sea between England, France, northwest Germany, Jutland and Norway. The North Sea became the Germanic inland sea. The East Danish chiefs lost access to trade from the south. So it came about that the goods also ended up in western and northern Norway. The time of the Great Migration was above all the time of the greatness of the western country.
The northern route along the Norwegian coast was the main nerve of intra-Norwegian trade. The roads to the land and the fjords branched off from it. Down, feathers, walrus teeth, bacon and hides from seals and whales, and precious fur from the interior of the country were delivered. These goods were collected at chiefs' seats near the main thoroughfare. The chiefs were able to equip large ships, but they also controlled all coastal trade. One such area was e.g. B. the Karmsund . The chief there on Avaldsnes / Karmøy sat at a junction with a large hinterland and was able to control all trade between south and north. The Karmsund became the nucleus for the power of Harald Hårfagre . In 1834 the pastor there removed a large burial mound for the construction of a separate building. An unusually rich chief grave was uncovered. The chief had a Roman gladius with him in a silver-sheathed leather sheath. This shows that Karmøysund was a center of power even before Harald. Similar areas were the islands at Sunnmøre and the Sound in Vesterålen , Outer Namdalen , Andøya area and many other places along the coast. The places where land and sea transport met were particularly important. There the goods were reloaded and also changed hands. There sat powerful families who controlled the transport between the coast and the highlands. This led to a large profit differential towards the domestic market. The producers there received at most grain, textiles, weapons, implements and simple pieces of jewelry for their goods. The coastal route went to Troms , the outermost settlement area of agriculture.
There you came into contact with the pastoral economy of the nomadic Sami, probably the descendants of the fenni mentioned by Tacitus , the western Nordic word for Sami. Ptolemy wrote about Finnoi in Skandia around 150 AD . Jordanes mentioned screrefennae , in today's form skridfinner , i.e. seeds on skis , around 500 AD . Prokop wrote about this at the same time. Their habitat was therefore called Finnmark , an area that was much larger then than it is today. However, in contrast to the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, no useful finds from the period after the turn of the century have been discovered. The first millennium is therefore called the “fund-free age” for the far north. This is attributed to the fact that the nomads made their devices from a material that did not last a long time. But one can find trapping pits and other stone-lined pits that have been heated to a great extent, possibly to extract oil from whale blubber. They were used until historical times. A Sami ski from the end of the 6th century has also been found. The Sami had lively contacts with the northernmost Teutons, and many Sami words are borrowed from these encounters. According to the phonetic conditions, these must have been adopted before AD 500, when the northern rural population had received their own written language.
The oldest known runic inscription dates from around AD 200 . It is the word raunijaR , carved on an iron spear , which means to check. The meaning at this point is unclear. The point was found in Øvre Stabu in central Norway's Oppland .
The script was used until the end of the 7th century. The language obtained in this way is primordial Nordic . Around 150 Umordian runic texts were found. They are short and stereotyped. The wide spatial distribution of the finds indicates that pretty much the same language was spoken around the North Sea and that at least one understood each other without any problems. The runes probably originated from the contacts between the chiefs in southern Scandinavia and the Roman troops in Germania. Teutons from the north served in the Roman army, and when they rose to the rank of officer they had to be able to read and write in order to read the orders. At this time, Latin loanwords also migrated into Ur-Norse, e.g. B. the word cattus became kattuR (cat) and catillus became katila (cauldron). While at the beginning only individual objects were provided with individual rune words, from the 4th century onwards rune texts can be found on building stones in Norway and Sweden as memorial inscriptions for the dead. Much more inscriptions must have been made than have survived. Because the signs are made for wood. There are only straight lines, perpendicular and oblique. Round notches are difficult to scratch because of the annual rings, horizontal lines quickly become indistinct or disappear in the natural furrows of the wood of a board.
In the earlier Roman times, only a few people had allowed themselves to be buried with weapons. But from the 3rd century onwards, grave goods such as sword, lance, spear and shield almost became the rule for a certain population group. Apparently young men from these families had set out for Central Europe, joined forces with other Teutons, served in the army with the Romans and returned home with fame and honor. Some later received the equipment they had brought with them as grave goods. These swords are made in Roman or Roman provincial workshops and are different from other swords. A figure symbolizing Victoria, the goddess of victory, was engraved on the blade. These swords were reserved for Roman officers and are therefore extremely rare and rarely came to Norway through trade. But it could also have been prey. Many fortifications have now also been built, but their interpretation is uncertain. Some consider this to be a sign that society had not yet come together to form larger units, so that the sexes fought each other; others, on the contrary, see it as the beginning of a larger ruling organization, especially since some of the facilities were in sight, and on the coast of Telemark, the fortifications are lined up to control coastal traffic. Archeology, however, has not progressed far enough for a final judgment.
