In the society that the Icelandic family sagas depict, whose public sphere was ruled by men, violence was an extraordinary extent of action for women – but it takes place.
Vikings: More social than savage?
October 3, 2013 By
A new article have uncovered complex social networks within age-old Icelandic sagas, which challenge the stereotypical image of Vikings as unworldly, violent savages.
Ten Icelandic Sagas you may not have heard of
October 1, 2013 By
Many readers will know some of the popular accounts, such as Egil’s Saga or Njal’s Saga, but the Icelandic writers penned dozens of these stories. Here are ten sagas that you may not have heard of, but offer a fascinating tale
The Dragon of the North: The Supernatural Nature of Knowledge in Vǫluspá
September 21, 2013 By
This thesis is an exploration of the mythological poem Vǫluspá and the nature of knowledge within the world presented by the text. I will argue that knowledge is a supernatural force, and that the world will ultimately be destroyed as a result of its influence.
The literary significance of clothing in the Icelandic family sagas
September 20, 2013 By
We do not often hear about what the character is wearing – and when we do it can be difficult to discern why clothes are being mentioned at this particular point and why only in relation to a certain character.
Commonwealth, Conversion and Consensus: An Examination of the Medieval Icelandic Free State and Political Liberalism
September 18, 2013 By
John Rawls’ Political Liberalism opens with a question: ‘how is it possible for there to exist over time a just and stable society of free and equal citizens, who remain profoundly divided by reasonable religious, philosophical, and moral doctrines?’
The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia
August 23, 2013 By
Violence, even murder, perpetuated this cycle of revenge. This code of retribution can be broken down further into the following dimensions: the individuals involved, the appropriate actions as deemed by Viking society, and any extenuating circumstances, such as supernatural strength or the wronged party’s reluctance to seek revenge.
Auðun of the West-Fjords and the Saga Tradition: Similarities of Theme and Structural Suitability
August 23, 2013 By
Auðun of the West-Fjords and the Saga Tradition: Similarities of Theme and Structural Suitability Josie Nolan (Trinity College Dublin) Vexillum, Vol.3 (2013) Abstract This paper evaluates the story of Auðun from the West Fjords, a Þáttr dating from the Sturlinga period of medieval Iceland. It compares the short prose narrative to the much longer sagas […]
Dead and famous, or unknown but alive? Heroism and common sense in medieval Scandinavian and African tradition
July 9, 2013 By
Although some scholars see heroism as a characteristic of the whole Germanic tradition, a careful study of Scandinavian literature reveals that this is not the case
Feasting with Early Medieval Chiefs: Locating Political Action through Environmental Archaeology
May 18, 2013 By
This excellent paper was the first given in the session on Early Medieval Europe. It looked at various archaeological excavations in Iceland and Denmark and the political role feasting played in pre-Christian Viking societies.
Access to the Margins: Outlawry and Narrative spaces in medieval Icelandic outlaw sagas
April 28, 2013 By
In a society where social ties and solidarity were needed in order to endure the unwelcoming weather and landscape, exclusion and isolation appear as the worst punishment that man can inflict to man, even worse than death.
Black Sun, High Flame, and Flood: Volcanic Hazards in Iceland
April 1, 2013 By
Iceland is one of the most volcanically active areas on earth, but were it not for the description of the end of the world in the poem Völuspá, one might think volcanic activity made little impression on Medieval Icelanders.
Lawyers in the Old Icelandic Family Sagas: Heroes, Villains, and Authors
March 24, 2013 By
Along with the accomplishments of skill in arms and verse-making, many a saga hero is credited with a knowledge of law and legal procedure. Many of these heroes are shown duelling with their enemiesin a series of legal disputes forming a series of chapters.
Novgorod the Great in Baltic Trade before 1300
March 3, 2013 By
The information on trade contacts between Novgorod and Scandinavian countries preserved in the works of Old Norse
The Saga of a Viking Age Longhouse in Iceland
February 26, 2013 By
A documentary about the excavation of a Viking Age longhouse in Iceland. Can historical texts and sagas help archaeology. Created by Jesse Byock and Adam Fish.
The Old English Rune Poem – Semantics, Structure, and Symmetry
February 17, 2013 By
The later runic alphabets do, of course, follow the basic pattern of the earlier Germanic Fupark though considerably modified by the late eighth century, decreasing in the number of runes in Scandinavia whilst increasing in number in the runic alphabets of England.
The Church and sexuality in medieval Iceland
February 13, 2013 By
From its earliest days Christianity has attempted to control human sexuality. The letters of Paul and the writings of the Church Fathers praise the state of virginity above that of marriage, and within matrimony permit sex only for procreation.
Strangers in Icelandic Society, 1100-1400
February 11, 2013 By
How open was Icelandic society to people from another society or even from a different ethnic background? Which features of the society facilitated integration, and which elements obstructed the process? Was Iceland an open society compared to other societies at other times?
Marriage between King Harald Fairhair and Snæfriðr, and their Offspring: Mythological Foundation of the Norwegian Medieval Dynasty?
January 27, 2013 By
Historians in Nordic countries since the turn of the twentieth century have become increasingly aware of the problem using these primary sources from earlier times, especially the sagas from the late twelfth- and thirteenth centuries, about three hundred years after Harald assumedly lived. It was Halvdan Koht(1873-1965)who introduced this point of view into Norwegian historiography, although some researchers, including Yngvar Nielsen, had cast doubt on the accuracy of the account before him.
The Place of Greenland In Medieval Icelandic Saga Narrative
January 23, 2013 By
This paper explores the accounts of Norse Greenland in the medieval Icelandic sagas, looking past the Vínland sagas to examine ways in which Greenlandic settings are employed in the ‘post-classical’ saga-tradition and other texts.
The Elder Edda Revisited: Past and Present Performances of the Icelandic Eddic Poems
January 18, 2013 By
What first struck me when I started my research on the Elder Edda is that, during the past four decades, several theatre practitioners have experimented with presentations of some of the poems and demonstrated that they can be highly effective in dramatic performance.
Anaphrodisiac Charms in the Nordic Middle Ages: Impotence, Infertility, and Magic
January 16, 2013 By
This essay, however, looks to explore, not this seductive form of charm magic, but rather its opposite, ie charm magic that prevents the consumption of a relationship, or that makes a fruitful union impossible.
The Wilderness of Dragons: The reception of dragons in thirteenth century Iceland
January 13, 2013 By
In thirteenth century Iceland, however, the dragon consists of more than the mere imagining of man; it is a creature that is imbued with centuries of history, biology, theology, and mythology synthesized into an oftentimes wholly logical and other times completely fantastical beast.
Life, Death, Fate and Female Embodiment: Weaving in Viking Age and Medieval Iceland
January 3, 2013 By
Video of a lecture on medieval Icelandic textiles.
TROUBLESOME CHILDREN IN THE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS
December 28, 2012 By
It must be stressed that the concept of childhood is certainly not an easy one. One is tempted to ask whether any generalisations about medieval or modern attitudes to childhood might not pose problems.
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