Papers by Sean Lawing
The Burial of Body Parts in Old Icelandic Grágás
Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400, 2020
Old Norse laws in their Christian sections go to lengths to prescribe the proper handling and pre... more Old Norse laws in their Christian sections go to lengths to prescribe the proper handling and preparation of the dead for burial – who, where, at what times, and by whom. These stipulations imply a wholeness of bodies. What about parts thereof? One wonders, for instance, just how Icelandic society processed the profusion of limbs generated during the bloody conflicts related in Sturlunga saga. Medieval Iceland’s legal theorists appear to have considered this eventuality. Among Grágás’ laws pertaining to the conveyance and burial of the dead, we find a provision for performing Christian ceremony over a bodily fragment. Despite what appears to be a straightforward prescription, a slew of questions, nonetheless, arises. For example, if a part is to be buried, where was the rest of the body? Was the person, whose body part was found, dead? Or, were the dismembered pieces of the living also accorded rites? This paper examines this rather unusual Icelandic Christian law in the context of the Last Judgement. In particular, I consider whether this Grágás law reflects the End-of-Days doctrine referred to as the Byzantine Last Judgement, a surprising connection identified by Selma Jónsdóttir (1959) in her analysis of medieval wood panels from the farm at Bjarnastaðahlíð, North Iceland.
Victims of Maiming in Sturlunga saga : Worse off Living than Dead?
Mirator, Mar 12, 2021
Old Norse laws in their Christian sections go to lengths to prescribe the proper handling and pre... more Old Norse laws in their Christian sections go to lengths to prescribe the proper handling and preparation of the dead for burial – who, where, at what times, and by whom. These stipulations imply a wholeness of bodies. What about parts thereof? One wonders, for instance, just how Icelandic society processed the profusion of limbs generated during the bloody conflicts related in Sturlunga saga. Medieval Iceland’s legal theorists appear to have considered this eventuality. Among Grágás’ laws pertaining to the conveyance and burial of the dead, we find a provision for performing Christian ceremony over a bodily fragment. Despite what appears to be a straightforward prescription, a slew of questions, nonetheless, arises. For example, if a part is to be buried, where was the rest of the body? Was the person, whose body part was found, dead? Or, were the dismembered pieces of the living also accorded rites? This paper examines this rather unusual Icelandic Christian law in the context of the Last Judgement. In particular, I consider whether this Grágás law reflects the End-of-Days doctrine referred to as the Byzantine Last Judgement, a surprising connection identified by Selma Jónsdóttir (1959) in her analysis of medieval wood panels from the farm at Bjarnastaðahlíð, North Iceland.
Eyrbyggja saga recounts events loosely centered on prominent chieftain Snorri Þorgrímsson (ca. 96... more Eyrbyggja saga recounts events loosely centered on prominent chieftain Snorri Þorgrímsson (ca. 960-1030) in the Snæfellsness region of Iceland. Chapters 18-25 focus primarily on the deeds of one Þórarinn svarti, a relatively minor saga character whose exploits might be easily overshadowed by 1) his more famous grandfather, the pernicious, future-revenant Þórólfr bægifótr; 2) his older brother Arnkell, the model chieftain; or 3) his mother Geirríðr, the skilled and respected wise-woman with whom he lives. Yet, Þórarinn deserves his own share of fame; for, in a short space this docile, laconic farmer undergoes a remarkable transformation, effectively recasting himself as a manly warrior-poet – a metamorphosis worthy of study in its own right. This paper examines Þórarinn svarti’s unusual character recoding and attempts to account for it. Particular emphasis is on familial relationships, sex and gender roles. At heart, I argue that Þórarinn’s relation to the strong women around him, particularly to his mother, the absence of a father, and his murky lineage contribute to an androgynous state in which he only partially acts according to expected gender roles. The catalyzing event of his wife’s dismemberment, an act laden with symbolic significance for him, propels Þórarinn into assuming a more expected masculine identity and he indeed strives to become a paragon of warrior ideals, even if imperfectly achieved.
