Nordic Elites In Transformation, C. 1050–1250, Volume Ii: Social Networks (routledge Research In Medieval Studies)

__Nordic Elites in Transformation, c. 1050-1250, Volume II__ explores the structures and workings of social networks within the elites of medieval Scandinavia to reveal the intricate relationship between power and status. Section one of this volume categorizes basic types of personal bonds, both vertical and horizontal, while section two charts patterns of local, regional and transnational elite networks from wide-scope, longitudinal perspectives. Finally, the third section turns to case-studies of networks in action, analyzing strategies and transactions implied by uses of social resources in specific micro-political settings. A concluding chapter discusses how social power in the North compared to wider European experiences. A wide range of sources and methodologies is applied to reveal how networks were established, maintained, and put to use – and how they transformed in processes of centralizing power and formalizing hierarchies. The engagement with and analysis of intriguing primary source material has produced a key teaching tool for instructors and essential reading for students interested in the workings of medieval Scandinavia, elite class structures, and Social and Political History more generally. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents List of Figures and Maps List of Abbreviations Preface 1 Introduction Section I Social Bonds, Social Resources 2 Kith and Kin: Ties of Blood and Marriage 3 Lords and Followers: Patron-Client Relationships 4 Friends and Allies: Networks of Horizontal Bonds Section II Patterns of Networks 5 Aristocratic Networks During the Late Viking Age in the Light of Runic Inscriptions 6 Nordic and Eastern Elites. Contacts Across the Baltic Sea: An Exiled Clan 7 Contact and Continuity: England and the Scandinavian Elites in the Early Middle Ages 8 Character Networks of the Íslendinga Sögur and Þættir 9 Angels in Scandinavia: Papal Legates and Networks of Nordic Elites, Twelfth–Thirteenth Centuries 10 Social Friendships Between the Dominican Order and Elite Groups in Thirteenth-Century Scandinavia Section III Networks in Action 11 Friends, Foes, and Followers: Power, Networks, and Intimacy in Medieval Iceland 12 Forming Bonds With Followers in Medieval Iceland: The Cases of Thordr kakali and Thorgils skarði 13 Strength Through Weakness: Regent Elites Under Kings Inge, Sigurd, and Magnus Haraldsson 14 The Politics of Exile in Northern Europe: The Case of Knud V of Denmark 15 Social Power and Conversion of Capital: Sune Ebbesen of Zealand 16 Constructing the Friendships and Hierarchies of the Clerical Elite: A Case Study of the Relationship Between Øm Abbey and Bishop Tyge 17 Elites and Social Bonds – How Nordic Were the Nordic Medieval Elites? List of Contributors Index Nordic Elites in Transformation, c. 1050-1250, Volume II explores the structures and workings of social networks within the elites of medieval Scandinavia to reveal the intricate relationship between power and status. Section one of this volume categorizes basic types of personal bonds, both vertical and horizontal, while section two charts patterns of local, regional and transnational elite networks from wide-scope, longitudinal perspectives. Finally, the third section turns to case-studies of networks in action, analyzing strategies and transactions implied by uses of social resources in specific micro-political settings. A concluding chapter discusses how social power in the North compared to wider European experiences. A wide range of sources and methodologies is applied to reveal how networks were established, maintained, and put to use - and how they transformed in processes of centralizing power and formalizing hierarchies. The engagement with and analysis of intriguing primary source material has produced a key teaching tool for instructors and essential reading for students interested in the workings of medieval Scandinavia, elite class structures, and Social and Political History more generally. Vol. 1 Material Resources: 9780367203054 This book, first in a series of three, examines the social elites in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, and which social, political, and cultural resources went into their creation. The elite controlled enormous economic resources and exercised power over people. Power over agrarian production was essential to the elites during this period, although mobile capital was becoming increasingly important. The book focuses on the material resources of the elites, through questions such as: Which types of resources were at play? How did the elites acquire and exchange resources?