"Church Estates" in Medieval Iceland: Traditions and Perspectives to Study
https://doi.org/10.15829/2686-973X-2025-207
EDN: AGKSUG
Abstract
The article researches main theories about "church estate" or "staðir", a specific kind of landholding, that was formed in Iceland during the 11th–13th centuries. Although modern scholars have common understanding that "staðir" and operations with them were parts of the mechanism which let the representatives of the Icelandic elite and the Church acquire their power over the whole country, rather than locally, they still haven’t got an adequate understanding, what was the essence of "church estate" in context of the ownership and interpersonal relations that existed at that time, and its definition correspondingly. This paper proposes to solve this problem through revealing the ways of the realization of "staðir," as a set of the relationships with the property, that, during the unfolding struggle for dominance between secular and spiritual authorities, which took place in Iceland at that time, was under the management of several owners i.e., the local chieftains (höfðingjar) and the Icelandic bishops.
About the Author
A. S. Zhelnin
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of history
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexandr S. Zhelnin - Postgraduate student, Department of Medieval History
Moscow
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Review
For citations:
Zhelnin A.S. "Church Estates" in Medieval Iceland: Traditions and Perspectives to Study. Russian Journal of Church History. 2025;6(4):53-68. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.15829/2686-973X-2025-207. EDN: AGKSUG
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