Draugarnir: Revenants in Old Icelandic Sagas
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5 BETWEEN FICTION AND FALSEHOOD: THE ETHICS OF LYING IN THE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS ENTRE FICTION ET FAUSSETÉ: L'ETHIQUE DU MENSONGE DANS LES SAGAS D'ISLANDAIS Dr. Brian McMahon1 Abstract: This paper discusses a series of episodes from the Sagas of Icelanders in which one character attempts to deceive another. In each case the presentation of the incident is explored to establish whether the deception can be justified according to the internal ethics of the semi-fictionalised Saga Age depicted. On the basis of these examples, drawn from a range of sagas but with a particular emphasis on Grettis saga and Njáls saga, it goes on to argue that the saga authors consistently distinguish between the ethical justification for different attempts to deceive based on: the circumstances in which they take place, the degree to which they might be described as audacious, and the level of success which their instigators enjoy. It posits a distinction between “active” deception (incorporating slander, oath-breaking and níð) and “passive” deception (entrapping an interlocutor into deceiving himself), and concludes with a comparison of the saga hero's skill in bending the truth and the saga author's attempt to be truthful to his source material while also sustaining his reader's interest. Keywords: Truth, Lies, Fictionality, Sagas. Resumé: Cet article traite d'une série d'épisodes des Sagas d'Islandais dans laquelle un personnage tente de tromper un autre. Dans chaque cas, la présentation de l'incident est explorée pour établir si la tromperie peut être justifiée en fonction de l'éthique interne de l'Age Saga semi-fictionnalisé représenté. -
The Grettis Saga Through Time and Space: an Exploration of Topics in Old Norse Sagas
Academic Journal 157 of Modern Kornelia Lasota Philology University of Silesia in Katowice ISSN 2353–3218 The Grettis Saga through Time and Space: An Vol. 10 (2020) s. 157–162 Exploration of Topics in Old Norse Sagas. Abstract The paper provides a brief summary of the Old NorseGrettis 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. Keywords: Old Norse saga, Grettis Saga, literature, medieval studies, sagas of the Icelanders The aim of the following paper is to present the Old NorseGrettis Saga highlighting some of the many aspects in which the text can be useful in research, even outside of purely literary theses. -
Old Norse/Icelandic Myth in Relation to Grettis Saga
Old Norse/Icelandic Myth in Relation to Grettis saga Russell Poole Massey University 1. Grettis saga is exceptionally rich in both psychological and mythological terms. Its account of the protagonist shows a diversity of forces combating within him (Vi›ar Hreinsson 1992:105). Equally, it is replete with allusions to mythological figures. In this respect Grettir is notably polysemous (cf. Hastrup 1986:310), having in his composition something of Ó›inn, something of fiórr, something of Loki, something of the giants. The proposition that the pre-Christian mythic world continued to form an implicit frame of reference for medieval Icelanders as they sought to understand and represent human life and behaviour (Clunies Ross 1998:23; cf. Gu›rún Nordal 1998:221) can readily be supported with reference to this saga. Just like the gods and giants upon whom he is styled, Grettir behaves in ways that are more extreme and more flamboyant than people allowed themselves in their quotidian existence (cf. Clunies Ross 1998:24). The story of Grettir, in its extant realizations, can be understood, I shall argue, as a fourteenth-century mythicization of tensions and pressures, fears and 398 11th International Saga Conference 399 desires, within Icelandic culture.1 Here I propose to concentrate on familial relationships within Grettir’s “primary group”, developing the proposition that the figure of Glámr personifies crucial aspects of that dynamic.2 2. The unfolding of Glámr’s character within the story can be summed up if we describe him as at first a merely reckless and godless Swedish stranger, come to labour on the farm of one fiorhallr; then an “undead” who disrupts property and lives; and finally the pronouncer of a decisive curse upon Grettir. -