Íslendinga saga, part of the Sturlunga saga compilation, recounts a tumultuous period in medieval... more Íslendinga saga, part of the Sturlunga saga compilation, recounts a tumultuous period in medieval Iceland. Its author, Sturla Þórðarson, narrates the numerous and violent conflicts of the 13th century involving his own family, the Sturlungs, vying amongst themselves and with other powerful families for dominance of Iceland, all under the watchful eye and influence of the Norwegian king, Hákon Hákonarson. In one particular instance, Sturla Þórðarson relates the final encounter between two of his first cousins Órækja Snorrason and Sturla Sighvatsson. Unwilling to dispatch him outright, Sturla chooses to maim Órækja, attempting to blind and geld him. Órækja’s disfigurement is, however, only partially successful and Órækja is said to have been subsequently healed, a miracle ascribed to St. Þorlákr. Kari Ellen Gade in her analysis “1236: Órækja meiddr ok heill gǫrr” (1996) dismisses the notion of miraculous healing and instead interprets Órækja’s maiming as a political tall-tale spread by Sturla Sighvatsson to neutralize Órækja, patterned after the similar treatment of rulers found in Norwegian kings’ sagas. Without disputing Gade’s claims, this paper seeks to widen the field of interpretation. Namely, I explore the notion of competence with regard to disfiguring attacks in 13th century Iceland. Afterall, Órækja’s is not the only botched maiming to be found in Sturlunga saga.
European Journal of Scandinavian Studies, Jul 2014
In 1272 some dozen men in Northamptonshire, England were pursued by king’s wardens for poaching d... more In 1272 some dozen men in Northamptonshire, England were pursued by king’s wardens for poaching deer in the royal forest of Rockingham. Legal records for the ensuing case, a “forest plea,” tell us that the wardens caught up with the poachers at a certain forest track where members of the band set up a deer’s head on a stake, intended as an insult to the king and his men. Bo Almqvist, in his defining work Norrön Niddiktning (1965), cites this incident, which occurred in a Norse settlement area, as an instance of Old Norse sculptural níð. Thomas L. Markey references it again in his own study (1972). Since then little notice has been given to it. But should there be? After all, detailed descriptions of sculptural níð are rare in historical sources. This study revisits the claim that this forest plea contains an instance of sculptural níð. In examining the strength of the evidence, the study raises several methodological questions specific to this case but also to the study of níð in general. This study finds that the Rockingham forest plea cannot be definitively linked to sculptural níð as depicted in Old Norse sources. Nevertheless, it is a warranted comparison that informs us about the structure, function, and possible boundaries of níð. More- over, certain agreement in details might be used to discern additional níð-like practices in Old Norse sources.
Scandinavian Studies, 2013
The status of the deformed and disfigured in medieval Norse society is somewhat ambiguous. For i... more The status of the deformed and disfigured in medieval Norse society is somewhat ambiguous. For instance, in Sturlunga saga, an Icelandic saga compilation of the 13th century contemporaneous with the many of the events it describes, we find powerful chieftains and landholders such as Þorgils skarði, Skeggi skammhöndung, or Halldórr slakkafótr, apparently unimpeded socially by cleft-palates, withered-hands, or slack-feet. Then, there is the Norse pantheon of the Prose Edda, which contains gods that are one-eyed (Óðinn), one-handed (Týr), and blind (Höðr). Yet, in those same source texts mutilating an opponent such as by cutting off a hand, ‘handhögg,’ or foot, ‘fóthögg’ in order to render a permanent, visible injury is a viable means of rendering disgrace. How do we reconcile these divergent attitudes particularly since the term used for both acquired disfigurements and congenital deformities, örkuml, is the same? We might ask if there is an intrinsic, negative moral valence to disfigurement and deformity in Old Norse society, in other words, whether physical impairments marked their possessors as disabled, a culturally rather than biologically coded category. This study examines the issue by focusing on one aspect of it: the special case of exposing deformed infants as prescribed in Old Norse laws. The particular aim is to analyze what appears to be less pragmatic if equally real grounds in Old Norse society for exposing infants. Namely, aside from economic and social motives, this study examines the role that fear of the supernatural and monstrous plays and considers the significance this has for determining status (or lack thereof) in society. Emphasis is on the early Christian laws of Norway and Iceland.
Teaching Documents by Sean Lawing
Books by Sean Lawing
by Ármann Jakobsson, Mariusz Mayburd, Andrea Maraschi, Sarah Bienko Eriksen, Anna Katharina Heiniger, Sean Lawing, Daniel Remein, Andrew McGillivray, Sandra Straubhaar, Christopher Crocker, Þórdís Edda Jóhannesdóttir, Ingibjörg Eyþórsdóttir, Martina Ceolin, and Védís Ragnheiðardóttir Published in March 2020, in the series Northern Medieval World: on the Margins of Europe.
This... more Published in March 2020, in the series Northern Medieval World: on the Margins of Europe.
This anthology of 23 articles by Old Norse scholars from 10 countries 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.
Uploads
Papers by Sean Lawing
Teaching Documents by Sean Lawing
Books by Sean Lawing
This anthology of 23 articles by Old Norse scholars from 10 countries 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.