The impetus for the formation of the research group was a desire to investigate the political, economic and social repercussions of changing economic, demographic and environmental conditions during the Late Middle Ages. The Late Middle Ages has traditionally been portrayed as a period of crisis where national elites – unlike the rest of the population – were only partly able to meet the challenges posed by demographic decline and the ensuing changes in economic conditions. This has then been connected to political disempowerment, frequently collectively described as Norges nedgang, “the decline of Norway.” This understanding of Norwegian society during the Late Middle Ages has been consistently used and reused in survey literature, schoolbooks and works of popular history for several generations. Newer research, however, offers a more nuanced picture.

In keeping with an international trend wherein the Late Middle Ages are reassessed as an important and more “normal” historical period, the research group investigates the interplay between the political sphere on the one hand and the economic and social on the other. The relationship between resources, technology and society also plays an important role in recent research on the Late Middle Ages. The purpose of the research group is to develop projects investigating the Norwegian elite’s strategies for adapting to changing economic, demographic, and environmental conditions during the period approximately 1350-1650. The relationship between elites and the general population will be of central importance to this research. Not only tensions, but also connections – or indeed collaboration – between representatives of various social groups, whether through political-administrative or personal ties, women or men, Sami or Norwegian.

For more information, contact Randi B. Wærdahl, (+47) 73 59 64 37.