The richest grave goods with gold, silver, bronze and glass have a characteristic distribution area. They are located in agriculturally fertile areas with large populations, at the traffic junctions between the inland and the coast and in places along the fjords. The chiefs of Avaldsnes must have been the overlords for a greater political unity that ruled both sides of the Karmsund. During the migration period, the area up to the Nordfjord was apparently divided into 8 or 9 domains, petty empires or tribal domains. Jordanes enumerates a number of Scandinavian independent ethnic groups in his Gothic history, probably in the order from east to west and then to north. It is not known how these tribes were organized and what responsibilities the chief had. It is known of the mainland tribes that they had an electoral kingship, which from the noble families, whose ancestry went back into the distant past, determined the respective chief who then had to fulfill political, religious and military tasks. However, a new type of chief, who was chosen not on the basis of nobility but solely on the basis of military ability, was pioneering. That was the king of the army . If you look at the weapons additions between the 3rd and 6th centuries, this type of army king was the dominant type in Norway at that time. This destabilized society as a whole, so that the war gained a much greater significance than before in thought and practice. The chief was therefore more associated with his followers than with a specific territory. But here too one has to assume regional differences. There were some who deserved the title of small king, with a permanent armed crew under their command, and others who, rather than large farmers , assumed the role of primus inter pares . The chiefs also had extensive connections with one another, be it through marriage policy, exchange of gifts, or through entrusting one's sons to others for education. But one can also assume the increase in neighborly conflicts and raids.
550 to 800 AD
Around 550, prosperity suddenly breaks off. Many homesteads are becoming desolate. The finds indicate the most striking change of the Iron Age between 550 and 610. For Norway, archaeologists set the dividing line between the Older and the Younger Iron Age, which extends to the 11th century. Many objects that had hitherto been in use fell out of use, the women wore other jewelry (instead of cross-shaped buckles, now round buckles, special needles), and the men were armed with other weapons. The dead were no longer buried in stone boxes, and the grave goods changed. They were buried in the earth without any above-ground stone markings. The archaeological evidence is decreasing. Many explanations have been tried for this sudden change. On the one hand, one blames the change in agriculture with an intensification of pasture management. This led to extensive clearing, which led to the watering of the pastureland, the leaching of nutrients and acidification of the soil and ultimately to the collapse of this economic form.
Another explanation is attempted through the increasing armed conflicts due to the increase in population pressure. Coal has been found in many desert areas, suggesting arson. But the findings do not exclude accidental house fires and the use of regular fireplaces for over 200 years. Martial immigration as part of the migration of peoples is also not plausible in this peripheral region, apart from the fact that the conquerors would have repaired and used the buildings themselves.
The most plausible explanation is currently believed to be an epidemic, which also made itself felt in the rest of Europe in the 6th century, and which was brought in with the young adventurers who returned from the mainland. Gaul was ravaged by the plague between 552 and 554, again in 571 and again in 588. It also reached Britain. Although it was the contagious bubonic plague, there are no sources that the plague reached Norway. In any case, it is noticeable that the disease is apparently less and less noticeable further north.
The ornamentation changed. Extensive wickerwork that covers the entire area has now been added to the old animal style. The body of the animal has been stylized into a long, continuous band. Filigree and cloisonné , glass and enamel in many colors appeared. After the Avars and Slavs moved west and blocked the old trade routes of Byzantium , the materials gold, silver and garnet decreased. The jewelry became smaller, and the ornament surfaces were given a very flat, material-saving relief. The grave goods also became more economical. The most obvious change lies in the end of the use of clay vessels at the beginning of the 7th century. Clay production ended for unexplained reasons around 600. Kettles made of iron or soapstone were used.
The long double-edged sword was replaced by the short sword with a single edge without a quillons and pommel, the barbed spear was replaced by a powerful lance and the shield boss was given a different shape. The impetus for the new armament came from the Franconian Empire.
