Cultural Legacies of Old Norse Literature

Cultural Legacies of Old Norse Literature
Author: Dustin Geeraert
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2022-08-23
Genre: Mythology, Norse, in literature
ISBN: 1843846381

The cultural and literary legacy of medieval Iceland, with its roots in Norse heathen religion, heroic literature, and Viking Age history, is the focus of this volume. Its chapters examine the history and reception of a particular text or topic within this remarkable tradition. They treat a number of topics, including the legendary dragon-slayer Sigurd, the many personas of the mysterious god Odin, aspects of the ancient mythology of gods and giants, the early settlement of Iceland, the defiant Viking warriors known as the "Sworn Brothers", the entrepreneurial role of cloth production in medieval Scandinavia, the codicology and book history of key literary works, the many references to medieval Nordic lore in modern fiction and poetry, and the cultural position of islands such as Iceland in relation to the ebb and flow of religions, institutions and empires. Reconsidering these areas of Old Norse-Icelandic literary culture reveals the striking resilience and adaptability of its traditions, through a startling variety of transformations.

Discourse in Old Norse Literature

Discourse in Old Norse Literature
Author: Eric Shane Bryan
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2021
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1843845970

An examination of what dialogues and direct speech in Old Norse literature can convey and mean, beyond their immediate face-value.

Old Norse Religion in Long-term Perspectives

Old Norse Religion in Long-term Perspectives
Author: Anders Andrén
Publisher: Nordic Academic Press
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 918911681X

The study of Old Norse Religion is a truly multidisciplinary and international field of research. The rituals, myths and narratives of pre-Christian Scandinavia are investigated and interpreted by archaeologists, historians, art historians, historians of religion as well as scholars of literature, onomastics and Scandinavian studies. For obvious reasons, these studies belong to the main curricula in Scandinavia but are also carried out at many other universities in Europe, the United States and Australia a fact that is evident to any reader of this book. In order to bring this broad and varied field of research together, an international conference on Old Norse religion was held in Lund in June 2004. About two hundred delegates from more than fifteen countries took part. The intention was to gather researchers to encourage and improve scholarly exchange and dialogue, and Old Norse religion in long-term perspectives presents a selection of the proceedings from that conference. The 75 contributions elucidate topics such as worldview and cosmology, ritual and religious practice, myth and memory as well as the reception and present-day use of Old Norse religion. The main editors of this volume have directed the multidisciplinary research project Roads to Midgard since 2000. The project is based at Lund University and funded by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation.

Masculinities in Old Norse Literature

Masculinities in Old Norse Literature
Author: Gareth Lloyd Evans
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2020-07-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1843845628

Compared to other areas of medieval literature, the question of masculinity in Old Norse-Icelandic literature has been understudied. This is a neglect which this volume aims to rectify. The essays collected here introduce and analyse a spectrum of masculinities, from the sagas of Icelanders, contemporary sagas, kings' sagas, legendary sagas, chivalric sagas, bishops' sagas, and eddic and skaldic verse, producing a broad and multifaceted understanding of what it means to be masculine in Old Norse-Icelandic texts. A critical introduction places the essays in their scholarly context, providing the reader with a concise orientation in gender studies and the study of masculinities in Old Norse-Icelandic literature. This book's investigation of how masculinities are constructed and challenged within a unique literature is all the more vital in the current climate, in which Old Norse sources are weaponised to support far-right agendas and racist ideologies are intertwined with images of vikings as hypermasculine. This volume counters these troubling narratives of masculinity through explorations of Old Norse literature that demonstrate how masculinity is formed, how it is linked to violence and vulnerability, how it governs men's relationships, and how toxic models of masculinity may be challenged.

Old Norse-Icelandic Philology and National Identity in the Long Nineteenth Century

Old Norse-Icelandic Philology and National Identity in the Long Nineteenth Century
Author: Gylfi Gunnlaugsson
Publisher: National Cultivation of Cultur
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9789004499652

"For centuries, the literary heritage preserved in Icelandic medieval manuscripts has played a vital role in the self-image of the Icelandic nation. From the late eighteenth century, Icelandic scholars managed to study and publish this material on their own terms. Throughout the long nineteenth century, they also started to engage in philological work. This coincided with an increasing awareness among Icelanders of a separate nationality and their growing demand for autonomy. What was the connection between these two developments? The twelve chapters in this book explore the interplay between various national discourses that characterised the scholarly reception of Icelandic heritage during the period. Contributors are: Alderik H. Blom, Clarence E. Glad, Matthew James Driscoll, Gylfi Gunnlaugsson, Simon Halink, Hjalti Snær Ægisson, Jon Gunnar Jørgensen, Annette Lassen, and Ragnheiður Mósesdóttir."--

