Scandinavian kingship transformed: Succession, acquisition and consolidation in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries

Tollefsen, Thomas 2020. Scandinavian kingship transformed: Succession, acquisition and consolidation in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This is a comparative study of Scandinavian kingship in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, based on the themes of succession, acquisition, and consolidation of power. These themes con- stitute the study’s overarching questions: How did a king become a king? How did he keep his kingdom? And finally, how did he pass it on? In order to provide answers to these question this study will consider first the Scandina- vian rules of succession, what they were, to whom they gave succession rights, as well as the order of succession. Second, the study will look at different ways in which kings acquired the kingship, such as through trial by combat and designation succession. Third, the study will look at what happens when succession rules were completely disregarded and children were being made kings, by looking at the processes involved in achieving this as well as asking who the real kingmakers of twelfth century Denmark were. Finally, the study will determine how kings consolidated their power. This study shows, that despite some Scandinavian peculiarities, kingship in Scandinavia was not fundamentally different from European kingship in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It also shows that the practice of kingship was dependent on political circumstances making it impossible to draw general conclusions spanning centuries and vast geographical regions. We can look at principles that gave us a general framework, but individual cases were determined by circumstance.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D901 Europe (General) D History General and Old World > DL Northern Europe. Scandinavia
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 September 2020
Date of Acceptance:	3 September 2020
Last Modified:	25 May 2021 01:26
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/134700

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