Book I, Vinland Sagas, approximately 1006 – approximately 1011
Leif Eriksson decides to pass several local laws in Vinland to help in regulating how the region operates. For one he bans the construction of all forms of fortifications on the island of Vinland, the only exception to this rule being the walls of Leifsbuðir and Thorgilsvik, which are currently under construction. His reasoning behind this is to prevent the possibility of noble revolts on Vinland’s core territory. If the lords cannot hold up within their castles then they can’t effectively lead a rebellion against Leif’s rule. This has become a legitimate concern for Leif due to the immigration of Saxons from England to Vinland, most of them having some sort of money or connections involved to get passage to Vinland. As such the only nobles under Leif end up being a mix of Saxons and Norse, mostly Saxons but the Norse lords hold more territory since Leif is in charge of its distribution.
Leif ends up with a semi-feudal state similar to that in England where the first born son inherits all titles and lords pledge vassalage to higher lords. The reason this is semi-feudal is due to the roll of the Althing. Borrowing heavily from Iceland’s Althing, Vinland’s Althing acts as an advisory council to the Paramount Chieftain but can override the king’s authority if two thirds of its members are in agreement. Leif is looking to the future and would prefer to set the precedent of the local lords to help dictate policy rather than absolute power of the Paramount Chieftain. Leif understands that the land he has discovered is really big, and he also understands that his future successors cannot be trusted to make good decisions about land that they know nothing about and could be radically different from what they know on the island of Vinland.
By the year 1008 Vinland’s population had reached what is assumed to be around 3,000 people, roughly equal to the population of Greenland at the time. The majority of people within the country were males due to lack of immigration by women from Europe, the issue of not having many women would be a problem for Vinland’s growth for a very long time and influence their relations with the local Skraelings, as Skraeling women are still women. Settlements by now had become spread across the island of Vinland with a few token communities across the strait between Vinland and Markland. The Urban centers (using the word loosely) were primarily Norse cultured and a blend of Christian, Norse, and Skraeling religions. The only urban centers to note are the Capital of Leifsbuðir, the main fishing community of Thorgilsvik, and a new center based around the mining of iron in central Vinland called Jonsstaðir.
Up until Jonsstaðir’s founding Vinland had relied on bog iron for its production of metal tools. Once Jonsstaðir opened up an iron mine the price of iron dropped in Vinland and bog iron became less important due to mined iron ores being preferred for forging iron tools. Now that Vinland finally had iron it could be resource independent from Europe. Vinland no longer needs to import very many goods other than live animals, as the current stock of animals in Vinland was rather small genetically. Cows, Horses, Dogs, Cats, Sheep, Pigs, Chickens, and more… all of them needed to be imported due to the low population of these animals. Different breeds as well were needed, the Norse horses were not designed for speed, they were draft animals, breeds of English, French, Spanish, and German horses were needed as well. Breeds of dogs needed to be imported that were better guard dogs than hunting companions or better at herding sheep or tracking.
Vinland’s economy was very much agriculturally based but did make money off of trade. Skraeling trappers would sell beaver furs and other goods to Vinlander merchants who would then sell them to contacts in Europe in exchange for money or for other goods with which to sell to Skraelings to get more furs and so on and so forth. This trade was very much useful for keeping Vinland in contact with developments and goings on in Europe. The most important nexus of trade with Vinland was most likely York, from there Vinlander goods would spread across Europe to as faraway lands as Constantinople, though it would be rare for goods to travel that far it still happened.
The average farmer in Vinland was known to be more wealthy and better treated than anywhere in Europe. Vinland did not have many people, so each life was precious and labour was small and restrictive. As such the peasants could demand better payment in Vinland than anywhere else in Europe. Vinland’s distance from the violence and war of Europe helped it to grow economically much faster than any nation in Europe. If a Vinlander has 3 sons, each one will need a farmstead for their livelihood. With so much open land available, getting the land necessary to start them up was not difficult at all and many youths in Vinland had futures laid out before them.
It is known that several Vinlanders went and lived among the Skraelings, finding their way of life to be more enjoyable than that of a peasant farmer. While their number was small their impact was large. The spread of the genes of Europeans into Skraeling tribes allowed for them to have a small resistance to new European diseases, though this did not stop the mass deaths of many Skraelings at the hands of smallpox and other diseases. Several tribes had actually sworn loyalty to Vinland, abandoning their nomadic ways for those of the settled farmer. This normally came accompanied with conversion to Christianity and the ascension of the tribal chief to the position of Jarl, which allowed for Skraeling nobility to exist in Vinland.
Leif did not care who his lords were so long as they were loyal, Skraelings had saved his life several times and he felt were essential to the survival of Vinland, if some of them wanted to be Jarls then so what?
Hierarchy of Vinland:
Paramount Chieftain, position held by Leif Eriksson, sworn vassalage to King of Norway, sort of like a Duke.
Jarl, lords over small areas and people, sworn vassalage to Paramount Chieftain and responsible for collection of taxes from peasantry. Title very similar to a count in Europe.
Mayor, lords over an Urban center rather than a spot on the countryside, smallest noble rank with only a dozen or so members.
Peasant, Sworn fealty to their local lord in exchange for protection, largest group in Vinland’s Semi-Feudal society.
Thrall, indentured servants who have to repay a debt through labour due to lack of money, lowest rank in society.