Annotation

The article conducts a comparative analysis of the cultural and social processes of early medieval Scandinavia and the Old Icelandic monument «The Saga of the Jomsvikings» from the 13th century, which narrates the story of the Jomsviking warrior society. The authors examine the code of rules of the Jomsvikings, whose presumed headquarters Jomsborg was located on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, not as a historical document, but as a literary construct reflecting the ideological conceptions of the era. In their research, the authors propose that the military organization of the brotherhood’s warrior bands represented a hyperbolized version of the fundamental values of Old Icelandic society - honor, bravery, and loyalty - brought to absolute expression within the framework of a fictional militarized community. In contrast to decentralized civil law based on familykinship ties and aimed at resolving conflicts through compromise (including the institution of monetary compensation - wergild), the Jomsviking legal code was characterized by a centralized power structure and complete rejection of family ties in favor of warrior oaths. The authors conclude that this legal construct can be regarded as a literary instrument for exploring moral dilemmas and creating a dramatic image of the ideal warrior, anticipating the institutions of the later Middle Ages, such as knightly orders.