Remnants of Revenants: The Role of the Dreaded Draugr in Medieval Iceland
The term ‘revenant’ is a French term for ghost, derived from the verb revenir, ‘to return.’ The Icelandic term is more specific to the returning and violently unhappy dead: the feared draugr.
Learning Magic in the Sagas
The image of magic spells being taught by more seasoned practitioners to others eager to learn them comports well with what can be deduced about the actual practice of witchcraft and magic in medieval Scandinavia
Saga-Accounts of Norse Far-Travellers
What did medieval saga-writers think about the Viking travellers who sailed west across the ocean without knowing the way to the lands they sought, or even whether or not these lands existed?
‘í litklæðum’ – Coloured Clothes in Medieval Scandinavian Literature and Archaeology
What do we mean by coloured clothes? Or rather, what did the saga writers mean by their term litklæði?
Horses as Status Symbols: Medieval Icelandic horses as symbols of masculine honor in a one-sexed world
Horses, the unsung heroes of the Viking age, have been overlooked all too often in the study of medieval Iceland and its culture.
Footnotes on Life: Marginalia in Three Medieval Icelandic Manuscripts
This project investigates what paratextual material—specifically marginalia—can tell us about the way medieval Icelandic readers felt about their books, and how they participated in the creation of the reading experience for future readers through the marks they left on the page.
The Saga of the Confederates: Historical Truth in an Icelandic Saga
The Saga of the Confederates, written anonymously in the thirteenth century, tells a story that takes place in eleventh century Iceland. The saga presents an opportunity to examine Iceland’s unique political and social systems during the Middle Ages, both during the time of the story and also during the author’s lifetime.
Nails, Rivets, and Clench Bolts: A Case for Typological Clarity
Nails, Rivets, and Clench Bolts: A Case for Typological Clarity Zori, Davide (University of California) Archaeologia Islandica 6 (2007) Abstract This paper reevaluates the current…
Evidence and Intuition: Making Medieval Instruments
Evidence and Intuition: Making Medieval Instruments Adelman, Beth Early Music America (Fall 2005) Abstract The Atlakvida (The Lay of Attila), an 8th-or early 9th-century…
1117 in Iceland and England
But I should make it plain at this point that 1117 in England and 1117 in Iceland represent a coincidence, not a connection, a coincidence though which may permit some comparison and more especially some contrast.
Völuspá and the Feast of Easter
It is generally agreed that Völuspá has been influenced by Christian ideas to some extent, but the nature of that influence has been debated.
Scholar finds evidence of links between Vikings and North American natives
Old Norse sagas such as Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders have been long been considered among the…
Beauty and brutality: Iceland’s literary landscapes
Dr Emily Lethbridge is breathing new life and understanding into the centuries-old Sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur) during a unique year-long research trip – conducted in 2011 from the back of a decommissioned Land Rover ambulance.
A Chieftain in an Old Norse Text: Sveinn Ásleifarson and the Message behind Orkneyinga Saga
A Chieftain in an Old Norse Text: Sveinn Ásleifarson and the Message behind Orkneyinga Saga By Ian Beuermann Confluence. Interdisciplinary Communications 2007/2008, edited…
The Enchanted Islands: A comparison of mythological traditions from Ireland and Iceland
The Enchanted Islands: A comparison of mythological traditions from Ireland and Iceland By Katarzyna Herd Master’s Thesis, University of Jyväskylä, 2008 Introduction: Ancient Europe…
A social analysis of Viking jewellery from Iceland
This thesis is original in attempting to decipher the social messages conveyed in jewellery.
“Ek Skal Hér Ráða”: Themes of Female Honor in the Icelandic Sagas
“Ek Skal Hér Ráða”: Themes of Female Honor in the Icelandic Sagas Rivenbark, Susan Elizabeth (University of North Carolina at Wilmington) M.A. Thesis, Appalachian…
Viking Travellers of the Sagas
In accordance with the Icelandic sagas’ tendency to show rather than tell, it is rare for saga characters to say explicitly what motivates them to travel from their homes in Scandinavia and Iceland to distant lands
Judging Vikings: Ethics and morality in two Icelandic family sagas, Laxdaela saga and Vatnsdaela saga
To discern these ethics it seemed to be the right way not to look at the religious aspects of the saga, but just by looking at how the people behaved and how they are judged. For this purpose, one needs sagas that have interesting conflicts.
Textual evidence for spilling lines in the rigging of medieval Scandinavian keels
Textual evidence for spilling lines in the rigging of medieval Scandinavian keels Sayers, William (Cornell University Library, Ithaca, New York) The International Journal of…
The first settlers of Iceland: an isotopic approach to colonisation
The first settlers of Iceland: an isotopic approach to colonisation By T. Douglas Price and Hildur Gestsdottir Antiquity, Vol. 80 (2006) Abstract: The…
Walrus Hunting and the Ivory Trade in Early Iceland
The use of walrus ivory in Iceland’s past cannot be overlooked: Future research into settlement period sites should field further evidence of the nature of the ivory trade in medieval Iceland.
Freyja’s Cats: Perspectives on Recent Viking Age Finds in Þegjandadalur North Iceland
Although somewhat hidden, cats are there and quite prominent. One just needs to know how to find them and distinguish their meaning.
The miraculuous water of Guðmundr Arason and the limits of holiness in medieval Iceland
The miraculuous water of Guðmundr Arason and the limits of holiness in medieval Iceland By Joel Anderson Master’s Thesis, University of Iceland, 2008…
Roman coins in Iceland: Roman remnants or Viking exotica
Roman coins in Iceland: Roman remnants or Viking exotica By Davíð Bjarni Heiðarsson Published Online (2010) Introduction: Early one evening in the summer…