KINSMEN, FRIENDS OR MERCENARIES? PROBLEMATISING THE PRESENCE OF INTERNATIONAL FORCES IN SCANDINAVIA BETWEEN THE TWELFTH AND THE FOURTEENTH CENTURIES
Abstract
This article explores the growing presence of foreign troops in Scandinavia between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, and aims to elucidate the causes behind the changing patterns of mercenary service in the region. After conceptualising the term ‘mercenary’ from a medieval perspective, the article examines the narrative and administrative corpora in order to identify the origins and motivations of foreign troops in Scandinavian service. The exposition of the primary sources is followed by a comparative discussion, which aims to understand the presence and development of international troops from an inter-Scandinavian perspective.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
The author (s) of the original submitted undertake to comply with the following:
- All authors are publicly responsible for it.
- The authors claim that this original is their own and that they assume full responsibility to third parties, whether moral or patrimonial, by reason of its content, stating that the work does not infringe any intellectual property rights of third parties.
- The author (s) agree to the copyrights of the original to Scandia Journal, to which they grant permission for its reproduction, editing and online publication.
- The author (s) grant their copyright of their original to the Scandia Journal, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows the sharing of this work with the acknowledgment of their authorship.
- The author (s) have permission and are encouraged to cite and distribute their original.
