Saga - 1998, Page 113

VALKOSTIR SÖGUNNAR
111
Summary
The agricultural and social history of Iceland in the 14th of 16th centuries
18 subject of this article. The author maintains that the agricultural hi-
story of Iceland has been misinterpreted. In terms of the infield-outfield
system as practised, for instance, in Norway and elsewhere in north-
Western-Europe, the Icelandic agricultural system was extensive and had
arnPle resources. It made good use of extensive grazing and the propor-
t^on of sheep to cattle was far higher in Iceland than in Norway, for exam-
Ple. Even so, the number of animals in the traditional agricultural system
was scarcely high. There were approximately four cows and 24-36 sheep
Per family farm in the early 18th century. The proportion of cattle to sheep
vvas higher in the Middle Ages than later, which meant less use of graz-
Ing and more use of cultivated land than later.
Compared to many European peasant societies, the Icelandic peasant
s°ciety was distinctly egalitarian. There were no large classes of cottagers
0r agricultural labourers. Most family farms had a similar number of live-
si°ck per person, and most of them had servants. These were not lifetime
servants, as the institution of labour service was a part of the life-cycle of
each individual. Service was a temporary position.
The development of agriculture in the 14th-16th century shows a high
esertion rate. The number of farms fell. Both the numbers of rented cattle
ar>d the amount of land rent fell. These figures appear to reflect a major
ar|d lasting reduction in the population following two plague epidemics
the 15th century. There is no indication of a subsistence crisis of the
ahhusian type in the 14th century or later.
. s°cial relationship between peasants and aristocrats in the late
1 hle Ages was a patron-client relationship. The powerful aristocrat
Protected the peasant, and the peasant identified with him, even if there
|^as also a tension between upper and lower class in the relationship. In
o-P-iod after the later plague (in 1494) landowners, desperate because
fro 6 SUbstantíal reduction in land rent, began to demand labour services
°rn the peasants: that they row on the landowners' boats during the
n er fishing season, cut hay on the landovvner's fields, and so on.
to ancbc s°ciety did have a potential to develop in a direction similar
astern Europe, where the so-called "second serfdom" burdened the
j antry. In Eastern Europe production for the capitalist grain market of
theStern buroPe was Partly responsible for a second serfdom. In Iceland,
lu Possibility of this kind of development was connected with the
crative fisheries. This possibility was restricted and eventually disap-
men^ because °i the strengthening of central power and the establish-
m monoP°ly trade, which greatly reduced the influence of the
ar et forces in Icelandic society.