Slavery was a significant institution in Viking society:
The Norse system of thralldom was not always complete chattel slavery, but most of the enslaved had little agency. As two prominent Viking scholars observed 50 years ago, “The slave could own nothing, inherit nothing, leave nothing.” They were not paid, of course, but in some circumstances, they were allowed to retain a small portion of the proceeds they obtained at market when selling goods for their owners. As a result, it was technically possible, though rare, for a thrall to purchase his or her freedom. They could also be manumitted, or released from slavery, at any time. Based on these parameters, some scholars have argued that the number of actual enslaved people in Viking Age society was relatively low. But as researchers conduct additional analysis of detailed European records of Viking slave-taking raids, the scale of this trade has been revised sharply upward. . . .
Some thralls were born into slavery because both of their parents were enslaved, or a freeborn man who had impregnated their enslaved mother declined to acknowledge the child. Others were taken captive, either in raids undertaken specifically for that purpose or as prisoners of war. Though an enslaved individual might pass through many hands in a journey lasting months or years, the experience almost always began with a violent kidnapping. Behind every Viking raid, usually visualized today as an arrow or name on a map, was the appalling trauma visited upon all people at the moment of enslavement, the disbelieving experience of passing from person to property in seconds.
Not all enslaved people—indeed, perhaps only a small minority—were retained personally by their captors and put to work. The majority entered the wider network of trafficking and were transported to markets and points of sale in settlements across the Viking world and beyond, even reaching the emporia of western Europe. Over time, slaving become arguably the main element of the trade that developed during the Viking Age along the eastern rivers of European Russia and what is now Ukraine. No solid infrastructure of purpose-built slave markets, with auction blocks and the like, existed. Instead, transactions were small-scale but frequent, with one or two individuals sold at a time in any circumstances that seemed viable.
6 comments:
Hum...
It must be out there somewhere (1): Is there any society after the neolithic revolution that didn't keep slaves? They are certainly a standard part of all pre-medieval fiction that I have read.
Cheers,
Guy
(1) I.e. some sociologist (back in the '60s or '70s) has written a paper tabulating all known cultures and presence of slaves yes/no.
Maybe even "The Cambridge World History of Slavery" in three volumes. I'll see if I can find a cheap used copy.
Slavery seems to have been the norm as far back as written records exist (Sumer). What is the value in writing about it? How is it in some way interesting? Something new, surprising? Amusement is OK in my view but maybe ought not to be confused with value. Maybe try to be funny?
@Morris While the existence of some slavery at the margins among Vikings was known by experts, many are not aware that it existed at all and this article is notable for pointing out that new research shows it was a core part of the Viking economy and a major motivation for its raids and discusses its character, none of which was previously widely known even among experts.
I'd guess that slavery resulted from agriculture.
I suspect that "going aviking" really only became popular when Christianity became dominant in Europe and old trade relationships were replaced with Co-Christian trading, leaving the Scandinavian pagans stranded, deficient and feeling unfairly stifled. I wonder if that is accurate.
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