This book presents a real-time picture of medieval and early modern Nordic peasant movements. The Nordic patterns of peasant contention differ greatly from those of Continental Europe and are little-known outside the Nordic countries.
Peasant revolts are a permanent topic of keen interest and discussion in the historical and social sciences. Revolt and unrest in all five present-day Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - are presented here. The great peasant wars of Sweden and Denmark are compared and contrasted with the usually more modest disturbances of peripheral Norway and Finland. Pre-modern Icelandic history is interpreted from the perspective of social conflict for the first time. The emphasis is on analysing the patterns of contentious peasant politics. The key words are 'political culture', 'forms of protest' and the 'organising principles of peasant contention'. The book describes how changes in society affected the forms of peasant resistance. Studying grass roots peasant movements brings the Nordic peasant of days gone by into the centre stage of historical analysis