The language also changed. While the previous language was characterized by very long words with prefixes and suffixes, the words became shorter, unstressed letters and, above all, vowels disappeared from the script. Linguists call this time between 500 and 700 " syncope time ". In a runic inscription around 700, the urnordic steinaR became stAin (which later became steinn in Norröna ). King Harald would have been called "HarjawaldaR" during the migration period. At the same time, unstressed vowels in the ending assimilated the stem vowels in front of it and then disappeared. From gastiR (Guest) was gestiR , then crossed out , today gjest . From valluR (valley), after assimilation and syncopation, became full , today full . The reason for this language change in a short time has not been found. But the new language could be spoken faster.
After this development, contacts with Central Europe apparently increased, which could be a cause of the cultural changes. The large and central courtyards were rebuilt and populated. From the middle of the 7th century the population increased again and the finds became richer. Agriculture flourished again at the beginning of the 8th century; possibly the climate had also improved, as agriculture stretched further north and at higher altitudes than before. This spread is so clear and continues until after the Viking Age that one speaks of an internal conquest. Fishing also increased. Corresponding items can be found in many houses on the islands, but none that indicate the presence of women. These were fishermen's accommodations that were only used by fishermen during the season.
The most magnificent find of prehistoric times, the treasure trove of Åker in Hedmark, is to be placed in this period . About 20 objects that were created shortly before 600 were found in the ground.
A man with a sword and helmet was discovered in Nes (in Hedrum , Vestfold ). Outside of Nes only three other graves are known in which remains of a helmet were found. The closest parallel of the helmet can be found in the Swedish Mälar Valley and in eastern England. The model was the Roman parade helmets or cavalry helmets from centuries before. Similarities between Swedish graves at Lake Mälaren and the ship grave at Sutton Hoo show the far-reaching connections between Germanic princely families. The same burial custom was also in use at the Oslofjord and Karmsund. Ring sword and helmet were badges of rank. The written sources of the time testify that the Germanic kings built their power on a strong and combative following from the upper class of society, who had sworn to them. A ring on the sword can therefore have been a sign of oath given by the king. It can be assumed that the bearers of the ring sword on Karmsund and elsewhere were temporarily in the retinue of Franconian kings. It is also possible that the conditions in the Franconian Empire served as a model for other rulers and that these models made their way to Norway and thus contributed to the understanding of the development of the chiefs and petty kings.
During this time, the mightiest burial mounds in Northern Europe were built. The Raknehaugen burial mound was built in Romerike at the beginning of the 7th century . Today it is 95 m in diameter and 15 m high and is the largest known burial mound. The second largest is in Østfold and is called Jellhaugen . Its diameter is 80–90 m and it is about 10 m high, but it may have been taller. The burial mound at the narrowest point of the Karmsund is of particular interest . It has a diameter between 40 and 50 m and 5 m high and contained a ship over 20 m long and rich grave goods, including a gold bracelet. In another burial mound nearby with a 15 m long boat, which was later looted, a small, light green piece of glass was found that was not produced in the Norwegian environment at that time. The shard is too small to be able to determine where it was made. But there is similar material in England at the time. Other broken glass can certainly be attributed to Swedish production. The chief at Karmsund had extensive foreign connections.
While on the mainland and in England urban culture began to revive in the 8th century and trade centers can also be found in Denmark (west coast of Jutland, Åhus and Skåne), the same has not yet been found in Norway. The exchange of goods there can hardly be elucidated archaeologically, since most of the objects are likely to have rotted away. From the grave goods it can be concluded that agricultural products may have made up the main mass: grain, wine, oil, salt, textiles, clay and wood products, but also glass, jewelry and traditional costumes, weapons. Prestigious luxury goods such as walrus teeth, fur, falcons, soapstone, whetstone and reindeer antlers for combs and other horn objects were exported from the north. Furs and walrus teeth went into long-distance trade and reached the Arab environment, while bacon and whetstone were essentially exchanged in the north itself and in the adjacent areas, as the finds there show. All of this led to the expansion of hunting activities in the highlands, which is documented by appropriately richly equipped graves. There is much to suggest, especially Ottar's report to King Alfred , that the Sami extended their hunting grounds far south.
After the time of crisis with its dramatic population decline, more and more iron was mined in the country, and new stone quarries for soapstone were set up everywhere. Obviously, iron was produced beyond our own needs. In upper Telemark, especially on Møsvatn, over 900 m above sea level, the local population has specialized in iron production in 200 places. Because there were plenty of moors there, which contained rich deposits of lawn iron ore. Extraction began as early as the 6th century, but only really prospered in the 8th century. At the beginning, production was a few hundred kilos per year, around 800 up to the 10th century it was two to three tons, as another Growth spurt began. But a similar development can also be observed in many other places. Slag studies also show that production methods have become more effective. Blacksmith tools were also found. Soapstone production also took on large forms. If this stone was originally used to make vessels, weaver weights, casting molds, etc. were now made. Norway was the country where soapstone was most common at the time. The population crisis described above was not accompanied by a social crisis. Rather, the foundations for later development were laid during this time.
The large grave mounds and the grave goods there testify to the great influence and great power of individual genders - despite the relative lack of funds, incidentally, for the period around 600. In order to maintain this status, role models were required that could be transferred to the local conditions, a proportionate one stable organization of society, an accepted ideology and a secure economic basis. The most important model was probably the Merovingian kingship. Helmets and ring swords in Norway are evidence of this. The standing combat troops documented by them ensured a stable company with the chief / minor king at the head. The rich finds of weapons from the Merovingian period near Åkersvika suggest such a power center there. In the same way, a kingdom on the west coast of the Oslofjord can be developed, which exercised its influence over the east. Outside of this center in Vestfold with its center in Borre, only the south-west region with its center on Karmsund was of importance. But violence alone is not enough in the long run to maintain power. The mighty burial mounds on the Borre burial ground could also point to the claim of divine descent of the ruling family. The location of these centers also ensured an economic upswing, in that large estates belonged to them and they themselves were collecting points for the exchange of goods, which they controlled and from which they drew rich profits. But this only applied to the south. Along the coast to the north, the traditional form of the large farmers apparently lived on as local authorities. The development of the chief and royal power continued uninterrupted into the Viking Age.
Small empires in the southwest
Several small empires emerged in Eastern Norway between 300 and 500 AD and in the following centuries: Ringerike , Romerike , Hadeland and Hedmark . A larger legal association was also created in Trøndelag . In Bøvågen (a bay north of Avaldsnes on Karmøy ) a large ship's grave testifies to a corresponding center of power that extended its area very far into the country and south. The petty king had Bø as their headquarters, and Avaldsnes was possibly the religious center. During the Merovingian period (500-800) Norway was part of a pan-European network of relationships that developed in the 7th century.
The burial mound in Bøvågen and the grave goods indicate that there is a travel kingdom of the Franconian pattern and that the buried petty king was strong enough to carry out conquests. He apparently had several bases between which he moved. The rich archaeological finds near Ferkingstad on the west side of Karmøy suggest such a base. From the rich grave goods in other places, a network of bases can be developed: Fitjar on Stord , Støle near Etne , Skåla near Kvinnherad , Halsnøy and Tysnes in Sunnhordland , Sørbø on Rennesøy , possibly Utstein on Mosterøy , Hesby on Finnøy and Tolga or Gard on Talgje . These were seats of local chiefs who had apparently been subjugated by the petty king in Bøvåg . This is supported by the fact that Fitjar , Støle , Skåla , Sørbø , Utstein and Hesby were already royal estates in the written time . Large crown estates can also be found in the other places mentioned. Snorri writes about the royal estates Harald Hårfagres : “When King Harald got old, he often stayed on his large crown estates in Hardanger: Ålrekstad (= Årstad near Bergen ) or on Seim (in Alversund ) or Fitjar or Utstein or on Avaldsnes on Karmøy . "
The eastern border of his empire was probably somewhere between the Skoldafjord in Tysvær and the Ålfjord . Because there was an important land route there, and there are indications that even ships were pulled over on it: an important back door when the Karmsund was closed.
