Friendship : the most important social bond in Iceland in the period (c. 870-1260) -- Friendship between chieftains : 'to his friend a man should be a friend, and repay gifts with gifts' -- Kings and their friends -- Clerics and friendship -- Jobs and other friends of the gods -- Kinsmen and friends : 'let there be a fjord between kinsmen, but a bay between friends' -- Friendship loses its power : political changes in the second half of the 13th century -- Pragmatic friendship.
Summary
Friendship was the most important social bond in Iceland and Norway during the Viking Age and the early Middle Ages. Far more significantly than kinship ties, it defined relations between chieftains, and between chieftains and householders. This book explores the various ways in which friendship tied Icelandic and Norwegian societies together, its role in power struggles and ending conflicts, and how it shaped religious beliefs and practices both before and after the introduction of Christianity. This work details how loyalties between friends were established and maintained.
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