Old Norse Images of Women

Old Norse Images of Women
Author: Jenny Jochens
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2016-11-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1512802816

Working from the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and Old Norse prose narratives and laws, Jenny Jochens argues for an underlying cultural continuum of a pagan pantheon and a set of heroic figures shared by the Germanic tribes in Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from A.D. 500 to 1500. Old Norse Images of Women explores the female half of this legacy, which involves images both divine and human. In a society marked by sharp gender divisions, women were frequently portrayed as one of four conventional types. The warrior woman was exemplified by the valkyrie, sheildmaiden, or maiden king. The wise woman was a prophetess or sorceress. The avenger is best seen in Gudrun, whose focus of revenge shifted from husband to brothers. Last, there were the whetters or inciters, who appear both in the Continental setting as Brynhildr and as ubiquitous figures in medieval Icelandic literature, ranging from Norwegian queens to humble milkmaids.

From Iceland to the Americas

From Iceland to the Americas
Author: Tim William Machan
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1526128772

This volume investigates the reception of a small historical fact with wide-ranging social, cultural and imaginative consequences. Inspired by Leif Eiriksson’s visit to Vinland in about the year 1000, novels, poetry, history, politics, arts and crafts, comics, films and video games have all come to reflect rising interest in the medieval Norse and their North American presence. Uniquely in reception studies, From Iceland to the Americas approaches this dynamic between Nordic history and its reception by bringing together international authorities on mythology, language, film and cultural studies, as well as on the literature that has dominated critical reception. Collectively, the chapters not only explore the connections among medieval Iceland and the modern Americas, but also probe why medieval contact has become a modern cultural touchstone.

The Vikings Reimagined

The Vikings Reimagined
Author: Tom Birkett
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2020-01-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1501513648

The Vikings Reimagined explores the changing perception of Norse and Viking cultures across different cultural forms, and the complex legacy of the Vikings in the present day. Bringing together experts in literature, history and heritage engagement, this highly interdisciplinary collection aims to reconsider the impact of the discipline of Old Norse Viking Studies outside the academy and to broaden our understanding of the ways in which the material and textual remains of the Viking Age are given new meanings in the present. The diverse collection draws attention to the many roles that the Vikings play across contemporary culture: from the importance of Viking tourism, to the role of Norse sub-cultures in the formation of local and international identities. Together these collected essays challenge the academy to rethink its engagement with popular reiterations of the Vikings and to reassess the position afforded to ‘reception’ within the discipline.

Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400

Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400
Author: Ármann Jakobsson
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 535
Release: 2020-03-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1501513613

This anthology of international scholarship offers new critical approaches to the study of the many manifestations of the paranormal in the Middle Ages. The guiding principle of the collection is to depart from symbolic or reductionist readings of the subject matter in favor of focusing on the paranormal as human experience and, essentially, on how these experiences are defined by the sources. The authors work with a variety of medieval Icelandic textual sources, including family sagas, legendary sagas, romances, poetry, hagiography and miracles, exploring the diversity of paranormal activity in the medieval North. This volume questions all previous definitions of the subject matter, most decisively the idea of saga realism, and opens up new avenues in saga research.

Explore Norse Myths!

Explore Norse Myths!
Author: Anita Yasuda
Publisher: Nomad Press
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2015-11-16
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1619303183

The stories of Norse myths and legends are a terrific introduction to Viking culture, history, science, and traditions, which thrived in Scandinavia from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. But who were the Norse, who left their homelands in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden to trade, raid, and explore around the world? In Explore Norse Myths! With 25 Great Projects, young readers discover the remarkable people and mythical creatures of old. Learning about Norse myths means unearthing the origin of Viking beliefs, as well as exploring their ships, tools, and other technology that flourished for nearly 450 years. Along the way, kids will read how Norse myths helped explain the natural world from thunder to the seasons, from creation to death. They may be surprised at how Norse myths continue to influence modern culture in the form of movies and books, including the new series by Rick Riordan. Readers will read Norse stories and learn about the adventures of real Norse explorers, including Erik the Red and Leif Erikson. Through a mixture of fun facts, trivia, jokes, comics, and hands-on activities, kids will dig up Scandinavia's past and sail the seas along with the gods and giants in Explore Norse Myths!