Rulers of Jorvik: A critical examination of the contemporary, Anglo-Norman, and Scandinavian sources pertaining to the rulers of Anglo-Scandinavian York

Abstract

This thesis addresses the rulers of Anglo-Scandinavian York in light of two opposing hypotheses: either the Viking kings ruled York themselves or the archbishops of the city ruled akin to later prince-archbishops. The appraoch is a two-pronged one: on the one hand, the later Anglo-Norman and Scandinavian traditions are examined in order to come to an understanding of how the rulers were remembered by later generations, while on the other hand the contemporary evidence is examined in order to formulate an original hypothesis on the rulers of York. By using this appraoch it proved possible to come to a better understanding of why the rulers of Anglo-Scandinavian York are an enigma and why two such differeing hypotheses could be formulated on basis of the evidence, as well as to put foward a new hypothesis which aims to move beyond the two contradicting hypotheses.