Early medieval Iceland, the Viking colony, was a democratic and egalitarian society, but the scarcity of resources and the rough environment created competition, where local chieftains resorted to different tactics to acquire wealth and money, from using their advantage as men of the law and representatives of the people to the often complex social relationships they had with their followers.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1905/wealth--power-in-medieval-iceland/.