Kings, Peasants and Places of Power: Control of the Assembly in Mediaeval Norway with Peter Randall, UHI

The Kings’ Sagas are a collection of Old Norse texts that provide incredible insight into the history of mediaeval Norway. These sagas have long been studied and scrutinised for their royal biographies, accounts of great battles, and sophisticated skaldic verse. However, these literary works also contain numerous references to, and descriptions of, legal assemblies.

The legal assembly, held at set locations and times, was fundamental to the exercise of power in this society. Although assembly sites they have been the subject of historical and archaeological research, questions remain concerning their changing role as the Kingdom of Norway experienced civil war and later consolidation during the thirteenth century. By drawing on an extensive catalogue of legal assemblies in the kings’ sagas, this paper addresses a fundamental question concerning these assemblies: who held power?

The research to be presented is ongoing, but a complex picture emerges from the catalogued material. Both Norwegian kings and rural communities were able to exercise authority at the assembly, but the assembly’s location seems to have been critical in determining the extent of that authority. While the picture that emerges is complex, it may also help explain the shifting predominance of certain assembly sites in the Norwegian realm.

Peter Randall is a PhD student at the Institute for Northern Studies, University of the Highlands & Islands. His academic interests generally revolve around Scandinavia and Scotland during the Middle Ages. He has a particular interest in places of assembly and decision-making in the Norse-speaking world and advocates for an interdisciplinary approach to researching these sites. Consequently, his doctoral project involves a combination of text-based research, toponymy and landscape archaeology. This project will provide the first comprehensive study of legal assemblies and assembly sites recorded in a collection of Old Norse texts called the kings’ sagas. In addition to this research, Peter is currently the secretary of the Scottish Society for Northern Studies, a scholarly organisation that promotes historical research into Scandinavia, Scotland, and the ties between the two.

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