Christian Conversion and the Emergence of Local Political Economies in 11th Century Iceland

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Governance and Globalization in the North Atlantic", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Christian conversion of Iceland at the beginning to the 11th century marks the integration of the island into the broader European religious community and the institutional hierarchy of the Catholic church. Archaeological work shows that the conversion entailed a rapid replacement of pagan practice and adoption of Christian practice and ideology that, nonetheless, was realized in highly localized and sometimes idiosyncratic ways. The introduction of the tithe law at the century, the first such law in Scandinavia, accompanied increased centralization of the church at the same time that it lay the foundation for a local, secular political economy.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Governance and Globalization in the North Atlantic   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow