Food and the North-Icelandic Identity in 13th century Iceland and Norway
By Ármann Jakobsson
Images of the North: Histories – Identities – Ideas, ed. Sverrir Jakobsson (Amsterdam & New York, 2009)
Introduction: It has been widely accepted that food is fraught with anthropological significance after the studies of e.g. Lévi-Strauss (1969). However, the relationship between food and identity has not really been extensively explored by Icelandic scholars and one might even say we are just beginning. I should like to suggest an approach which involves a careful reading of all instances where food seems to play a role in the social construction of identity, taking particular note of the context and avoiding generalizations for the moment.
The 20th century was an age of nation states, with their own national anthems, national flowers—and national dishes. 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. On the other hand, my aim here is to explore how food was used in 13th-century narrative to construct not the Icelandic identity but an Icelandic identity.
When it comes to the high Middle Ages, there does not seem to be much material at first glance, i.e. cases where food and identity are firmly linked. A well-known exception is the Norwegian (and apparently English as well) habit of referring to Icelanders as lard-eaters (mörlandi), which was clearly offensive to Icelanders. And then there is the powerful myth of the mead of poetry, drunk and regurgitated by Óðinn.
Here I turn my eye towards is a 13th-century text called Morkinskinna, in which an unknown Iceland-historian relates the history of Norwegian kings from 1030 to 1160. This particular historian does not confi ne his narrative to kings but inserts episodes where the king’s subjects are front stage. That includes Icelandic subjects, since even though Icelanders were still not formally subject to the Norwegian king when Morkinskinna was composed, their thoughts were already gravitating towards Norwegian king and court. And this particular situation called for a definition of Icelandic identities. The 13th century saw the emergence of a new Europe where Iceland’s role was uncertain, especially its relationship with the Norwegian kingdom. This new situation resulted in a frantic search for an identity that informs this particular narrative.
By Ármann Jakobsson
Images of the North: Histories – Identities – Ideas, ed. Sverrir Jakobsson (Amsterdam & New York, 2009)
Introduction: It has been widely accepted that food is fraught with anthropological significance after the studies of e.g. Lévi-Strauss (1969). However, the relationship between food and identity has not really been extensively explored by Icelandic scholars and one might even say we are just beginning. I should like to suggest an approach which involves a careful reading of all instances where food seems to play a role in the social construction of identity, taking particular note of the context and avoiding generalizations for the moment.
The 20th century was an age of nation states, with their own national anthems, national flowers—and national dishes. 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. On the other hand, my aim here is to explore how food was used in 13th-century narrative to construct not the Icelandic identity but an Icelandic identity.
When it comes to the high Middle Ages, there does not seem to be much material at first glance, i.e. cases where food and identity are firmly linked. A well-known exception is the Norwegian (and apparently English as well) habit of referring to Icelanders as lard-eaters (mörlandi), which was clearly offensive to Icelanders. And then there is the powerful myth of the mead of poetry, drunk and regurgitated by Óðinn.
Here I turn my eye towards is a 13th-century text called Morkinskinna, in which an unknown Iceland-historian relates the history of Norwegian kings from 1030 to 1160. This particular historian does not confi ne his narrative to kings but inserts episodes where the king’s subjects are front stage. That includes Icelandic subjects, since even though Icelanders were still not formally subject to the Norwegian king when Morkinskinna was composed, their thoughts were already gravitating towards Norwegian king and court. And this particular situation called for a definition of Icelandic identities. The 13th century saw the emergence of a new Europe where Iceland’s role was uncertain, especially its relationship with the Norwegian kingdom. This new situation resulted in a frantic search for an identity that informs this particular narrative.
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