| Jean Henri Chandler wrote: | ||
Yeah this is what I'm interested in. How did these kings govern? What were they actually in charge of? How did they levy taxes? Could they make their people go to war? Could they administer justice ? What relation did they have to the 'Thing', was there even a 'Thing' in these districts? I have read of cases where Scandinavian Jarls or "Hersir" or "kings" had disputes with this or that 'Thing', some of the latter seemed to be stronger in certain areas than others. Trondheim in Norway for example seemed to be quite independent, or was that just a matter of more rival kings or chieftains? What was the relationship of Svea kings to trading towns ala Brka, Hedeby etc. Were there even any similar towns in these areas? Also again, how was a king of this dynasty chosen? Was it a dynasty? Was it primogeniture i.e. the first born son of the last king becomes the new ruler, or some other system like Tanistry in medieval Ireland and Scotland? Sorry to be so inquisitive but you seem well informed and this is a subject I'm very interested in. Jean |
The frustrating answers to your questions are: we don't know much about it.
In the 19th century swedish schollars tended to treat the sagas and ancient chronicles literary, and they took for granted that almost everything stated there were true facts. In the early 1900's and much of the 20th century, many historians evaluated the ancient sources very critically and some even discarded everything found in them as pure fiction. So the debate here in Sweden is today very controversial, especially since the 1980's when the pseudo-scientific "Västgöta school" made some preposterous claims, although some of their hypothesises were actually quite interesting and serious. Today there is no generally accepted view among schollars, and the inflated debate tend to be directed by politics and personal feelings rather than based on scientific facts.
Nevertheless, the Svea kings who according to the sources ruled Svithiod must have been in charge of a standing army as well as a navy. According to Tacitus, the Svea were known for their strength in men, horses and ships. In older times, Svithiod (roughly today's province of Uppland) was divided into four folkland or parts, Fjädrundaland ("Four hundreds"), Attundaland ("eight hundreds") and Tiundaland ("ten hundreds") around Uppsala. At the coastline there was the Roden (today's Roslagen), which roughly translates to "the oars" or "the rowers". Each hundare or "hundreds" was to support, in theory, a hundred or 120 armed men. So among the 22 hundare of Svithiod the Svea king could muster about 2200-2600 men, and the Roden would provide ships and rowers (according to the Heimskringla king Inge of Svithiod lead an army of 3600 against the norwegians in the late 11th century). Each hundare also had a ting , lead by two judges. In each of the folkland there was a greater ting lead by a lagman or chief judge, who could keep even the king responsible before the law according to some sources, for instance we know of Torgny Lagman who berated king Olof at the ting at Uppsala in 1018 (although some schollars for some reasons are convinced that Torgny is a fictional character).
We know little about taxation, but it's believed that the Svea were excepted from taxation, although the king would demand tribute from sorrounding areas and from looting and plunder in warfare abroad (the very reason for viking voyages). We also know very little of how the king was chosen, although we know from later periods that the kings were "elected" at the Stone of Mora (compare with the scottish stone of Scone) south of Uppsala and then made a travel known as Eriksgata in a fixed route to be accepted by the chiefs and judges in other parts of the country (this tradition is still kept alive, although it's most for show - back in the middle ages it was a serious affair and we know of newly elected kings that were not accepted and actually killed during their Eriksgata). Even though the kings were "elected", the chiefs generally choosed a son or a brother of the last king. Some kings even seem to have co-ruled with their sons or brothers. Since an important aspect of the king's claim to power was their supposed devine herritage, they were choosen from the Ynglinga family which could be seen as a dynasty.
Birka and the earlier trading town at Helgö were the only trading towns within the Svea realm, and the king seems to have controlled the trading there from his royal hall or mansion at nearby Adelsö. This is stated by archbishop Rimbert's chronicle Vita Anskarii, and confirmed by archeological evidences. Birka was probably sacked in the late 10th century, and was replaced by the new trading town of Sigtuna which was established by the Svea king Erik Segersäll (or his son and successor Olof) around the year 970.