Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from OhioLINK abstract page. Abstract only.

This thesis investigates several key aspects of warfare and its participants in the Viking Age insular world via a comparison of the image which warriors occupy in heroic literature to their concomitant depiction in sources which are primarily nonliterary in character, such as histories, annalistic records, and law codes. Through this method, the thesis seeks to add to the scholarship regarding organized violence in this era in two principle manners. First, this study will depart from nearly all previous studies of warriors by moving beyond a single cultural milieu and treating them in a ‘pan-insular’ context. Second and perhaps more importantly, in choosing to address the heroic literature as a genre distinct from other contemporary texts, this thesis will allow progress beyond the bulk of pre-existing ‘warfare scholarship’ for this era, which tends to utilize any and all manner of sources as a reflection of historical reality. In considering the context of heroic poetry and sagas, the thesis will allow one to make conclusion regarding its likely authorship and intended audience, as well as the goals of the former and expectations of the latter. Studies of warfare are always of particular relevance, due to their intersection with many areas of history long studied, such as constitutional and legal history, as well as those which have only recently received their due attention, such as questions of group cohesion, violence, and community. This thesis was largely inspired by the attempt by Stephen S. Evans to study the institution of the war-band in a crosscultural reference in his 1997 book Lords of Battle. Evans provided a good analysis of this body in its fifth- through eighth-century Anglo-Saxon and British manifestation but failed to achieve his primary stated goal – a comparison of the image and reality of the war-band. His decision to limit his research to the Anglo- Saxon and Welsh cultural spheres in the era predating the first Viking invasions led him to omit much relevant Irish and Insular Norse material, as well as a great deal of later heroic literature. It was with these two shortcomings in mind that I set out to write a more thorough treatment of the war-band. Yet, what began initially as an attempt to remedy the shortcomings of Lords of Battle soon grew into a slightly more wide-ranging study that has moved beyond focussing solely upon the war-band to look at attitudes about warfare and its participants amongst contemporary audiences and authors during the Viking age insular world.

La naissance du roman historique en Suède, traditionnellement située en 1828, coïncide avec un mouvement national-romantique vouant un véritable culte à la figure de l’ancien Scandinave. Mais dans cette première moitié du XIXe siècle, le genre historique est encore en mal de reconnaissance et les auteurs désireux d’évoquer le Haut Moyen Âge septentrional semblent avoir préféré se tourner vers des formes littéraires plus prestigieuses, telles que la poésie ou le théâtre. Dès le début du XXe siècle, les romans situés à l’âge des Vikings se multiplient. Une étude thématique de ces œuvres révèle que de nombreux écrivains ont été fascinés par des personnages types censés incarner la période : la figure de l’ancêtre et ses différents avatars (héros civilisateur, pionnier, patriarche) et celle de l’aventurier, dont la personnification la plus emblématique est le navigateur viking. Par souci de réalisme historique et pour rompre avec une tradition de glorification sans retenue, ces personnages vont subir une désidéalisation importante au cours du XXe siècle. D’autres romanciers ont choisi de s’intéresser à l’époque viking, car il s’agit d’une période de grands bouleversements religieux et politiques dans l’Histoire des pays scandinaves. Ces auteurs s’attachent à dépeindre le processus de christianisation et les conflits religieux entre païens et convertis. Dans une moindre mesure, ils évoquent aussi les mutations sociales et politiques. De façon générale, les représentations du Haut Moyen Âge nordique et de ses habitants trahissent les prises de position des romanciers suédois. Ceux-ci dévoilent leur vision du passé et n’hésitent pas à se livrer à une véritable relecture de l’Histoire. / The birth of the historical novel in Sweden, traditionally dated from 1828, coincides with a national-romantic movement exalting the figure of the ancient Scandinavian. But in this first half of the nineteenth century, the historical novel is still in want of recognition and authors wishing to recount the Nordic Early Middle Ages seem to favour more prestigious literary forms, such as poetry or theatre. In the beginning of the twentieth century, works depicting the Viking Age become more numerous. A thematic study of these novels reveals that many writers are fascinated by typical figures seen to embody this period: the figure of the ancestor and its different forms (the civilizing hero, the pioneer, the patriarch) and the one of the adventurer, the most illustrative personification of which is the Viking navigator. Yearning for historical realism and for emancipation from a tradition of unlimited glorification, their characters will undergo a significant de-idealization during the twentieth century. Other novelists take an interest in the Viking Age because it is a period rife with religious and political changes in the History of Scandinavian nations. These authors attempt to depict the process of Christianization and the ensuing religious conflict between pagans and converts. To a lesser extent, they also deal with the social and political transformations. Generally speaking, the representations of the Nordic Early Middle Ages and their inhabitants disclose the Swedish novelists’ views and stances. These authors hence reveal their vision of the past and do not shy away from reinterpreting history.