Activities outside Norway
It used to be believed that the Viking attack on Lindisfarne 793 was sudden and unexpected because the Vikings had previously only come to England along the North Sea coast via the Channel. Recent finds show that the direct route from Norway to the English coast was used generations ago. Finds in the Orkneys , Hebrides and Ireland could be dated to the earlier 8th century. Finds from England from the same period were also discovered on the west coast of Norway. Since these objects from Scotland are missing in southern Scandinavia, but are represented in central Norway, it is not assumed that goods will be transported over the canal through Jutland to central Norway. Reindeer antler combs have been found in the Orkneys and Shetlands that can be dated to the 7th century. There were no reindeer there or in Scotland at the time. The journey across the North Sea only took a few days in the Viking Age. A very early Norwegian settlement is also to be expected for the Faroe Islands . The earliest settlement of the Vestmannaeyjar south of the Icelandic coast using the C-14 method dates back to the 7th century. A typical Norwegian longhouse was discovered under a layer of lava from the 7th century. There are also dates for Reykjavík from before 800. Today it can no longer be said that the Vikings did not use sails before the 8th century, which is inevitable for a North Sea crossing. Because the archaeological material is too little for such a statement, and the Frisians knew sails in the south of the North Sea at that time. The connection between Norway and Northumbria was by no means new, it merely suddenly acquired a warlike content.
Religion in the older iron age
The source material is sparse. In the written sources of the Middle Ages there are references to the ancient doctrine of gods, to the belief in Aes that goes back to the older Iron Age. Finds indicate both natural forces and higher powers. A woman and an eight to twelve year old girl were buried in Sogndal in Sogn at the end of the 5th century. Grave goods were a strange collection of small objects made of stone, flint and glass in a small container. Underneath was a small stone ax, two small pieces of rock crystal and two small white, egg-shaped stones made of quartz and quartzite. It wasn't a toy. According to old popular belief, white stones and rock crystal repel trolls and dark forces. They were probably apotropaic amulets. It was always about fending off evil forces over which one had no control. This was done with the help of "thunderstones", pieces of flint and stone axes that were built into the floor of the house. They had been found in the ground and given magical significance because no one knew that they had been stored there centuries earlier. White round stones also protected cattle from disease. While everyone could find these stones themselves, other problems required the help of people with special properties.
The most remarkable grave is that of a woman who was buried in the 6th century near Bergen in a 3 m long stone box under a 17 m long and 8 m wide burial mound. It was furnished with abundant jewelry and other personal effects. What is special, however, is that a stone slab was built into the foot of the stone grave as a threshold and she held a long wooden stick in her right hand. The woman must have been a woman who knows magic, a Völva . These were described a few centuries later in Nordic literature: futuristic and troll-savvy. She knew about the past, present, and future, and acquired her knowledge by singing into ecstasy. She also had power over harm and fertility. It was customary to consult them in case of difficulty. So she was feared and respected.
Two types of Völva are later reported: One wandered around with a staff, like the buried woman described above. The name Völva is derived from the normal word * volv ("stick"). The other type was linked to rites associated with the phallus of a stallion called "Volse". This is illustrated by a find in Hordaland, where such a stallion phallus was wrapped in a linen cloth with leeks. A runic text was engraved on a bone knife at this find: linalaujaR = linen and leeks, the plants with which a fortune teller was rewarded. The stallion phallus stood for fertility. The same is to be understood when people are buried in bearskins or in bear claws. Combs also played a special role, as long hair was a sign of strength and fertility in many cultures and combs symbolized the fertile rain. Many phallic stones show the great role that fertility cults played back then. So far nothing more can be said about the religious ideas of the time.
Time of the Vikings
Historical classification of the Vikings
There is no generally valid definition of the Viking, as the term has undergone major changes over time. What made them terrifying in the sources was that they were pagans and as such had no respect for churches and monasteries. In addition, the sources were written by clergymen who interpreted the raids as God's punishment for people failing to listen to the Church. In Scandinavia, the Viking Age is seen in a different light: It was the first great power period. The Viking Age is the last so-called “archaeological period” in Norwegian history. It usually begins with the attack on Lindisfarne 793, but it would be more correct to place the border between the Merovingian and Viking times in the middle of the 8th century (see article Viking Age ). In the middle of the 11th century, the Viking Age passed into the next period, the “Christian Middle Ages”. At the beginning of the Viking Age, individual monasteries and churches were attacked, Lindisfarne, Columban's monastery in Iona, St. Filibertus monastery in the Loire estuary, etc. In the final phase in the 11th century, the Vikings fought against it in large and organized armies, from led by Christian kings. Monasteries and churches were left alone. Scandinavia joined the community of Christian states. While West Scandinavia focused more on England, France, Benelux and West Germany, the Swedish Vikings focused more on the Baltic Sea, the Baltic States, Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. This can be seen in the finds of Arabic coins, which are abundantly represented in Sweden and Gotland, but hardly in Norway and Denmark.
