Old Norse Literature

With the recent publication of The Gospel of Loki (Joanne Harris, 2014), and the forthcoming Vikings exhibition at the British Museum, interest in the life and legends of early Scandinavia is at a high point, but the mythological Old Norse narrative of the birth of Sleipnir has always been treated with caution. Loki, an outcast from the Æsir, is required to assume the role of a female creature and give birth, in order to save the gods from disaster. This paper will look at the medieval poetical treatise, Snorra Edda, alongside a more recent reinvention by Brian Day in his poem: “Loki and Sleipnir” in his publication: Love is not Native to My Blood (2000), and intends to examine these two versions of Loki’s transformation from male to female, and human to animal; analysing the changes in form and perspective given to the text through time and translation. Many scholars have considered the ambiguous figure of Loki, but few have associated this ambiguity with contemporary social changes outside of the introduction of Christianity. This paper will suggest that Snorri Sturluson’s apparent appropriation of Loki’s shape and gender has less to do with Christian morality, and more with everyday medieval Icelandic social values. It will suggest that the shape-shifting of Loki’s story reflects the social and geographical circumstances of its audience; something that Day, in his presentation of Loki as a victim in the hyper-masculine world of the gods, uses to comment on contemporary social attitudes to sex and gender.

That by his death Grettir is treated by the saga's composer as a monster, similar to those he killed, and that this is done ironically, with echoic passages studying monstrosity throughout this latest extant version of the narrative. The composer does this for complex reasons, to which I intend to return at some point in the next year or two.

Snorri contributed much to the image, prestige, and authority of poets in Old Norse vernacular literature. However, he did not originate or conclude this lionization of poets and poetry in the culture, and those who came before and after him also played their parts in establishing a robust and impressive written reputation for the poets. From almost the beginning, Old Nose vernacular literature would gradually come to exalt poets and poetry in many domains. These domains would include grammar, historic factuality, prestigious origins, mythology, narrative uses, runes, and magic. To show that, this essay surveys key Old Norse works over a two hundred year period. The works considered here have been chosen because they deal with poetry and poets in a wide variety of ways, and they are notable or represent significant developments in Icelandic literature.

Snorri à beaucoup contribué à l'image, au prestige et à l'autorité des poètes dans la littérature vernaculaire en ancien norrois. Cependant, il n'est ni l'instigateur ni le dernier chantre de cette glorification des poètes et de la poésie dans la culture, et ses prédécesseurs et successeurs jouent également un rôle dan l'établissement d'une réputation solide et impressionnante pour les poètes. Presque dés son commencement, la littérature vernaculaire en ancien Norrois exalte les poètes et la poésie dans de nombreux domaines. Ces derniers incluent la grammaire, la véracité historique, les origines prestigieuses, la mythologie, les usages narratifs, les runes et la magie. Afin de démontrer cela, cet essai passe en revue les travaux littéraires en ancien norrois sur une période de deux cent ans. Les oeuvres étudiées ici ont été choisies car elle adressent la question des poètes et de la poésie de manières variées et représentent des développements significatifs dans la littérature islandaise.

For medieval Icelanders, horses were among the most important animals. It should come as no surprise, as they were used for transport, in pagan rites (hippomancy, funerals, sacred horses), eating, and also for sports. These sports were the horse-fights (hestavígs) and horse-racing (skeið). Reading the sagas, one can find a lot of references to horse-fighting. This sport was considered of such importance among medieval Icelanders that laws have been written down regarding this entertainment, yet there is no exact description of how such events were organized. Only by putting all the references together can one endeavor to explain what these horse-fights may have actually been like. In my paper I would like to present the basis for these horse-fights. Their terminology has been frequently misinterpreted, and no critical investigation yet exists into the staging and organization of such events, which would shed light on the meaning and role of this sport to medieval Icelanders. It will be shown that horse-fighting functioned not only as brutal entertainment in itself, but also played a social role in the broader context of inter-district assemblies.