The Role of the Dead in Medieval Iceland: a Case Study of Eyrbyggja Saga1
CM 2011 ombrukket7_CM 22.03.12 12:50 Side 23 The Role of the Dead in Medieval Iceland: A Case Study of Eyrbyggja saga1 kIRSI kANERVA The article concerns the ghost story of Eyrbyggja saga, the so-called ‘wonders of fróðá’ (fróðárundr), and examines the symbolic meanings of this episode as they were interpreted in medieval Iceland. The analysis presupposes that, although the restless dead could be understood as ‘real’ by medieval readers and as part of their social reality, the heterogenic nature of the audience and the learning of the writers of the sagas made possible various interpretations of the ghost-scene, both literal and symbolic. It is argued that the living dead in Eyrbyggja saga act as agents of order, whose restlessness is connected to past deeds of those still living that have caused social disequilibrium. In fróðárundr these actions involve expressions of disapproved sexuality and birth of offspring with indeterminate social status. for the ghost-banisher the hauntings represent an opportunity to improve his own indeterminate status. In this article I intend to discuss the role of the malevolent restless dead in medieval Iceland by making a case study of the so-called wonders of fróðá, the Fróðárundr episode in Eyrbyggja saga. In general, for the living such creatures seem to be a source of various forms of malice and fear. They can make people lose their minds, become ill or even die. Their strength often exceeds that of the living, but it is not limitless, and is always ultimately challenged and conquered by the hero, who with great strength and skill banishes the monster for good. -
Studies in English Language and Early Literature in Honour of Paul Christophersen
No. 8 August 1981 Studies in English Language and Early Literature in Honour of Paul Christophersen Edited by P.M. Tilling The New University of Ulster ISSN 0308 - 2075 ] D.J. Beard 13 A >A BITU ENGI JARN A Brief Note on the Concept of Invulnerability in the Old Norse Sagas D. J. Beard During his description of the battle of Hafrsf jord, the author of Grettis saga writes: Haraldr konungr Iag3i at skipi )joris haklangs, J?vi at J>orir var inn mesti berserkr ok fullhugi. Var pai in haröasta orrosta af hvarumtveggjum. ba het konungr a berserki sina til framgöngu. beir varu kallaäir ulfheBnar, en a ba bitu engi j arn, en er beir geystust fram, ba heizt ekki viö. (Grettis sagaf eh. 2) . The use of a very similar phrase to describe the invulnerability of King Harald's berserks in the description of the battle of Hafrsfjord contained in Egils saga may possibly be due to both descriptions being taken from a common source, but the fact remains that the idea that 'iron could not bite1 on a berserk is very common in the Sagas. This type of invulnerability is also associated with 'semi-troll' men and certain heroes. The idea of a warrior such äs a berserk, who fought in a state of frenzy, being accredited with invulnerability is hardly surprising. During a frenzied fighting fit (berserksgang) such a warrior would likely be unaware 14 D.J. Bearä of pain; and it is a short step from the idea of a warrior who cannot feel pain inflicted by weapons to the idea of a warrior who cannot be harmed by weapons. -
Icelandic Folklore
i ICELANDIC FOLKLORE AND THE CULTURAL MEMORY OF RELIGIOUS CHANGE ii BORDERLINES approaches,Borderlines methodologies,welcomes monographs or theories and from edited the socialcollections sciences, that, health while studies, firmly androoted the in late antique, medieval, and early modern periods, are “edgy” and may introduce sciences. Typically, volumes are theoretically aware whilst introducing novel approaches to topics of key interest to scholars of the pre-modern past. iii ICELANDIC FOLKLORE AND THE CULTURAL MEMORY OF RELIGIOUS CHANGE by ERIC SHANE BRYAN iv We have all forgotten our names. — G. K. Chesterton Commons licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. This work is licensed under Creative British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. © 2021, Arc Humanities Press, Leeds The author asserts their moral right to be identi�ied as the