Was Iceland the Galapagos of Germanic political culture?

Abstract

The political system of the Icelandic commonwealth has been described in two different ways. Some scholars, especially those from the early and mid-twentieth century, regarded it as the product of a conscious attempt to create a new kind of democracy, unparalleled anywhere else at the time. Other scholars, especially towards the end of the same century, tended to view the Icelandic commonwealth as a variation on the kind of political organisation found elsewhere in medieval Europe, dominated by a small ruling elite for several centuries while the nation was without a monarchy, because of its geographical isolation from mainland Europe. This paper offers a third possible characterisation, whereby the Icelandic commonwealth may be seen, in essence, as a remnant of an older Germanic political culture in which general assemblies (þing) played a key role. The unique nature of the Icelanders' conversion to Christianity exercised a decisive influence on their subsequent system of government. Most Germanic nations were converted to Christianity when individual kings decided to abandon their heathen deities in favour of the Christian God, thereby compelling their followers to adopt Christianity. So total was the disappearance of heathen priests that evidence of their title, goði, was scarcely to be found anywhere thereafter. In Iceland, on the other hand, the goðar decided to accept Christianity; they therefore retained secular power, and royal power did not reach the country for another two and a half centuries. Because of this the Icelandic political system developed several distinctive features. There were attempts to compensate for the lack of specific holders of executive powers through the development of comprehensive legislation and a system of law courts. Evidence for an element of democracy could certainly be found in the sense that the power of the rulers was dependent on the power of their subordinates, but, in all probability, this was a remnant of an ancient Germanic peasant community, and had survived in the absence of a king. There is scant evidence to support the notion that the political system of the Icelandic commonwealth was consciously innovative. Nevertheless, it is likely that this system of government did play a part in the creation of one of the greatest innovations of European medieval culture, Icelandic literature.