A Cultural Revolution

Abstract

This article argues that a systematic change was introduced into Icelandic society between 1096 and 1133. The main events concerning this change were the introduction of the tithe in 1096, the Icelandic Church changing allegiance from the archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen to a newly constituted archbishopric of Lund in 1104, the foundation of a new see at Hólar in 1106, the codification of Icelandic laws in 1118, and finally the establishment of Christian law and the composition of The Book of Icelanders sometime between 1122 and 1133. These changes all took place within a single generation, and they were led by the same individuals. Together, they heralded a cultural revolution that changed the constitution and the status of the Church in society. Among the major components were the advent of literacy and formal education, the institutionalization of the Church, and the territorialization of ecclesiastical authority. These radical changes affected secular institutions and led to a reorganization of society on many levels. Within a few decades, the political culture of Iceland had been transformed. Because Iceland was a country without any executive authority, this transformation, enacted through the willful submission of the leading people to their ecclesiastical leaders, was remarkable. It led to the Europeanization of Icelandic society in cultural matters, and at a later stage, to the introduction of an executive government in the thirteenth century.