Recent research has revised the traditional view of the “Vikings” as primarily marauding warriors; in its place, a more complex and nuanced conception of the implications that “Viking activity” had on the social, economic, and political development of the peoples with whom they came in This seminar will consider the relationship between the traditional conception of the “Viking warrior” and recent research that suggests the broader impact that the “Viking Phenomenon” had upon the economic revival and sociopolitical development of medieval Europe and its frontiers. In the course of the seminar, we will examine a selection of historical records and information concerning artifacts of the material culture of “The Viking Age” in order to better understand the activities of early medieval “Vikings,” not only as warriors, but also as agents of commerce, explorers, pioneers, and rulers. We move on to the 19th century to engage with the critical Marxist theorisation of the new “capitalist” social and political formation, and look at the reception of the Marxist view in the 20th century, all of which continues to affect the character of Western social and political thought.
Recent research has revised the traditional view of the “Vikings” as primarily marauding warriors; in its place, a more complex and nuanced conception of the implications that “Viking activity” had on the social, economic, and political development of the peoples with whom they came in This seminar will consider the relationship between the traditional conception of the “Viking warrior” and recent research that suggests the broader impact that the “Viking Phenomenon” had upon the economic revival and sociopolitical development of medieval Europe and its frontiers. In the course of the seminar, we will examine a selection of historical records and information concerning artifacts of the material culture of “The Viking Age” in order to better understand the activities of early medieval “Vikings,” not only as warriors, but also as agents of commerce, explorers, pioneers, and rulers. We move on to the 19th century to engage with the critical Marxist theorisation of the new “capitalist” social and political formation, and look at the reception of the Marxist view in the 20th century, all of which continues to affect the character of Western social and political thought.