author of this work. Permission to use brief excerpts from this work in scholarly and educational works is hereby granted determinedprovided that to thebe “fair source use” is under acknowledged. Section 107 Any of theuse U.S.of material Copyright in Act this September work that 2010 is an Page exception 2 or that or limitation covered by Article 5 of the European Union’s Copyright Directive (2001/ 29/ EC) or would be 94– 553) does not require the Publisher’s permission. satis�ies the conditions speci�ied in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. ISBN (HB): 9781641893756 ISBN (PB): 9781641894654 eISBN (PDF): 9781641893763 www.arc- humanities.org print-on-demand technology. -
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Dan Laurin THE EVERLASTING DEAD: SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE HOLY SAINT AND THE HORRIFYING DRAUGR OS MORTOS ETERNOS: SEMELHANÇAS ENTRE O SANTO SAGRADO E O HORRIFICANTE DRAUGR Dan Laurin1 Abstract: The purpose of this article will be to examine the lives of different Icelandic and Continental Scandinavian saints in biskupasögur and compare them to the uniquely Icelandic revenant known as a draugr found mainly—but not limited to—the Íslendingasögur category. The morphology of the saint and the draugr will be analysed through the scope of the physical, behavioural, and supernatural motifs apparent in each literary figure. This approach will be useful to better understand a comparison between how each figure reconciles the concept of death and the afterlife, as well as their liminal grasp of corporeality which displays their similarity. Keywords: Icelandic sagas; Supernatural; Medieval literature; Draugr. Resumo: O objetivo deste artigo será examinar as vidas de diferentes santos escandinavos islandeses e continentais nas biskupasögur e compará-las ao morto-vivo exclusivamente islandês conhecido como draugr encontrado principalmente - mas não limitado na - categoria Íslendingasögur. A morfologia do santo e do draugr será analisada através do alcance dos motivos físicos, comportamentais e sobrenaturais aparentes em cada figura literária. Essa abordagem será útil para entender melhor uma comparação entre como cada figura concilia o conceito de morte e vida após a morte, bem como sua compreensão liminar da corporeidade que mostra sua semelhança. Palavras-chave: Sagas islandesas; Sobrenatural; Literatura medieval; Draugr. 1 Dan Laurin is a recent Medieval Master of Studies graduate from the University of Oxford, after having earned his Bachelor of Studies from the University of Berkeley, California. -
Grettir's Saga
Grettir’s Saga Grettir’s Saga 1914 translation into English by G. H. Hight from the original Icelandic ’Grettis saga’. Chapter 1 - Family and early wars of Onund the son of Ofeig There was a man named Onund, the son of Ofeig Clumsyfoot, who was the son of Ivar Horsetail. Onund was the brother of Gudbjorg, the mother of Gudbrand Knob, the father of Asta, the mother of King Olaf the Saint. His mother came from the Upplands, while his father’s relations were mostly in Rogaland and Hordland. He was a great viking and used to harry away in the West over the sea. He was accompanied on these expeditions by one Balki, the son of Blaeing from Sotanes, and by Orm the Wealthy. Another comrade of theirs was named Hallvard. They had five ships, all well equipped. They plundered the Hebrides, reaching the Barra Isles, where there ruled a king named Kjarval, who also had five ships. These they attacked; there was a fierce battle between them, in which Onund’s men fought with the utmost bravery. After many had fallen on both sides, the battle ended with the king taking to flight with a single ship; the rest were captured by Onund’s force, along with much booty. They stayed there for the winter, and spent the succeeding three summers harrying the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, after which they returned to Norway. Chapter 2 - Battle of Hafrsfjord At that time Norway was very disturbed. Harald Shockhead, the son of Halfdan the Black, till then king of the Upplands, was aiming at the supreme kingship. -
The Proverbial Heart of Hrafnkels Saga Freysgoða: “Mér Þykkir Þar Heimskum Manni at Duga, Sem Þú Ert.”