Raids and spread
The first Viking trains were purely looting undertakings by the Danes and Norwegians on a relatively modest scale in the British Isles, Friesland and the Franconian Empire. But after 800 the Vikings organized larger military campaigns, initially especially against Friesland and the west coast of France. In addition to looting, ransom ransom also played a significant role. After the looting in 841, Paris bought out in 845 with 7,000 pounds of silver. However, the Viking trains were also exaggerated in the usual manner; so when the French monk Abbo spoke of a Viking fleet of 700 ships. Although the Danes dominated the raids into France, Norwegians were also there. Because in the annals of the attack on Nantes in 843, westfaldingi, i.e. people who came from Vestfold, are mentioned. You may have come with the Danes, but also from Ireland.
The Viking trains also stretched along the Portuguese west coast, in 859/860 through the Strait of Gibraltar to northern Italy. In 882 they moved up the Rhine and came to Trier.
Many Scandinavians settled in Normandy and Flanders after 800 . Charles the Simple left Normandy as a duchy to the Viking chief Rollo as a protective wall against further incursions. After a few generations, the Vikings were absorbed by the local population.
Danish Vikings established themselves in England (Danelag). See also: History of England .
The Norwegian Vikings dominated Ireland . The first wintered there in 840/841. Around 850 there were clashes between the whites (Norwegians) and blacks (Danes), named after their shield color.
society
This section does not describe the society of the Vikings, i.e. the sociological conditions of the ship's crews, but the social environment in Norway that produced the Vikings there and from which they came.
The society of the Norwegian Nordmanns was essentially shaped by external, especially Franconian influences. At the same time as the expansion of their sphere of influence outwards, internal colonization began. Only when the conditions no longer permitted further expansion in the interior did the emphasis shift to the expansion abroad, which is associated with the Vikings. Archaeologically, there has been a steady increase in built-up areas since the turn of the ages with a temporary break in in the 6th century, which only breaks off with the Svartedauden , the great plague in the 14th century. But the new district names before the Viking Age, which all start with a personal name, allow the conclusion that agriculture was carried out by individual small families during this time, but not that it would have been the same before that. Because it could also have been a fad. Nonetheless, before the Viking Age, society was shaped by family associations, as there was no higher authority above the extended family. In the Viking Age, however, the greater mobility led to a reorientation, as when abroad the own extended family could only provide limited and very limited support in cases of conflict. Here the group to which a person belonged came to the fore.
Nonetheless, the term “family group” to which a person belonged is important at this time. For a gender to stick together in all things, there must have been a common group feeling for all members. That is only possible in a strong patriarchy or matriarchy. In the Viking Age, due to the patrilinear form of personal connections, a patriarchy can be assumed, where the eldest of the family determined sons, wives, unmarried daughters and daughters-in-law. But this was different before. If a woman married before the Viking Age, she remained a member of her own family unit, and the maternal family unit was as important to the children as the paternal one. That included that e.g. For example, two nuclear families of two brothers never had the same view of their closest relatives, except in the rare case that two brothers were married to two sisters. This society did not consist of separate sexes side by side, but of small families as nodes in a large network with connections criss-crossing the area and resulted in an asymmetrical pattern. It is therefore not surprising to hear of an argument between groups that were related to each other. The term “trunk” is avoided here because it encompasses too many different phenomena to be used meaningfully in this context.
In addition to these described groups of people, there were servants / slaves. They had no affiliation with families. She had no rights. Their origins played no role in society. They were owned by the Lord. There is news about them only in the later old Norwegian laws. But these allow certain conclusions to be drawn about the previous conditions. The economic importance of the slaves at that time is one of the unanswered questions in Norwegian historical research. English and Irish sources report on kidnapping. But it does not appear from this that a large number of them came to Norway, as one of them may have been sold abroad. Also, there is no clue as to what number it was. Often the prisoners were not sold, but were released for a ransom. If the ransom was not paid, the Vikings often killed them.
