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This article examines the meaning of the term virki and its synonyms in Icelandic literary sources from the thirteenth century and assesses the extent to which such an analysis is useful for our understanding of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Vocabulary and terminology in Old Icelandic are analysed in the context of Latin parallels in European literary sources from the same period. The comparison between medieval Iceland and the process of encastellation, with the castle, the motte, and the fortified house in the medieval West offers a good epistemological basis when looking for fortifications in medieval Iceland and their functions. We argue that the concentration of power is parallel to the development of this new type of fortified housing which is connected to the new centres of power. The narrative sources indicate their use within the game of power and their symbolic roles within the new elites.
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