Icelandic Althingi: Feud and Conquest
Chair: Race Wright (rwright@uchicago.edu)
Crisis Director: Sean Maher (smaher@uchicago.edu)
On the edge of the known world, Medieval Iceland (c. 990) struck a defiant note against the rest of Europe, against its dynastic monarchies, its civic wars, its conquests, its religion. Sons and grandsons of settlers fleeing oppressive tyrannies at home, the Icelanders crafted a unique identity for themselves rooted in a firm political conviction in the efficacy of the Althingi-- the proto-parliament. Yet, the Althingi was plagued with internal tensions, conflicts and often outright bloodfeuds. The challenge for the Medieval Icelanders was often an existential one. They needed to forge their national and political identity and to maintain independence from encroaching Norweigian kings and Christianity. Not only concerned with political issues, the Althingi dealt with unpredicatable harvests, few natural resources, and civil discord as it struggled to ensure Iceland’s success.