Women were not equal to men. However, if necessary, they could also take on functions from men, e.g. B. setting up and running a farm as an unmarried woman. The social norms did not prevent them from doing so. There are quite a number of homesteads from this period that have women's names. This case is even more common in Iceland. Many memorial stones also indicate leading women in their runic inscriptions. About 20% of these memorial stones show such a fact, more so than the farm name suggests, which is not surprising, since building a new farm was an unusually tough task for a woman. But more women got into leadership positions after the death of their husbands. Widows had the most independent position in this society. A widow could inherit her son if he died without an heir of his own. After her death, the inheritance went to her relatives. The grave finds confirm this position of the woman. 264 grave finds from the Merovingian and Viking times were made. 68 of them were so well preserved that the sex of the dead could be determined. 19, or 28%, are women graves. The richly endowed of these show that women belonged to the upper class. They were among the oldest and largest courts. It turns out that the women were not clearly disadvantaged even if they were not allowed to carry weapons and participate in the thing.
The old tribal names " Ringeriker ", " Ranrikinger " (in Bohuslän) or the landscape names that end in -land ( Rogaland, Hordaland ) do not prove that there were large social structures. First of all, there are simply geographical names and their connection with the people who live there. They were already known to the Jordanes in the 6th century, so much older themselves and from a time when one can certainly not speak of an empire in the sense of a politically organized unit. However, it cannot be ruled out that individual chiefs built up a large area of power that lasted for a while and then fell apart again.
The graves also show that the average age of men was 41 years, that of women was 51 years. The skeletons are also evidence of hard physical labor. There are clear traces of osteoarthritis, especially in women. The female skeletons show an average height of 161 cm, that of the male skeletons of 174 cm.
See also
- Viking age
- For the religion see North Germanic Religion and Nordic Mythology .
literature
- Knut Andreas Bergsvik: Bofaste jeger- og fiskerfolk på Vestlandet . (Settled hunters and fishermen in the Westland) In: Einar Østmo (Ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
- Hein B. Bjerck: Menneskene kommer. (The people are coming) In: Einar Østmo (Ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
- Arne Emil Christensen: På havet - for vikinge. (On the sea - before the Vikings) In: Einar Østmo (ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
- Svein Indrelit: Skogen og fjellet. (Forests and mountains) In: Einar Østmo (Ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
- Øystein K. Johansen: Bronzealderen. (The bronze age) In: Einar Østmo (ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
- Arnvild Lillehammer: Fra jeger til bonde - inntil 800 e.Kr. (From hunter to farmer) In: Aschehougs Norges Historie Bd. 1. Oslo 1994. ISBN 82-03-22014-2 .
- Bjørnar Olsen: Kulturkontakte på nordkalotten. (The cultural contacts at the polar cap) In: Einar Østmo (Ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
- Fritz Petrick: Norway - from the beginning to the present . Regensburg 2002. ISBN 3-7917-1784-7
- Rudolf Simek: New land in the green north . In: Back then issue 12/2008, pp. 16–22.
- Einar Østmo: Steinalderens jordbruk. (Agriculture in the Stone Age) In: Einar Østmo (Ed.): Før Norge ble Norge - fra istid til jernalder . Oslo 2004.
Web links
- Stavanger Museum ( Memento of June 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bjerck p. 9
- ↑ Bjerck p. 10
- ↑ Bjerck p. 13
- ↑ Olsen p. 75
- ↑ Bjerck pp. 13, 17
- ↑ Christensen p. 119
- ↑ Indrelit p. 26. The philologist Andreas M. Hansen wanted to derive an entire Mesolithic cultural complex in southern Norway from this in 1904. Since the culture is said to have penetrated from Sweden, it stands to reason that there is a connection with his racial ideology in the wake of his role model, the Swedish racial scientist Anders Retzius from the 1840s. Because the higher quality breed should have invaded Norway from the east. Today one still speaks of Nøstvet axes after they were first found in the Oslo area, but no longer of a whole Nøstvet culture. Petrick, Norway p. 16 is still based on a whole culture.
- ↑ Bergsvik p. 30
- ↑ Bergsvik p. 32
- ↑ Østmo p. 43
- ↑ Olsen p. 77
- ^ Johansen pp. 54, 56
- ↑ Johansen p. 57
- ↑ Johansen p. 67
- ↑ Johansen p. 71
- ↑ Olsen p. 77 f.
- ↑ Figure Archaeological Museum Tromsø ( Memento from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Simek (2008) p. 17.