Bloodtaking and Peacemaking - Feud, Law and Society in Saga Iceland

In his newest book, published by University of Chicago Press in August, Professor Miller continues to throw open the world of Old Norse studies to interested readers, delving beneath the Vikings' world of brutality and chaos to expose a deeper struggle for social equilibrium. His examination of ancient Iceland's sagas and legal code sheds light on the society that produced them and reveals how the culture of the feud central to this stateless society, was driven by the related norms of honor, reciprocity and balance. The selections that follow are from the prologue and conclusion of Bloodtaking and Peacemaking.