The aim of this article is to analyze the process of state-formation in Iceland in light of some general models of state-formation in Europe in the Middle Ages.
All the King’s Men: Icelandic Skalds at Scandinavian Court
March 10, 2014 By
Spanning the gap between Iceland and mainland Scandinavia and sitting somewhere between freemen and nobility on the social scale were Icelandic court skalds, who frequented courts on the mainland throughout the Viking Age.
Accepting Fools as Heroes
March 10, 2014 By
What sociocultural attitudes towards the intellectually disabled – commonly referred to as fools – were prevalent during the Viking Age?
Enter the Dragon: Legendary Saga Courage and the Birth of the Hero
March 9, 2014 By
What is the dragon to Sigurðr? His attitude is interestingly nonchalant. The question arises, Who is Sigurðr the dragon-slayer? Why is he the best person to kill the dragon? And furthermore, why is the dragon important to the hero?
Textual Efflorescence and Social Resources: Notes on Mediaeval Iceland
February 21, 2014 By
The overt double function of culture traits and products, namely instrumental- ity and symbolicity, which may be explicit in some elements, often remains hidden for other ones.
Gunnhildur and the male whores
February 15, 2014 By
Queen Gunnhildur is one of the most evil Norwegian female characters in the Middle Ages. She appears in many old stories where she is usually the female agent for ill in the sagas; she is wicked, promiscuous and very often skilled in magical arts.
The Colors of the Rainbow in Snorri’s Edda
February 4, 2014 By
In the second part of his Edda, the Gylfaginning, Snorri Sturluson gives a systematic account of Norse mythology from the creation of the world to its end.
Sagas and politics in 13th century Borgarfjörður
February 2, 2014 By
Why did the Icelanders write so much more than almost everybody else in the Middle Ages? This is an old problem that has still not been solved to everyone’s satisfaction.
Laxdæla Dreaming: A Saga Heroine Invents Her Own Life
January 25, 2014 By
As palpably true as the interpretation is, even before the truth of Gestr’s fourfold prophecy is confirmed by what follows, this dream narrative is not merely a symbolic illustration of the future. It raises many other questions, and in this paper I will discuss some of the ambiguities of GuQrun Osvifrsdottir and her four dreams.
The Inner Exiles: Outlaws and Scapegoating Process in Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar and Gísla saga Súrssonar
January 21, 2014 By
Was Icelandic outlawry exceptional? The legal and historical aspect of Icelandic outlawry has been widely studied and commented by scholars (Spoelstra, 1938), either by following indications from the Grágás or through the use of literary examples spread in the sagas.
Orkneyinga saga : A Work in Progress?
January 19, 2014 By
The reconstituted text conventionally known as Orkneyinga saga has many points of interest for Old Icelandic literary history, in addition to any intrinsic literary qualities, and its interest as a source for the history and culture of Scandinavian Scotland.
Hawkers, beggars, assassins and tramps : Fringe characters in the Íslendinga sögur
January 19, 2014 By
The paper will identify a number of different types of vagrants portrayed in the sagas and their varying roles within saga plots.
Why Care about Later Folklore in Old Norse Studies?
January 15, 2014 By
It is not unusual that folklore data can be demonstrated, with high probability, to reflect ancient times, for reasons like those mentioned in the Bárðar saga example, or other reasons – as many of us know.
Can Statistics show if the Icelandic Sagas were true?
January 7, 2014 By
The Icelandic sagas of the Norse people are thousand-year-old chronicles of brave deeds and timeless romances, but how true to Viking life were they?
On the windy edge of nothing: Vikings in the North Atlantic World
December 29, 2013 By
With a focus upon the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland, Kevin Edwards will present a select narrative of past and recent writings, archaeological enquiry and scientific research concerning the Norse settlement of the North Atlantic.
Viking Archaeology, Sagas, and Interdisciplinary Research in Iceland’s Mosfell Valley
December 20, 2013 By
At this time, we are researching and excavating fourteen sites throughout the valley. These excavations are providing a detailed picture of Viking Age life in Iceland and in the North Atlantic.
Food and the North-Icelandic Identity in 13th century Iceland and Norway
December 9, 2013 By
Now food is becoming globalized, but we still recall how food could be used to construct a national identity, with the aid of the institutions of the national state.
Tooth-tool Use and Yarn Production in Norse Greenland
December 8, 2013 By
During a dental study of medieval Norse skeletons from Greenland, Iceland, and Norway, a distinct pattern of wear was observed on twenty-two anterior teeth of twelve Greenlanders.
The Icelandic Althing: Dawn of Parliamentary Democracy
December 4, 2013 By
It is an old idea, and one that reaches as far back as the nineteenth century, that Viking Age Iceland was democratic and much like an early republic
Sex, lies and the Íslendinga sögur
November 24, 2013 By
Sex, lies and the Íslendinga sögur By Damian Fleming Sagas and Society, No.6 (2004) Abstract: Past scholars used to look upon the Icelandic family sagas as ideal witnesses to pre-Christian Germanic customs and morality. The sagas were believed to contain unbiased accounts of how men conducted their lives nobly and simply before the conversion to […]
Why skaldic verse? Fashion and cultural politics in thirteenth-century Iceland
November 24, 2013 By
In this paper I intend to address this question through the poetic evidence of the sagas of Icelanders, analyzing two sagas which were written in the west of Iceland in the middle of thirteenth century.
Nancy Marie Brown: The Song of the Vikings, Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths
November 14, 2013 By
Nancy Marie Brown gives a talk about her recent book The Song of Vikings, Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths
Seasonal Setting and the Human Domain in Early English and Early Scandinavian Literature
November 10, 2013 By
Seasonal Setting and the Human Domain in Early English and Early Scandinavian Literature Paul Sander Langeslag University of Toronto: Doctor of Philosophy, Centre for Medieval Studies (2012) Abstract The contrast between the familiar social space and the world beyond has been widely recognised as an organising principle in medieval literature, in which the natural and the […]
Charity On The Fringes Of The Medieval World
October 9, 2013 By
This is a study on the space and place of medieval monastic charity as represented by the infirmary that was in operation at Skriðuklaustur, a late medieval Augustinian monastery (1493- 1554), located in eastern Iceland.
Taming the Shrew: The Rise of Patriarchy and the Subordination of the Feminine in Old Norse Literature
October 8, 2013 By
Old Norse literature is a unique source in that it shows a connection between the oppression of women and Norse patriarchy during the phase of its establishment.
How you can Follow Us!