WI: Medieval Kingdom in Iceland

Dorozhand

Banned
What if, instead of declaring loyalty to Norway, the settlers of medieval Iceland decide to set up their own native monarchy?
 
What if, instead of declaring loyalty to Norway, the settlers of medieval Iceland decide to set up their own native monarchy?

Mother of all mis-reads.

I read this thread title as "Medieval Knighs in Iceland" and my first reaction was 'you bastard, now I have to buy a new keyboard... or discover how to get coffee out of my current one' and my second reaction was 'what are you smoking'.

Always read the thread titles correctly.
 
Hoo boy! This SO wrong!

Iceland didnt become subject to Norway until the 14th century, iirc, after 400+ years of independence.

Iceland was settled by farmers in small groups, not organized by 'nobility', so why on earth would they WANT to impose an aristocracy upon themselves. Sure, there were 36, later 39, godhar (singular godhi, alternately translateable a chieftain or priest), but these were more the most important local farmers who had a following than a real aristocracy.

So, basically, ??????
 
Same reason as other countries made such a transition. Either the nonmonarchical regime degenerated into gridlock or conflict and they felt the need for someone to have the final word, or else power was seized by one group of the inhabitants over the rest for selfish reasons.

P.S., I haven't visited Iceland -- how much of the country is suitable for farming?
 

Sulemain

Banned
I remember when the Wikipedia Page on the Icelandic Commonwealth was blatant anarchist propaganda :) .
 
In 1900 there were 78,000 Icelanders. Assuming that population was pretty stable or lower for most of its history that's really not enough people to support a nobility at all.
 

Dorozhand

Banned
I'm not saying they would do it right from the beginning. Perhaps the important local farmers could evolve into a home-grown aristocracy, and a monarch could be elected from among them to aid in lawmaking and provide a general organized leadership once the population becomes too large for the commonwealth.

Why exactly is this laughably impossible?
 

dead_wolf

Banned
Wasn't the commonwealth fairly independent before the Old Covenant? And the Covenant itself was meant to end the conflicts of the feuding gothi by giving a higher legal authority in the position of the King? So simply have the Althing instead create a covenant amongst themselves and elect their own King. There was already the office of the Lawspeaker, and in similar areas that position evolved into one of a king, e.g. the Kingdom of the Isles.
 
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Dorozhand

Banned
Wasn't the commonwealth fairly independent before the Old Covenant? And the Covenant itself was meant to end the conflicts of the feuding gothi by giving a higher legal authority in the position of the King? So simply have the Althing instead create a covenant amongst themselves and elect their own King. There was already the office of the Lawspeaker, and in similar areas that position evolved into one of a king, e.g. the Kingdom of the Isles.

That's precisely the sort of thing I had in mind. What would be the potential ramifications of it?
 

dead_wolf

Banned
Well Iceland is away from all the major centers of Northern Europe, even worse than Scotland or Norway or the like. As well, as others have said already it has a very low population. Also, if we're going with an alt-Covenant, this is about the same time as the start of the Little Ice Age, so population figures are going to drop even further, as well as cutting off trade from Vinland, Markland, & Greenland. On the other hand without being pulled into the Kalmar Union and later Denmark's suzerainty Iceland's fish trade will remain the prime mover of the island's economy, and the powerful & wealth bishops who had resisted the spread of Protestantism likely won't be smashed by the absolutist rule of someone like Christian III; Icelandic kings simply won't have the base to be able to afford to rule with such an ironfist. Also without the ties to Denmark and with a stronger merchant fleet you'd likely see the island spared the Turkish Abductions.

On the other other hand, the Mist Hardships are still going to take place, and an independent Iceland would be hard-pressed to survive such conditions.
 
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