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Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia Michael David Lawson East Tennessee State University

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Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia Michael David Lawson East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2019 Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia Michael David Lawson East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, Cultural History Commons, Disability Studies Commons, European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Folklore Commons, History of Religion Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Medieval History Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Scandinavian Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Lawson, Michael David, "Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3538. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3538 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia ————— A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of History East Tennessee State University ————— In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Art in History ————— by Michael David Lawson May 2019 ————— John Michael Rankin, Chair Julie Fox-Horton William Douglas Burgess, Jr. Keywords: Viking, Mythology, Medieval, Disability, Scandinavia ABSTRACT Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia by Michael David Lawson Using the lives of impaired individuals catalogued in the Íslendingasögur as a narrative framework, this study examines medieval Scandinavian social views regarding impairment from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Beginning with the myths and legends of the eddic poetry and prose of Iceland, it investigates impairment in Norse pre-Christian belief; demonstrating how myth and memory informed medieval conceptualizations of the body. This thesis counters scholarly assumptions that the impaired were universally marginalized across medieval Europe. It argues that bodily difference in the Norse world was only viewed as a limitation when it prevented an individual from fulfilling roles that contributed to their community. As Christianity’s influence spread and northern European powers became more focused on state- building aims, Scandinavian societies also slowly began to transform. Less importance was placed on the community in favor of the individual and policies regarding bodily difference likewise changed; becoming less inclusive toward the impaired. 2 DEDICATION To my incredible, loving, and patient wife, Ashley. Without her belief in me and her unwavering support of my dreams, none of my goals could have been realized. Thank you for inspiring me to always be the best version of myself. You are my everything. “Þess sver ek við guðin, at ek skal þik eiga eða enga konu ella;” - Völsunga saga XXIV 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is impossible to reach this stage in a career without accruing a litany of debts. I must first thank Dr. Judith Jesch at the University of Nottingham whose prose on the Vikings and selfless email correspondence fueled my initial interest in medieval Scandinavia. Next, I am grateful to my incredible group of professors at East Tennessee State University: Dr. John Rankin my thesis chair, my committee members Dr. Doug Burgess and Dr. Julie Fox-Horton, Dr. Tom Lee for his wisdom regarding the craft of research, and Dr. Daniel Newcomer for his invaluable insights into what culture can tell humans about the past. A special thanks is owed to Dr. Rebekah Merkelbach at the University of Tübingen, who spent many hours generously answering my questions, and sharing her own unique understandings regarding teratological representations in the Icelandic sagas. I am also most thankful to Dr. Stefan Brink and Mr. Keith Ruiter of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland for their wisdom and their many great recommendations for my studies in Norse impairment and mythology. I am likewise indebted to Dr. Leszek Gardeła, whose research into aberrant burial practices in the North Atlantic allowed me to expand my knowledge in this area. Special thanks are due to Dr. Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir and Dr. Ármann Jakobsson of the University of Iceland for allowing me to speak with them about their “Disability Before Disability” project they have been working on. An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to Mrs. Eva Þórdís Ebenezersdóttir, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Iceland, for sharing her insightful thoughts on the impaired gods in Norse myth with me. I am eternally grateful to those who supported my research trip to Iceland financially. Finally, to my friends and family for their continual love and support. Without these incredible individuals and experiences, this examination of Norse culture would not have been possible. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................2 DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................4 CONTENTS .....................................................................................................................................5 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................7 2. IMPAIRMENT IN OLD NORSE MYTH AND LEGEND ......................................................23 Óðínn..................................................................................................................................27 Týr ......................................................................................................................................35 Heimdallr ...........................................................................................................................38 Þórr .....................................................................................................................................41 Hǫðr ...................................................................................................................................45 The Gods as Humans .........................................................................................................50 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................54 3. LIVING WITH IMPAIRMENTS IN MEDIEVAL ICELAND ................................................56 Physical Impairments .........................................................................................................65 Visual Impairments ............................................................................................................76 5 Auditory/Verbal Impairments ............................................................................................83 Cognitive Impairments.......................................................................................................86 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................97 4. THE ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE NORTH .........................................................99 The Twelfth-Century Renaissance and the Rise of the Individual ..................................114 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................118 5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................122 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................130 VITA ............................................................................................................................................151 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Increasingly, scholars have understood the body as both a physical reality and an important conceptual space. The body is infused with meaning and these cultural reflections offer not only insights into the past but also an interpretive lens capable of elucidating the ways in which beauty and bodily norms shaped society. During the Middle Age, the body became an important locus of inquiry. Medieval thinkers acknowledged the relationship between the divine and the corporeal. While the metrics may change over time and place, physical beauty and moral harmony were, and remain, highly sought-after qualities.1 Culturally defined notions of “physical perfection” could have an amplifying or limiting effect on a person’s social mobility. Broadly speaking, in medieval Europe, people with impairments lived in a world where the condition of their bodies decided their place in – or outside of – the social order. Some societies, however, viewed impairment as an accepted aspect of life and were more accommodating
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