Houses of Commons, Houses of Lords? The Thing on the Threshold of Statehood in Rogaland, Western Norway in the Merovingian and Viking Ages

Abstract

In a Northern European context, little knowledge exists about the representational things prior to the establishment of statehood. During these legal assemblies, the delegates acted as representatives of their communities. In the county of Rogaland, Norway, both archaeological and historical sources can shed new light on the representational thing at the threshold of statehood during the Merovingian Period and Viking Age (c. AD 600-1000). How did the emergence of a stronger royal power influence the thing-system, and was the assembly itself an active participant in initiating these processes?