In un’epoca che non riconosce più la centralità della storia della letteratura, dilaniata dal dibattito tra estetica e storicismo e polverizzata in una miriade di generi, sistemi e correnti, il volume fa luce in modo approfondito su un patrimonio letterario poco noto, discontinuo ed eterogeneo, risalente alle culture germaniche dell’Alto Medioevo.
Al netto degli stereotipi barbarici, queste rappresentavano il risultato di un lungo processo di integrazione tra la miriade di società segmentarie del Ferro, dalle Alpi alla Scandinavia, e le varie forme in cui si declinò l’esperienza culturale romana, diffusa ben oltre i limiti cronologici dell’Impero.
Lungamente dominate dall’oralità o da fenomeni scritturali epigrafici – o spesso di natura pragmatica e talora troppo intermittenti per essere definiti “letteratura” –, queste culture seppero dar vita, con il contributo essenziale del Cristianesimo e delle sue prerogative di trasmissione scritta, a una densa tradizione letteraria dalle caratteristiche disomogenee.

Why are there two different texts of Hávamál? The oldest edition of Hávamál, printed by P. H. Resen in 1665, has a text which is significantly different from that of the only medieval witness, the Codex Regius. The order of the stanzas is especially divergent in a way reminiscent of independent recordings from oral tradition. Scholars have flirted with the idea that Resen’s text was not derived from the Codex Regius but from another medieval version. While this idea is initially attractive a closer examination reveals its weaknesses. I suggest instead that Resen’s text is indeed derived from the Codex Regius but not entirely through a written transmission. Someone may have learned Hávamál by heart and later written the poem down from memory. This would explain the different order of the stanzas and the variant readings which seem uncharacteristic of scribal transmission. Quotations of Hávamál by Björn á Skarðsá in writings dated to 1626 and 1642 are related to Resen’s text so this version of Hávamál must have existed already in the early 17th century. Resen’s text is interpolated with a stanza from Sigrdrífumáland some material from Hugsvinnsmál and Vafþrúðnismál. This is further evidence  that  Icelandic  scholars  were  making  use  of  texts  from  the  Codex Regius before bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson obtained it in 1643.

в отечественной науке роль варягов в образовании древнерусского государства оценивается весьма высоко, в частности у исследователей уже практически не вызывает сомнений скандинавское происхождение самой княжеской династии Рюриковичей. Однако на сегодняшний день в так называемом варяжском вопросе наблюдается известное противоречие: при огромном массиве археологических данных, недвусмысленно свидетельствующих об активном присутствии варягов на Руси в X–XI вв., мы располагаем весьма ограниченным количеством лингвистических следов и примет этнокультурного взаимодействия русских и скандинавов в эту эпоху. Данная книга представляет собой опыт историко-филологического разыскания в области культурных контактов Скандинавии и Руси на излете эпохи викингов. Образ идеального правителя, практика обмена дарами, представления о статусе и наследственных правах незаконнорожденного, рассказ о предках как средство характеристики потомков, перекличка личных имен, прозвищ и торжественных панегириков — такова лишь часть тех напряженных точек этого взаимодействия, к которым мы попытались подступиться в нашем исследовании.
The Varangian contribution to the formation of the ancient Russian state is highly
evaluated in the national scholarly tradition, more specifi cally, there are practically
no doubts about the Scandinavian origin of the Rurik dynasty. However, there is
a certain contradiction in the so-called Varangian problem: given a huge body of
archaeological data unambiguously confi rming the active Varangian presence in Rus
in the 10th–11th centuries, we can only have at our disposal a very limited amount
of the linguistic traces of ethnic and cultural connections between Russians and
Scandinavians at that time.
This book presents an attempt at the historical and philological study in the
fi eld of the cultural contacts between Scandinavia and Rus before the very end of the
Viking age. The image of the ideal ruler, the practice of gift exchange, the concepts of
the status and inheritance rights of illegitimate children, a narrative about ancestors
as a way of characterizing descendants, and similarities between personal names,
nicknames and solemn eulogies — these are, to name just a few, the intense points of
this interaction which became the focus of our study.

