Submission 5


 * Submission 5
 * by Anthony Mayer
 * 29 October 2001

Europe in the Viking Age (50-200 SE [822-972 CE])

...the sinews and arteries of the House of Submission were the great rivers of Northern Europe. The earlier Roman roads had deteriorated since the days of the western empire, and suffered further in the chaos that preceded and surrounded the early conquests by the Norse. The Norse invasions thus followed the routes of the rivers. The particular construction of their warships allowed for the removal of the mast so as to pass beneath bridges, and the political disunity of Europe led in a larger part to the lack of construction of suitable fortifications to stop them.

After the conquest, the river system remained the main method of transportation and communication, and hence of the cultural and political growth of Submission. The lands between the rivers were only slowly integrated into the unified world of Submission, and hence the political units based upon these rivers were initially disparate and separate.

The greatest of these rapidly diverging political entities became the High Kingdom of the Elbe, the Deputation of the Lower Rhine, the Kingdom of the Upper Rhine, the Kingdom of the Seine, the Kingdom of the Moselle, and the High Kingdom of the Loire. Scattered between these were smaller duchies and counties, and free towns which owed their allegiance directly to a King or even the Successor.

...following the spate of civil wars between 100-130 SE [872-902 CE], Svein II established his Successorship at Grafell at the confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle, symbolising the increased importance of this great central river and also his links to the west. Svein was supported by many of the towns in the low countries, whose wealth had supported his faction. In return, and to guarantee their continued loyalty, Svein administered them directly, relieving them of a greater part of their tax burden, but setting the stage for future conflict with the kings...

... the social structure of the period 100-200 SE [872-972 CE] became centred around the manor -- an area of cultivated land controlled by a lord, typically Norse or an early Germanic convert to Submission. The peasants under the protection of the lord would also farm his personal lands...

This created, in the mainland and the British Isles, a highly structured society based upon a particular interpretation of the Epistle to the Swedes, whereby one gave obedience to one's immediate social superior, all the way from thrall to Successor. A proliferation of titles and responsibilities emerged, often tailored for complex individual circumstances. The status of the freeman gradually changed in the manor, either rising to become a minor nobleman, or falling into that of a serf. This pattern was contrary to that found in Scandinavia, where the civil Things were maintained.

...the manor community, often quite isolated from other such communities, would host a Judge -- in this early period combining roles of adjudicator, religious leader and scholar. The judge would be supported by the lord of the manor and would minister to both the lord and the manor community, leading the prayer on ritual days, and passing judgment over disputes among members of the community. Obviously, the judge could not pass judgment over his patron, and any dispute involving the lord would be handled by the judge of that lord's own superior. The higher the social scale of the secular leader, the more prestigious a judge, or many judges, he could support. Indeed the support of judges and scholars became a way by which a rich lord with lesser pedigree might demonstrate his power and wealth; being the patron of a renowned scholar would help spread one's reputation for piety, and find a legitimacy that perhaps could not be found by birth. Kings and High Kings would support houses of learning, in which judges and scholars (those clerics who did not take active part in judicial affairs) would be trained. For serious matters, Things would be called in which judges would gather to debate matters of great import. Most urban centres rapidly gathered their own Things of religious scholars and local judges, and this pattern was repeated all the way up to the Successor, with the Holy Thing of the greatest scholars...

...after the first century this membership of the Things was formalised, in that the members of the Thing choose their own replacements...

...trade in northern Europe was well behind that of the Christian Fraxinetum League, yet already in this period we can see the beginnings of the later commercial development. Norse transport ships could easily move throughout the river network carrying luxury and semi-luxury goods. The 'felangs' or leagues which had begun as a sort of partnership or joint owning of vessels grew more sophisticated, as merchants in the free towns increasingly stayed at home, investing silver in the voyages of others. Nevertheless, it would not be until the major encounters with the Mediterranean trade system that the felangs would develop into insurance and merchant banking roles...

...in those areas where there was toleration, Christians held their services in private (churches were all converted to Halls of Submission) and were forbidden to bear arms. This was not strictly enforced, as the high numbers of Christian mercenaries, especially in Iberia, testifies. Monasteries were permitted to remain open, upon payment of a tax, and with time were actively supported for their role in bringing new land under cultivation, and hence new profits. Thus, in the House of Submission, monasticism became virtually the only form of Christianity, the established Catholic Church being effectively destroyed. The protection of Christians became the duty of so-called poor monks, or friars, who travelled from place to place ministering to Christian minorities. In order to avoid persecution, these friars dressed simply, carried no weapons, and avoided any sort of political activity, yet despite or because of this, they soon became the visible face of Christianity in the north, providing the link between the remote monasteries and the surviving Christian communities. There were soon mendicant Submissives who imitated the Christian friars, tending to remote communities, and Outsiders....

...literature of this period was predominantly based around sagas, such as the "Song of Rollo", which tells the tale of a rear guard fighting in the train of Gunvorr] (who was a historical figure, fighting in the Jura), and sacrificing himself so that the Christians wouldn't catch the main body of Vikings. The skald, or poet, was an honoured profession in the House of Submission, and lords would usually have at least one skald at their behest, to glorify their own deeds, acting as chronicler and PR expert...

...in Scandinavia the social changes moved in a somewhat different direction. The Danes had become more fully integrated into the trading and cultural environment of the mainland and the rest of Submission, but in Norway and Sweden the social fabric was much looser; Things were less formal, and the relations between lords less structured -- there are some signs that the later interpretation of Swedes, that one gives absolute obedience not to one's immediate superior, but to the anointed King above all, began here, not as an expression of wealth and centralisation of power, but due to the needs of poverty and distributed authority. Civil Things, and the status of the freeman remained strong -- providing an example to those on the mainland that objected to the increased stratification of society and providing ammunition to those who were discontented with the greed of more rapacious lords. Outsider movements remained common, but due to the absorption of the British Isles into the mainstream community, they were forced further afield, to Iceland, the small Greenland colony, and beyond into the newfoundlands...

...by the end of second century the House of Submission was becoming wealthier and more populous, essentially due to the agricultural improvements. Many attributed the emergence from the 'Dark Ages' as being due to Submission, yet the Christian Empire was also undergoing a rapid commercial expansion during the same period. It is impossible to say whether the agricultural developments were encouraged, or even inhibited, by the arrival of Submission. What is certain is that by 200 SE [972 CE] the old order was in a state of flux once more, as increasing population led to social mobility, and primogeniture left many minor nobles in need of land. An opportunity was provided by the Sigmund Sigmundson, later Sigmund, the Bear from Midnight, Deputy of the Kamarg. His adventure in the south of Francia against the Christian Empire led to the start of the Hundred Years War, and the so called "crusades" (the Christian response).

Before Sigmund's March, the borders of Submission extended from Lisbon to the Asturias, with Submission on the Atlantic coast, bordered by the independent Basques and the disintegrating Visigothic kingdoms. In Francia, Submission held sway over the land north of the Kingdom of Aquitaine (independently Christian -- there was a Pope of Aquitaine), the Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy (independently Christian -- there was also a Pope of Burgundy), the Jabarite Swiss, and the Danube area, which remained Pagan. There was, as yet, no contact with the Empire beyond diplomacy at a distance.