Ný saga - 01.01.1997, Page 106

Summaries
Prisoners were also “leased-out” for shorter or
longer periods of time to people in and around
Reykjavík, including the country’s bishop. In
1809, however, such hiring-out was terminated,
probably because of risk of escape.
“Forced to produce theoretical constructs
of my own”
An interview with British social historian Arthur
Marwick
(„Þyki mér kenningar annarra ófullnægjandi bý
ég til mínar eigin“)
Professor Arthur Marwick of the Open Univer-
sity, England was a special guest of the first
Icelandic History Congress in Reykjavík Iast
May where he gave the first Jón Sigurðsson
Memorial Lecture. In an interview with Guð-
mundur Jónsson, Professor Marwick talks about
his past and present works.
ANNIVERSARY (AFMÆLl)
Gunnar E Guðmundsson
To the glory of God - or the advancement of
the aristocracy? Nine centuries of tithing
(Guði til þægðar eða höfðingjum í hag?
Níu aldir frá lögtöku tíundar)
The article is written on the occasion of the 900th
anniverary of the introduction of tithes in Iceland
(in 1096 or 1097). The author describes the main
features of the tithe law and its special character-
istics. The Icelandic tithe was a property tax and
not an income tax, an arrangement which was
compatible with canon law and bore some resem-
blance to Norwegian laws.
Various explanations have been offered for
the apparent absence of any major opposition
against the introduction of the tithe. One widely
accepted theory maintains that tithes provided an
important source of income for lay chieftains
(goðar), who owned many of the churches (so-
called church farmers), who controlled two of the
four equal parts of the tithe (the priest’s and
church tithe, the other two going to the bishop
and the poor). This theory is unconvincing, since
the income in question could not have amounted
to significant sums. Another common assertion,
that owners of private churches transferred sub-
stantial parts of their property to the churches
and thus avoided obligations, is also doubtful in
light of the fact that the gain would have been in-
significant. The reason for the transfer may just as
well have been the desire to acquire protection
from the patron saint of the respective church.
In concluding, the author suggests that to gain
support for the implementation of the tithe, bish-
op Gissur ísleifsson and his followers used argu-
ments proper to their time, promising those who
were willing to repay one-tenth of God’s gifts a
commensurate share of heaven.
Sigríður Matthíasdóttir
The re-establishment of democracy
Aspects of Icelandic and Czech national mythology
(Endurreisn lýðræðisins)
The nationalist ideologies of Iceland and several
smaller nations in Europe are based on remark-
ably similar conceptions. This article discusses
similarities between the Icelandic and Czech
nationalist interpretation of history, especially
myths about golden ages. Both in Iceland and
Czechoslovakia myths divide the nation’s history
into a Golden Age, followed by a period of Decay
and Degeneration, and subsequent Re-awaken-
ing or Revival. The focus here is on the fact that
both nations look back upon a democratic
Golden Age and on themselves as pioneers in the
history of modern democratic government. The
Czechoslovak Republic (1918) and the Icelandic
Republic (1944) thus re-establish those ancient
democracies. To this “natural” explanation and
justification of their status as independent nations
was added the notion of inescapable destiny, yet
the actual course of events reflects a complicated
political and historical evolution.
Jón Viðar Sigurðsson
Kidnapping of woinen in 12th- and
13th-century Iceland
(Konur og kvennarán á íslandi á 12. og 13. öld)
Icelandic chieftains (goðar) were the most power-
ful figures in the commonwealth and controlled
all of its important social institutions, i.e. the dis-
pute-solving process and the assemblies. In
power struggles only the chieftains, or their sup-
porters, occasionally stole a woman, usually to
humiliate an opponent and/or his chieftain (who
was to protect him), and at the same time to show
the aggressor’s power.
The primary tasks of the chieftains were to
maintain the peace in their chieftaincy, to settle
disputes between their supporters, and to support
them in conflicts with other chieftains and their
followers; his honour was in jeopardy if they lost
prestige. In disputes among his own supporters
the chieftain had to satisfy both parties or risk
losing the support of one of them. A chieftain
104