Linked by the politics of global trade networks, Viking Age Europe was a well-connected world. Within this fertile social environment, Iceland ironically has been casted as a marginal society too remote to participate in global affairs, and destined to live in the shadow of its more successful neighbours. Drawing on new archaeological evidence, Tara Carter challenges this view, arguing that by building strong social networks the first citizens of Iceland balanced thinking globally while acting locally, creating the first cosmopolitan society in the North Atlantic. Iceland’s Networked Society asks us to reconsider how societies like Iceland can, even when positioned at the margins of competing empires, remain active in a global political economy and achieve social complexity on its own terms.

Chris Callow’s Landscape, Tradition and Power critically examines the evidence for socio-political developments in medieval Iceland during the so-called Commonwealth period. The book compares regions in the west and north-east of Iceland because these regions had differing human and physical geographies, and contrasting levels of surviving written evidence. Callow sets out the likely economies and institutional frameworks in which political action took place. He then examines different forms of evidence – the Contemporary sagas, Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements), and Sagas of Icelanders – considering how each describes different periods of the Commonwealth present political power. Among its conclusions the book emphasises stasis over change and the need to appreciate the nuances and purposes of Iceland’s historicising sagas. See inside the book.

Against the Elements is an enthralling account of football's most captivating underdog story. With a population of just 350,000, Iceland stunned the sporting world when it went toe-to-toe with the elite at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup. So how was such a tiny nation, sited on the edge of the Arctic circle, able to take on the giants of world football? Matt McGinn draws on 50 exclusive interviews with the key protagonists to unpick how it happened. Does an Icelandic "e;Viking"e; mentality exist? Can smallness be an advantage? Is there a template for other countries to follow? McGinn experienced Iceland's World Cup campaign in different parts of the country-from five days spent on a fishing trawler, to Iceland's bustling capital of Reykjav&ík, to the jagged volcanic island of Heimaey. Part travelogue, part thematic investigation, Against the Elements searches for the truth behind the Iceland football team's remarkable, unprecedented rise, bringing to life the people, places and values of the nation that produced this astonishing team.

This book, first in a series of three, examines the social elites in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, and which social, political, and cultural resources went into their creation. The elite controlled enormous economic resources and exercised power over people. Power over agrarian production was essential to the elites during this period, although mobile capital was becoming increasingly important. The book focuses on the material resources of the elites, through questions such as: Which types of resources were at play? How did the elites acquire and exchange resources?

Age of Wolf and Wind provides a new introduction to the Viking Age that capitalizes on recent archaeological discoveries and breakthroughs in the application of analytical techniques from the natural sciences. Author Davide Zori, an interdisciplinary archaeologist with fieldwork experience across the Viking world, delves into key questions of the Viking Age, such as the motivations of Scandinavians to board open wooden ships to raid England and cross the North Atlantic in search of new worlds beyond Europe. Each chapter offers new conclusions about the Vikings--their views on death, their raiding tactics, their laving feasts, their forging of powerful medieval states--by juxtaposing evidence from written texts, archaeology, and new scientific analyses.

Language, Society and Identity in early Iceland offers a much-needed exploration into the problem of linguistic and social identity construction in early Iceland, and is a fascinating account of an under examined historical-linguistic story that will spur further research and discussion amongst researchers. Engages with recent theoretical research on dialect formation and language isolation Makes a significant contribution to our understanding of dialect development, putting forward a persuasive hypothesis accounting for the lack of dialect variation in Icelandic Uses a unique, multi-disciplinary approach that brings together material from a wide range of fields for a comprehensive examination of the role of language in identity construction Opens up opportunities for further research, especially for those concerned with language and identity in Iceland today, where there is for the first time sociolinguistic variation

This white paper is part of a series that promotes knowledge about language technology and its potential. It addresses educators, journalists, politicians, language communities and others. The availability and use of language technology in Europe varies between languages. Consequently, the actions that are required to further support research and development of language technologies also differ for each language. The required actions depend on many factors, such as the complexity of a given language and the size of its community. META-NET, a Network of Excellence funded by the European Commission, has conducted an analysis of current language resources and technologies. This analysis focused on the 23 official European languages as well as other important national and regional languages in Europe. The results of this analysis suggest that there are many significant research gaps for each language. A more detailed expert analysis and assessment of the current situation will help maximise the impact of additional research and minimize any risks. META-NET consists of 54 research centres from 33 countries that are working with stakeholders from commercial businesses, government agencies, industry, research organisations, software companies, technology providers and European universities. Together, they are creating a common technology vision while developing a strategic research agenda that shows how language technology applications can address any research gaps by 2020.