Ship and society : maritime ideology in late Iron Age Sweden / Gunilla Larsson

This thesis analyses the relation between ship and society against a background of ideological and technological changes in Late Iron Age Sweden. It discusses the factors behind the development of 'a maritime society', why ships and seafaring came to play an important role that was also reflected in the use of the ship as a symbol and a metaphor in a military context, as well as in religion, administration, jurisdiction and social life. The author argues that this society is disappearing when it is first encountered in the Early Middle Ages, because of a fundamental ideological change. There is a myth about the appearance of the 'Viking ship' and the Iron Age seafarer. The ships are supposed to be big and wide. An analysis of the archaeological material presented here shows that this picture is not correct. Instead the ships of the Svear were quite small and built in a way that made them very light. This was a result of shipbuilding methods introduced in the Late Iron Age, and it had consequences for the trade communication network as well as for naval operations. Because of the light ships, it was possible to land on any shallow shore and navigate the shallow rivers in the East. The ship became a key symbol used by the authorities to structure the society for administrative and military purposes, using a terminology based on the Late Iron Age warship. In the Middle Ages, ideology, shipbuilding and seafaring changed. New key symbols were introduced, and they were used by an increasing royal power to consolidate what would become a united Sweden, inspired by feudal Europe. Abstract Contents Preface and acknowledgements Introduction 1.1. The maritime aspects of Late Iron Age society 1.2. Purpose and questions 1.3. Material 1.4. The theoretical journey from the past to the present and back again 1.5. Earlier research 1.6. The ships, from a contemporary myth to a past reality 1.7. From the ships to the society 2. THE SHIP-ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL OF CENTRAL SWEDEN FROM THE LATE IRON AGE 2.1. Remains of boats and ships in the archaeological material 2.2. The Viks boat 2.3. The boats in the burials of central Sweden in the Late Iron Age 2.4. Reused boat parts 2.5. Boat rivets and other rivets 3. BOAT TYPES AND FUNCTION 3.1. An interpretation of the function and use of Late Iron Age boats and ships 3.2. Fishing and fishing boats 3.3. Boats for seal hunting 3.4. Boats for bird hunting 3.5. Aristocratic boats for personal transports 3.6. Trade and the merchant ships 3.7. Maritime warfare and ships for war 3.8. The main constructional differences between warships and cargo ships ca AD 800-1200. 4. SHIPBUILDING IN A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE 4.1. The connection between Iron Age shipbuilding technology and the success of Viking expeditions 4.2. The roots of the Scandinavian ship-type 4.3. Late Iron Age: The revolution in boat-building technology 4.4. Shipbuilding in the Late Iron Age 4.5. The medieval changes in technology and society 5. ETHNICITY AND SHIPS 5.1. The main ship types in NW Europe AD 800–1200 5.2. Shipbuilding traditions in the Baltic Sea region 5.3. Boats built with rivets and nails 5.4. Boats built with the sewing technique 5.5. Boats with treenails 5.6. Iron cramps in the east and west 5.7. Political history and boatbuilding traditions 6. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WATER COMMUNICATION IN THE LATE IRON AGE 6.1. Journeys on land and water 6.2. Travelling on water 6.3. Water communication and the location of some important central places 6.4. The social and political system as shaped by the river routes 6.5. The threat of enemies arriving by boat 6.6. Travelling in a roadless land 6.7. With ships over land and water in ON material 6.8. The maritime landscape and how it disappeared 6.9. To summarise: why a journey on a water route? 7. THE JOURNEYS ABROAD 7.1. Seafaring, ships and society 7.2. SHIPBUILDING AND SEAFARING POSSIBILITIES 7.3. Problems and possibilities related to the journeys across the Baltic Sea 7.4. Relation between navigational methods and seafaring 7.5. Life on board on the journeys 7.6. The destinations of the journeys of the Svear according to runic inscriptions 7.7. Times and distances 7.8. Sailing routes across the Baltic Sea 7.9. MARITIME TRACES OF THE SVEAR ALONG THE EASTERN ROUTES 7.10. THE WATER ROUTES TO ASIA, THE CALIPHATE AND THE ORIENT 7.11. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROUTE FROM THE VARANGIANS TO THE GREEKS 7.13. THE PROBLEM OF PORTAGES 7.14. The abroad journeys of the Svear: a summary 8. THE SHIP AS A SYMBOL 8.1. Boats and ships found in bogs and lakes 8.2. The ship symbol in depictions 8.3. THE BOAT IN THE GRAVE 8.4. Remains of a value system 8.5. The ship as an idea in structuring space 8.6. From a means of communication to a symbol and an icon 9. MARITIME IDEOLOGY AND SOCIETY 9.1. The earlier discussion about theleiðangr 9.2. The 'leiðangr' and territorialdivision 9.3. The territorial organisation established in the 13th century 9.4. The territorial organisation during Christianization 9.5. An analysis of 'hundare'-districts of central Sweden 9.6. Organised naval expeditions in the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages 9.7. Archaeological remains of a 'leiðangr' organisation 9.8. The question of Roden 9.9. The maritime society 10. The Ship Symbol in Social Interaction 10.1 The ship symbol in jurisdiction 10.2. Ships in social communication 11. Gender aspects on ships and seafaring 11.1. Gender aspects on the interpretation of the boats in burials 12. THE MARITIME SOCIETY Abbreviations References Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Gunilla Larsson. Originally Presented As The Author's Thesis (ph. D.)--uppsala University, 2007. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 384-413).