The Proverbial Heart of Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða: “Mér þykkir þar heimskum manni at duga, sem þú ert.” RICHARD L. HARRIS ABSTRACT: This essay considers the thematic force of a proverbial allusion in Hrafnkels saga when the political dilettante Sámr Bjarnason reluctantly agrees to help his uncle Þorbjǫrn seek redress for the killing of his son by Hrafnkell Freysgoði. “Mér þykkir þar heimskum manni at duga, sem þú ert” [I want you to know that in my opinion I am helping a fool in helping you], he comments, alluding to the traditional proverb Illt er heimskum lið at veita [It’s bad to give help to the foolish] setting one theme of this short but complex and much studied narrative. Examination of the story suggests that nearly all of its characters behave with varying degrees of foolishness. Further, it can be seen that Sámr’s foolishness dictates his fall after defeating Hrafnkell in legal proceedings and that, conversely, Hrafnkell’s rehabilitation is the result of correcting that unwise social behaviour which led to his initial defeat. RÉSUMÉ: Cet article examine la force thématique derrière une phrase proverbiale trouvée dans l’œuvre Hrafnkels saga. Lorsqu’un dilettante politique, Sámr Bjarnason, accepte à contrecoeur d’aider son oncle, Þorbjǫrn, à obtenir réparation pour le meurtre de son fils aux mains de Hrafnkell Freysgoði, il déclare, « Mér þykkir þar heimskum manni at duga, sem þú ert » [je veux que vous sachiez que, selon moi, j’aide un abruti en vous aidant]. Son commentaire fait allusion au proverbe traditionnel, Illt er heimskum lið at veita [il est mal d’offrir de l’aide à un sot]. -
Chapter 21 Imagining the Holy Land in the Old Norse World
Mikael Males Chapter 21 Imagining the Holy Land in the Old Norse World In Old Norse literature as elsewhere in the literature of medieval Europe, many im- ages of Jerusalem and the Holy Land are to be found, not mutually exclusive, but rather adding to a range of functions and meanings. In an Icelandic twelfth-century itinerary, we encounter the pious pilgrim, admiring the blood of Christ on the ground where the cross had stood. From twelfth-century Orkney, by contrast, we have runic and poetic evidence of boastful Viking crusaders, belittling the cowards who stayed at home and viewing the concept of the Holy Land through the lens of the world of the sagas. In thirteenth-century Iceland, we find a peculiar version of the Holy Land in a local setting, fully integrated into Icelandic saga style. As late converts on the fringe of the known world, the Nordic peoples were removed in time and space from the events and sites that mattered most to salvation. In the Orcadian and Icelandic material, we see a creative negotiation of both the spatial and temporal distance. This chapter focuses on the attitudes to Jerusalem and the Holy Land found in some Old Norse sources, as well as the strategies used for mak- ing them, as it were, domestic. The first obvious act of domestication lies in the name Jerusalem itself, which in Old Norse was called Jórsalir. This is apparently the result of a reanalysis of the name, and it is likely that the name meant something like “royal halls” or “the city of the king” at the time of imposition. -
REVIEWS Chieftains and Power In
REVIEWS as many as 50-60 chieftencies. Jon Vidar Sigurdsson After that their number started decreasing, and by 1118 there Chieftains and Power in the were no more than c. 30 left. Icelandic Commonwealth "There was a similar reduction in numbers in the period from 1118 Translated by Jean Lundskrer to 1220, when about 20 Nielsen disappeared" (p. 64). So early in the thirteenth century there were Odense University Press, Odense, only nine or ten chieftains in the 1999, pp. 215 entIre country controlling as many 'domains', instead of the thirty-six chieftencies back in The book under review is a 930. The original power system translation of a Ph. D. thesis from had in fact collapsed. the University of Bergen, and JSV's account of this betrays its ongins in a number of development is partly based on ways. Like so many other theses conjecture, but on the whole it is of its kind it is brimming with lucid and well-argued. My enthusiasm for its subject and principal criticism of his book is devoid of the cynicism we often abouthis treatment of the Sagas of find in the works of older Icelanders, which tell us much scholars. On the other hand, the more about the goaar and ideas author's (hereafter referred to as relating to them than his book JVS) perception of early Icelandic serves to indicate. Vatnsdrela saga literature is somewhat vague at which has seen called hofOingja times. skuggsjd "a mirror for chieftains" The essential Eurpose of the presents porsteinn Ingimundarson book is to is descnbe the nature and evolution of political power as an ideal gooi: he is moderate, in Iceland, in particular the fair-minded, patient, shrewd, system of gOOar (sg. -
Grettis Saga
Durham E-Theses Engi maðr skapar sik sjálfr: Individual agency and the communal creation of outsiders in Íslendingasögur outlaw narratives WILSON, ALEXANDER,JAMES How to cite: WILSON, ALEXANDER,JAMES (2017) Engi maðr skapar sik sjálfr: Individual agency and the communal creation of outsiders in Íslendingasögur outlaw narratives, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12627/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Engi maðr skapar sik sjálfr: Individual Agency and the Communal Creation of Outsiders in Íslendingasögur Outlaw Narratives Alexander James Wilson Abstract. This thesis examines how Íslendingasögur outlaw narratives engage with socio-political concepts of community and the individual. It demonstrates that the sagas discussed share key anxieties over the deep structural problems in society, which are shown to restrict the individual agency of their protagonists, a restriction that motivates the transgressive behaviour of these individuals.