Hóf in Civic and Legal Rhetoric of the Medieval Scandinavians
Lamp, Kathleen
Arizona State University
2020
191
Ph.D.
Arizona State University
2020
Rather than being the lawless barbarian society that history and popular culture have painted it, medieval Scandinavian culture was more complex and nuanced. This dissertation interrogates the use of a rhetoric of reasonableness (hóf) in the medieval Nordic society to give voice to this silenced tradition. Specifically, this research focuses on the use of rhetoric in civic and legal settings to show that medieval Scandinavians were more interested in reasonable solutions than unreasonable ones.