Armed violence, warfare and peace keeping in the Faereynga saga

Authors:

Pages: 435-447

Abstract:

The article deals with violence and peacekeeping in the Faereynga Saga which had been written in Iceland at the beginning of the XIII c. First, the author focuses on hostilities and limited-scale armed violence on the island. The analysis of textual information leads to a clear identification of several types of hostility activities, not all can be classified as a typical military conflict but rather as acts of revenge and murder. Next, the author concludes that the available information does not allow to fix the frequency and intensity of this type of actions. Obviously, they were relatively rare events that left a long lasting impression for generations. Some of the examples show that the reason or occasion were not only blood feud, but also actions against Vikings or conflicts with foreign merchants. Furthermore, the purpose of armed violence was not only physical injury or murder, but also a demonstration of expulsion or social isolation of an outlawed person or a whole group. In conclusion, the author underlines that the Faereynga Saga provides unique information about small scale conflicts and armed clashes in the Faroe Islands. Also, he concludes that the saga could be a reliable source concerning the victims in the armed clashes. Next, unlike the armed violence, peace should be regarded as private and regional rather than as a political reality. Finally, the author notes that analysed clashes and conflicts provides a valuable information about conflicts and peace keeping in isolated Scandinavian societies in the North Atlantic.

Keywords:

Faereynga Saga, Scandinavian migration, violence, peace keeping, warfare.

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