This paper argues that seiðr was about spinning a mind emissary, sending forth such a spun emissary, or attracting things or doing other things with such a mind emissary. Further arguments for this view can be read in my dissertation on gand(r). (Gand, seid og åndevind.)

Chapter 4 of Eiríks saga rauða has long drawn the attention of scholars due to its detailed description of a seiðr, a rare occurrence in Íslendinga sǫgur as well as in sagas of other genres. The protagonist of the scene, a Greenlandic seiðkona named Þorbjǫrg, is depicted as a social functionary who creates a relationship with the supernatural world and acquires a deeper knowledge and foreknowledge concerning the surrounding area, for the benefit of the local community. The performance takes place during a great famine at the beginning of the eleventh century, and the semi-public ritual had the purpose of predicting when the dearth would come to an end. It consisted – among other things-of a ritual meal: a porridge of kid's milk and of the cooked hearts of all the living creatures that inhabited the area. The present paper aims at casting light on this specific aspect of Þorbjǫrg's seiðr, and at contextualizing it within a wider literary and historical landscape. The intention is to integrate traditional interpretations with observations on the importance of sympathetic magic in ancient and medieval Europe, and particularly in medieval Scandinavia.

The present volume responds to the rising boom of interest in folklore and folklore research in the study of Old Norse mythology. The twenty-two authors of this volume reveal the dynamism of this lively dialogue, which is characterized by a diversity of perspectives linking to different fields and national scholarships.

The chapters open with a general overview of how the concepts of “folklore” and “mythology” have been understood and related across the history of Old Norse studies, which is followed by a group of chapters that discuss and present different approaches and types of source materials, with methodological and theoretical concerns. The interest in folklore is bound up with interests in practice and lived religion, which are brought into focus in a series of chapters relating to magic and ritual. Attention then turns to images that link to mythology and different mythic agents in studies that explore a variety of usage in meaning-making in different forms of cultural expression. The next group of studies spotlights motifs, with perspectives on synchronic usage across genres and different media, cross-cultural exchange, and long-term continuities. The volume culminates in discussions of complex stories, variously in oral traditions behind medieval sources and relationships between accounts found in medieval sources and those recorded from more recent traditions.

Individually, the chapters variously offer reflexive and historical research criticism, new research frameworks, illustrative studies, and exploratory investigations. Collectively, they illustrate the rapidly evolving multidisciplinary discussion at the intersections of folklore and Old Norse mythology, where the transformative impacts were recently described as a paradigm shift. They open new paths for scholarly discussion with the potential to inspire future research.

The paper provides a brief summary of the Old Norse Grettis Saga and examines it in terms of research aspects outside of the field of literary studies. It highlights the historical, cultural, social, and religious contexts of the work, giving explanation as to where indications of them can be found in the saga. At the same time it tries to explain some of the more obscure aspects, such as the supernatural elements, in order to give clarity to the method of interpretation. Vital information on the grouping of Old Norse sagas, as well as the importance of ancestry in the texts, are provided and elaborated. Definitions of key terms essential to understand the source material are provided and kept on a level clear to a reader not fluent in the topic. Categorizations of the mentioned saga genre are also provided, with the hope to spark interest in the vast variety of motifs and key aspects of the Old Norse sagas. Further suggestions for research outside of the field are presented; however, they are not taken up completely. The paper shows the Old Norse sagas as potent, yet often overlooked, literary works worthy of attention as possible research material in the field of humanities.

