Gripla - 20.12.2009, Page 26

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obliterated after a foredoomed but articulate rearguard struggle; in many
other cases, it must have come and gone too quickly to leave a significant
record. We are, in other words, dealing with a recurrent phenomenon,
inherent in the general dynamics of civilizing processes, but more mark­
edly present in some cases than others. It does not take us very far when it
is a question of defining the spirit of a specific civilization.
the nordic episode in the making of europe
The above discussion of Toynbee’s views on the medieval North led to
unequivocal conclusions: his answers do not match his questions. The evi­
dence cited does not confirm speculation about a distinctive civilization in
the making and a conceivable rival to the Christian constitution of europe.
This shortcoming becomes even more obvious when considered in light of
more recent advances in civilizational analysis. toynbee made no attempt
to identify a configuration of religious and political patterns that would
justify a claim to civilizational status.
In view of these unsatisfactory results, another look at Toynbee’s back­
ground assumptions may be useful. As we have seen, his emphasis on
Nordic expansion, its broad geopolitical scope and its interaction with the
richer and ultimately more powerful societies of the South was a promis­
ing start; but there are some understated aspects that merit more attention.
to reiterate a point made in another context: in toynbee’s presentation,
the encounter with Western and Eastern Christendom (Islam plays a more
shadowy role) overshadows two other arenas of expansion. On the one
hand, the eastern flank entered into contact with a vast intercivilizational
zone (the future Russia) and its adjacent cultures. on the other hand,
expansion into the northwest Atlantic created new societies in previously
uninhabited areas, and thus enlarged the nordic region on an uncontested
but challenging frontier. In both cases, broader geohistorical horizons are
connected to the internal dynamics of nordic societies during the period in
question. on this latter issue, toynbee has very little to say: apart from the
re-barbarization supposed to have taken place between the Völkerwanderung
and the viking Age, there is next to no reference to transformations inside
the region. In particular, the question of state formation is left out of