Among the fans of the Scandinavian myths, the names of St. Olaf the Red , Eric the Red and Ragnar Lodbrock are especially popular, each of the adherents of these warriors will say that they were worthy of the kings. And how did the kings become, what does this even mean, and who else glorified this honorary title, we will consider in more detail below.
Social Staircase in the Scandinavian Middle Ages
In the Scandinavian countries in the Middle Ages (tentatively from the 6th to the 15th centuries) the hierarchy system among the population was quite extensive and depended on the origin of the person, his type of activity and military merit.
The main division into estates looked like this:
- Tignar-mans are the “cream” of society, noble people by genealogy or military feats. Among them were: konung - this is the supreme ruler; jarl - in modern society, the analogue is the deputy director, the prime minister. Often, the rivals competed for the right to rule, since they had vast possessions, sometimes exceeding the estates of the king. This periodically spawned civil wars and battles for territory. Also, the otingirs belonged to this estate - well-to-do people, quite often they were the children of the King, not claiming the throne. There was also the title of landrman, who was in charge of the squad of the king, and hewding, who was in charge of certain regions of the country.
- Karl - the free population of the Scandinavian countries, which included bonds - landowners, Huscarls - hired workers and relatives of the bond. Also included in this level were the landboars — the poorer peasants, tenants of the land and free artisans, as well as stabkers — the poor and the poor, but free.
- Trells (thrells) - as the Scandinavians called slaves.
- Fraals - former slaves released by the owners to freedom for service or an honorable deed or redeemed for accumulated money.
There were still outcasts - people expelled from the settlement by the king for unworthy deeds or behavior that had no right to anything: they drove them from everywhere, they could kill and pick up their simple property with impunity. It is noteworthy that exiles became both constantly (forever) and temporarily (for a given period of time).
King of medieval Scandinavia - king
This name came from konungr, which in translation from the ancient North Germanic language means "leader who rules over everything and everyone", like a king or king in later times.
The saying was very often mentioned: “If the king is happy - his people too” or “The happiness of the people depends on the happiness of the king”. This suggests that to be such a ruler was not easy, because the king combined several positions:
- was a priest: performed various pagan rituals associated with local beliefs, passed on the will of the gods to the people;
- judge: in disputes between the local population, the voice of the king is the final word;
- he was a military leader during the periods of protecting his lands from raids, as well as during aggressive campaigns (many famous Vikings were kings).
Interestingly, the refusal to perform one of the duties could cost the king of the throne and power, despite the tribal position, because often the title was inherited.
How did they become kings in ancient Scandinavia?
Sometimes the leader had two or more sons, each of whom wanted to become a king. This gave rise to dual power and internecine wars, therefore, the veche (people's council) was increasingly used, at which a vote was taken in favor of one or another ruler. Also, any free person of necessary origin could achieve the title of king at the same meeting.
Moreover, the power of the ruler was not absolute: he could not create and implement laws invented by himself - this was decided by the people at the vote. Only from the 14th century, when the kings were gradually called by the kings “the grace of God”, the power gradually flowed into the hands of the ruler. The concept of “betrayal of the crown / king” appeared, which was not previously.
Etymology of the word
There is an opinion that the word "konung" is a version of the Old Slavonic "kanung". As you know, each letter of this language had a special sacred meaning, transmitted from generation to generation.
“Kon” in the Scandinavian interpretation of the word “ken” meant something created by people and preserved with great care. This concept included both material: housing, land and acquired property, as well as spiritual: family and family foundations (rituals), rituals and rules of life, stored and transmitted to descendants.
“Ung” is a transmitter or a message to others, that is, the keeper of both traditions and the correct way of life. Based on this, konung is a carrier of all the most important, worthy in all respects.
Another version of the origin of the word
Some linguistic historians believe that the word “konung” was first mentioned in the “Song of Riga” - the Old Icelandic epos about one of the sons of Odin, the supreme god of the Scandinavians, who became the progenitor of people. It refers to the youngest of the first-born children of Riga - Kon, who was nicknamed Young, that is, the name with a nickname sounded like Konr Ungr. He received the highest title - Rig Jarl. Since then, they began to call the supreme rulers the kings.
Famous kings
In the history of Scandinavia there are many famous and worthy rulers who left their mark:
- Eric the Fourth, the Swedish king, nicknamed Victorious, achieved approval of sovereign rule: there were several kings and jarls, but the supreme ruler was one, and the rest had to swear allegiance.
- Magnus Ladulos, nicknamed Barn Castle, ruled since 1240 in Sweden. He was the first to officially divide people into estates, form the concept of chivalry and become a persistent mediator between Norway and Denmark, persuading them to sign a peace agreement. This Swedish king received his nickname because of a law that allowed peasants not to pay a tax to the clergy, thereby incurring his anger.
- Eirik Glipping, the Danish king, achieved the full inheritance of the throne in 1170.
- Anund from Gaidariki: king of Sweden, deposed in 1071 for refusing to conduct pagan rites, since he was a Christian. He ruled no more than a year and was a native of the Ruriks, the tsars of Russia.
- Haakon the First, the king of Norway - was distinguished by the fact that he tried to introduce Christianity in 960, but failed and was killed at the battle of Fityar.
- Haakon's father, Harald the Fair - haired , was the first to name his country Norway. He got the nickname for his long luxurious hair.
Worthy children of Ragnar Lodbrok
This semi-mythical leader of the Vikings left behind several sons. All as one became famous in time and history:
- Björn Ironbrow is the great warrior who became king of Sweden. He distinguished himself by raiding not only the local northern countries, but even reaching Morocco and Provence.
- Sigurd Snake-eyed - became the heir to Ragnar. He received an unusual nickname because of the unusual color of the lens (in the form of a snake devouring its tail, popularly called Ouroboros).
- Ivar Beskostny, who was considered a berserker for his desperation in battle and the unprecedented flexibility of the body, for which he received the nickname.