1938 verscheen de eerste Edda-vertaling in Nederland, vervaardigd gt voor velen, Scandinaviërs, Scandinain het Oudengels en het Oudhoogduits) slechts fragmentarisch bewaard In door Jan de Vries, een vertaling die, in een herziene versie van Aleid Boon-de Vries en prof.dr. J.A. Huisman, nog steeds op de markt is. Recentelijk is een tweede vertaling verschenen van de hand van Marcel Otten, zodat het publiek nu in de luxueuze situatie verkeert uit twee Edda-vertalingen te kunnen kiezen en er tegelijkertijd bijna onvermijdelijk toe wordt uitgenodigd beide vertalingen te gaan vergelijken. 1 In deze recensie echter zal slechts sprake zijn van een beoordeling van Ottens vertaling en de enige teksten die vergeleken zullen worden zijn de grondteksten en hun verdietsing. De Lied-Edda vertegenwoordi visten, Oudgermanisten en anderen die in het verre verleden van (Noorden West-)Europa geïnteresseerd zijn, een zeer belangrijke bron van kennis omtrent taal en cultuur uit die periode. Het belangrijkste manuscript, bekend staand onder de naam Codex Regius, werd in de tweede helft van de dertiende eeuw in IJsland opgetekend. Het bevat een aantal poëtische teksten van uiteenlopende ouderdom, herkomst en kwaliteit over Germaanse goden en helden. De meeste van deze teksten worden slechts hier gevonden, een enkele tekst werd ook elders overgeleverd, soms volledig, vaker gedeelteljk, geciteerd in andere teksten, waaronder de Edda van Snorri Sturluson. De gedichten bieden vrijwel unieke informatie over de mythologie van het oude Noorden en geven een vaak afwijkende, Noordse, versie van gebeurtenissen uit de tijd van de volksverhuizingen waarover ook in andere literaturen verteld wordt. De gedichten zijn opgetekend in versmaten die in andere Germaanse literaturen (met name 1 EDDA. De liederen uit de Codex Regius en verwante manuscripten. Vertaald uit het Oudijslands en van aantekeningen voorzien door Marcel Otten. Ingeleid door Kees Sa mplonius.

Child in exile, Russian warlord, mercenary for the Greek Emperor, Christian warrior in the Holy Land, King of Norway; Harald Hard-ruler was many things in the course of a brilliant and blood-soaked career, but he is mostly remembered today (if he is remembered at all) as the Viking king who scuppered the chances of successful English resistance to the Normans at the battle of Hastings in 1066. But Harald, often regarded as the last of the Viking kings, deserves to be more than a mere footnote to the familiar story of the Norman Conquest. This book, an illustrated retelling of Harald’s life and legend, with factual sections exploring the Viking world, sets out to put that right.

participación en las Cruzadas. La infl uencia de las ideas de Cruzada fue transmitida también a zonas como Dinamarca a mediados del s. XII. Es interesante ver como dichas características arquitectónicas, similares a Livonia, pueden apreciarse en diversas zonas rurales del ámbito báltico. Crusading on the Edge. Ideas and Practice of Crusading in Iberia and the Baltic Region, 1100-1500, plantea desde las diversas problemáticas teóricas que han envuelto el estudio de las Cruzadas, los aspectos ideológicos que atravesaron el territorio europeo y confi guraron un nuevo orden cristiano desde consignas y programas santos. Aunque la gestión cronológica de los estudios expuestos en la obra pueden desalentar o como mínimo confundir al lector, es un buen estudio para observar la diversa variedad espiritual y cultural que ofrecieron los ideales de Cruzada en su aplicación al modelo social; la aplicación en territorios tan alejados como Iberia y el Báltico; los componentes de la misma a lo largo de diferentes espacios temporales; y su vinculación a los eslabones culturales que confi guraron las estructuras de la Cristiandad europea medieval.

This paper examines the obscure concluding sequence in the Old Norse eddic poem Baldrs draumar. In the poem, the god Odin travels in disguise to the realm of the dead in order to raise a dead sorceress; he interrogates her about the bad dreams of his son Baldr; the sorceress prophesies Baldr's death and the revenge sequence that Odin will orchestrate to follow it.  In the final sequence of the poem, Odin asks a peculiar question identifiable as a riddle for 'waves'; rather than answering the question, the sorceress reveals the identity of Odin as the figure interrogating her, and in response, Odin appears to reveal the identity of the sorceress, who then takes the last word with reference to Ragnarök - the end of the world at which Odin will die.

