Medieval Icelandic Government
Early medieval Icelandic government, or Viking Iceland, has been termed an incipient form of democracy or democratic parliamentarism, however, the system was actually nothing like its European counterparts, be they medieval or contemporary. Historiography prefers the term 'free state'. As the name suggests, it refers to a freely organized political entity, with some elements of statehood but not quite a state. On the contrary, colonists in Iceland, the heroes of the saga literature, from many points of view created a stateless society. They had a well-defined judicial system and a council of lawmakers (lögrétta), but no king and no one to put judicial decisions into practice. There were differences between chieftains and commoners, but not as big as in many other places. Chieftains had little executive power, and at least in the 10th and 11th century they were not hierarchically organized. Settlers left Norway and other regions to start fresh and arrange their world as nowhere else in Europe.
Chieftains
The colonists (landnámnsmenn in Old Norse) came with political traditions from the continent, and many of them came from the same social class. Iceland gave up the aristocratic layer of continental Viking society and generally the hierarchy of warlords, earls, freemen, and partial freemen. Iceland came to be a society of landowning farmers who were not that enthusiastic about the elites and their roles. Indeed, it might have been what drove them away in the first place. They sought to avoid concentration of power in certain groups and to each have a share of control over the others. Chieftains (góðar in Old Norse) did benefit from some greater authority, but the role was temporary and not territorial. It depended on how many followers they had, if they offered support in disputes, if they could enforce the law, and if they had enough prestige. While in Scandinavia farmers lost rights to the growing authority of kings and other leaders, Icelanders rejected a centralized state. In the words of Jesse Byock, it represents "an example of a self-limiting pattern of state formation" (Viking Age Iceland, 66), meaning that they did not want to evolve but to come back to simpler forms of coexistence.
Local influential men can be seen as leaders but only small-scale ones. Some chieftains but also farmers (bændr in Old Norse) had more wealth and prestige than others, thus being similar to ranked societies. Chieftains could have slaves, tenants or labourers, however, slavery disappeared in the 11th century. Goðar typically competed not only for riches and status but also for followers (thingmenn in Old Norse), who were very important to assert dominance. They arbitrated in disputes, which was risky business that could get you killed, yet perhaps worth the risk, given the economic benefits. They transferred properties, gave loans to farmers, and increased their prestige by offering gifts, a practice that consolidated alliances. They held carefully planned feasts, especially at harvest time, where they displayed their generosity and importance.
It seems that chieftains acquired much less income than we would expect, due to the relatively simple economy and scarce resources. One main source of wealth, besides renting land or cattle, was intervening and settling a dispute. Technically, farmers could also do this, but chieftains were more qualified because they knew more of the law. Nevertheless, social barriers could be overcome, as farmers could become goðar, and rank depended on law and convention. Farmers could switch their loyalties from one chieftain to another, concentration of power was avoided, and authority was a pretty loose concept. This situation would change in the 13th century, once small groups gained more power, stimulated by the medieval Church among other factors.
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