Graham Robinson wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Mar 2001, Christian Beijner wrote:
>
> > There are a few things that sets the icelandic "viking" culture apart from
> > the other "viking" cultures.
> > First more written material describing the period has survived, probably
> > because the clergy did not see the pre-Christian period as as evil as the
> > other Nordic churches did.
>
> Only true in the sense that 'Braveheart' is a source on Scottish
> history...
>
> The written record from Iceland was written for entertainment purposes
> centuries after the events it purports to chronicle. There are few
> archaelogical sources supporting the written claims, and a number of
> contradictions. Using it as a historical source is extremely doubtful.
Yes, thats why I wrote "describing the period". But there is no similar
material written in the other nordic countries, despite (or because?) better
centralized governement, stronger church and more literate (roman letters)
people.
Where the material is useful is getting a grip on values and the way of life on
Iceland, usually written material describing earlier periods is more useful
when evaluating the period _when_ it was written, rather than the period it
claims to describe.
P.S. The "pacific" norweigans are currentlty at war with the european union, a limited trade war, but still.
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