Building on the premises that the final sequence of stanzas would have reasonable sense to a vernacular audience and engage concepts conventional to the mythology (rather than simply being accepted as obscure or disconnected from broader discourses), this paper proposes the following interpretation: Odin's final question is relevant and engages a mythic image as a means of asking whether Ragnarök will follow from the revenge-cycle of the previous questions; this question enables the other figure to identify him unambiguously as Odin; this identification allows Odin to identify the other figure as someone other than expected, in which case the most probable recognizable figure would probably be Loki; the final response of this figure then both responds to Odin's question as a threat with direct reference to the release of Loki, relevant to the situation.

This paper engages possibilities of variation in the underlying ideas of the mythology found in different sources.  It introduces the observation that the cycle of material associated with the revenge prophesies in this and other sources seems to be rooted in different basic concepts than narrative material associated with Baldr's mother and her attempts to prevent Baldr's death (developed further in _Baldr and Lemminkäinen_).  If the interpretation is correct that the sorceress addressed by Odin is Loki in disguise, the circumstances present the possibility that this poem is engaging models of the mythology somewhat different from what is found in Snorri Sturluson's Edda.

The aim of the thesis I submitted was to examine the role of eddic verse in its prose contexts, primarily in the fornaldarsǫgur, and to consider the probable status and development of the long prosimetric form in oral and written Old Norse literature, also primarily in the fornaldarsǫgur.

The (unedited and error-ridden) manuscript for the paper I gave at the 2016 Nordic Mythology Conference at Berkeley, October 29-30, "Paganism Past". The paper addresses Paganism Past and Ideas of Authenticity, and argues that any ideas of authenticity in the representation of Nordic mythology in Snorri's texts should be abandoned for another approach. My suggestion for an alternative approach is the concept of cultural complexity, in the sense that all sources available to the student of Nordic mythology, be they textual or part of the material culture, should be approached as expressions of the cultural phenomenon 'Nordic mythology', and variation should be addressed through the lens of social or cognitive differences and variations. With this perspective, we can abandon ideas of an authentic version of Nordic mythology; chronological and geographical variation become less essential, and distortions of the material brought about by the conversion process must be considered less interesting than the possibility of the available sources to Nordic mythology representing a plausible and viable system of thought and culture.

This definitive and complete Annotated Version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story of "Young Goodman Brown" contains 114 Footnotes, 1 Old Norse translation and 9 EndNotes. History is unpacked as to the numerous references to the Salem Witch Trials. (19 pp.)

Þórólfrgab derLandzungezwischendem Vigrafjordund Hofsvágr den Namen Þórsnes, "Thors Landzunge". Auf dieser Landzungebefindet sich ein Berg; fürd iesen Berg hatte Þórólfre ine so großeV erehrung, dass kein Mann ungewaschen seinen Blickd orthin richten sollte und manauf demBergnichts undniemandentötensollte, wederViehnoch Menschen, außerwennesselbstwegginge. Diesen Berg nannteerHelgafell,den "heiligen Berg", und glaubte, dasserdorthin gehenwürde,wenn er stirbt, undebensoalleseine Verwandten aufder Halbinsel. Die Eyrbyggja saga über Þórólfr Mostr-Bart,den ersten Landnehmerauf Þórsnesauf derHalbinselSnaefellsnes, und seinen heiligen Berg Helgafell.

Odin's millennial crisis: Norse mythology and Nordic identities in Janne Teller's Odins ø and Cornelius Jakhelln's Gudenes fall

In this essay, I will discuss the use of elements from Old Norse mythology in two recent novels: Janne Teller’s
Odins ø (1999) and Cornelius Jakhelln’s Gudenes fall (2007). In both works, the Norse god Odin is placed in
modern, Nordic societies close to the millennial shift, raising questions and debate about (national) identity,
history and memory in times of globalization and mass immigration. The works are read from a postnational
perspective, in which Homi K. Bhabha’s idea of «writing the nation» serves as a theoretic starting point. Through
several examples, I show how both novels deconstruct the idea of a national narrative, by letting pre-national
(mythic), national and postnational narratives, symbols and imaginations collide into apocalyptic visions without
fixed perspectives or closed endings. The essay also puts these two Nordic examples in the broader perspective
of new world literature and migrant literature, in which the shape and content of the (national) self and history is
constantly under debate.