Bortom riksbildningen : människor, landskap och makt i sydöstra Skandinavien

Sammanfattning: The formation of the kingdom of Denmark is generally presented as a linear process linking ancient chiefs to the modern nation state of Denmark. This dissertation focuses on the small stories behind this great narrative of Denmark. The purpose is to show that there never was any formation process. Instead, encounters between people in the local landscapes and the Danish kingdom were both considerably later and more complex. It is argued that present research concerning the formation of Denmark is divided into three main categories: 1. The formation of the Danish kingdom is regarded as a lengthy process beginning in the early Iron Age, 2. The focus is on the idea of a Danish kingdom in the 8th century manifested in a number of monuments, 3. The formation of the Danish kingdom is considered a Viking Age phenomenon linked to the Jelling dynasty of kings. Seven major problems are identified in this research, especially evident in the first category: 1. The impact of nationalism. 2. Ethnicity and ethnogenesis. 3. The focus on elites. 4. The focus on men. 5. The term central place. 6. The terms chief and king. 7. The terms kingdom and state. The dissertation builds on a perspective of landscape archaeology. Landscape can primarily be understood as a socially constructed context. Neither the cultural nor the natural aspect is enough on its own. Monuments of power can be apprehended as claims rather than proofs of power. The effects of such claims depended on the reactions of the people who encountered them. The terms co-power and counter-power are used to describe these reactions analytically. The concepts of a perspective from within and a perspective from without are used to analyse different people's relations to the local landscapes. Four areas are investigated: eastern Blekinge, the plain around Lund, the valley of the Ätran and Bornholm. The dissertation arrives at the following conclusions: 1. People in the areas east of Öresund met the Danish kingdom in different ways and considerably later than what is often assumed. 2. There are no processes, only actors and clusters of actions and events. 3. Events must be studied in the perspective of the actor. 4. We must change our vantage points and consider different perspectives and historical narratives. 5. There are no process of formation of kingdoms.