Arv Nordic Yearbook of Folklore 2012 2 3 ARVARV Nordic Yearbook of Folklore Vol
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1 Arv Nordic Yearbook of Folklore 2012 2 3 ARVARV Nordic Yearbook of Folklore Vol. 68 Editor ARNE BUGGE AMUNDSEN OSLO, NORWAY Editorial Board Anders Gustavsson, Oslo; Gustav Henningsen, Copenhagen Bengt af Klintberg, Lidingö; Ann Helene Bolstad Skjelbred, Oslo Ulrika Wolf-Knuts, Åbo (Turku) Published by THE ROYAL GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS ACADEMY UPPSALA, SWEDEN Distributed by SWEDISH SCIENCE PRESS UPPSALA, SWEDEN 4 © 2012 by The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy, Uppsala ISSN 0066-8176 All rights reserved Printed with grants from Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council), Stockholm, Sweden Articles appearing in this yearbook are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life 1998– Editorial address: Prof. Arne Bugge Amundsen Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages University of Oslo Box 1010 Blindern NO–0315 Oslo, Norway phone + 4722857629 fax + 4722854828 http://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/forskning/publikasjoner/tidsskrifter/arv/index.html Cover: Kirsten Berrum For index of earlier volumes, see http://www.kgaa.nu/tidskrift.php Distributor Swedish Science Press Box 118, SE–751 04 Uppsala, Sweden phone: +46(0)18365566 fax: +46(0)18365277 e-mail: [email protected] Printed in Sweden Textgruppen i Uppsala AB, Uppsala 2012 5 Contents Articles Ane Ohrvik: “… For All Honest Christian and Science-Loving Readers”. Religious Encounters in Early Modern Norwegian Black Books . 7 Nils-Arvid Bringéus: “Nowadays We All Look to Sweden as the Chief Centre of Folklore-work” . 27 Terry Gunnell: Clerics as Collectors of Folklore in Nineteenth- Century Iceland . 45 Arne Bugge Amundsen: The Folk in the Church. Magnus Brostrup Landstad (1812–1880) as a Clerical Folklore Collector . 67 Bjarne Rogan: An Internationalist among Norwegian Folklorists. A Biographical Sketch of Reidar Th. Christiansen (1886–1971) . 91 B. Marcus Cederström: Folkloristic Koinés and the Emergence of Swedish-American Ethnicity . 121 John Ødemark: Narrating Magic, Re-visioning Historiography. On Stephen A. Mitchell’s Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages . 151 Book Reviews Andresen, Jesper Graubæk: Formbegreber i spil (Sven-Erik Klinkmann) . 165 Biskop, Gunnel: Dansen för åskådare (Egil Bakka) . 169 Christiansen, Palle Ove: De forsvundne. Hedens siste fortællere (Anders Gustavsson) . 170 Fingerroos, Outi: Karjala utopiana “Narratives around Karelia- nism?” (Terhi Pietiläinen) . 171 Gerber, Sofi: Öst är väst, men Väst är bäst. Östtysk identitets- formering i det förenade Tyskland (Ulrika Wolf-Knuts) . 173 Gustavsson, Anders: Cultural Studies on Death and Dying in Scandinavia (Ritwa Herjulfsdotter) . 175 Gustavsson, Anders: The folk-life artist Carl Gustaf Bern- 6 hardson (Mats Nilsson) . 177 Kaplan, Merrill: Thou Fearful Guest. Addressing the past in four tales in Flateyjarbók (Gísli Sigurdsson) . 178 Klinkmann, Sven-Erik: I fänrikarnas, martallarnas och dixi- tigrarnas land (Patrik Sandgren) . 181 af Klintberg, Bengt: The Types of the Swedish Folk Legend (Camilla Asplund Ingemark) . 183 Lakomäki, Sami, Pauliina Latvala & Kirsi Laurén (eds.): Tekstien rajoilla [Toolbox for Methodological Thinking] (Erkka Pehkonen) . 183 Liliequist, Marianne & Karin Lövgren (eds.): Tanten, vem är hon? (Lena Marander-Eklund) . 187 Mikkola, Kati: Tulevaisuutta vastaan [Against the Future] (Leena Rossi) . 188 Mustakallio, Marja: Musik på gränsen (Gunnar Ternhag) . 191 Nagel, Erik: I dialog med muntliga och skriftliga berättar- traditioner (Ulf Palmenfelt) . 193 Nielsen, Niels Kayser: Historiens forvandlinger. Historiebrug fra monumenter til oplevelseøkonomi (Fredrik Skott) . 198 Nilsson, Gabriella: Könsmakt eller häxjakt? (Birgitta Meurling) . 200 Pöysä, Jyrki, Helmi Järviluoma & Sinikka Vakimo (eds.): Vael- tavat metodit [A Traveller’s Guide to the Methodology of Cultural Research] (Sofia Kotilainen) . 202 Ruusuvuori, Johanna, Pirjo Nikander & Matti Hyvärinen (eds.): Haastattelm analyysi [Analysing an Interview] (Pia Olsson) . 204 Selberg, Torunn: Folkelig religiøsitet (Anders Gustavsson) . 206 Schön, Ebbe: Fotspår på röd granit (Anders Gustavsson) . 208 Sjöberg, Maria & Birgitta Svensson (eds.): Svenskfinska rela- tioner (Eva Helen Ulvros) . 210 Takala, Hannu: Karjalan museot [The Secrets of the Lost Ark – Museums in Karelia] (Terhi Pietiläinen) . 212 Books Received by the Editor . 215 “… For All Honest Christian and Science-Loving Readers” 7 “… For All Honest Christian and Science-Loving Readers” Religious Encounters in Early Modern Norwegian Black Books Ane Ohrvik In modern research on witchcraft there is general consensus that the theo- logical and juridical beliefs and positions with respect to the Devil’s exist- ence and interaction with humans had a decisive role for the witch hunt in early modern Europe (see e.g. Clark 2002; Levack 2006; Mitchell 2011). From being portrayed in the doctrine by the church father Augustine in the fourth and fifth centuries as a subordinate figure to the almighty God, with powers that were a mere illusion, the Devil slowly emerged from being an imaginary figure to become a creature whose spirit could occupy the human body and do evil things. Even though the theological directive of Canon Episcopi, disseminated from the tenth century onwards, to a certain degree followed Augustine, the Devil acquired a more ambiguous position which opened for further developments: the Devil and the demons produced dia- bolic deceptions and illusions which deceived evil women into believing they could ride on animals at night. When Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century comments on the demon’s power in the doctrine commonly called “the absolute doctrine”, which was to be cited numerous times in later works on witchcraft, the Devil had developed from being primarily spiritual to be- ing a physical creature: “The Catholic learning explains that demons have the ability to harm by their actions and hinder sexual intercourse” (Baroja 1987:36).1 During the most intensive period of the witch hunts in Western Europe (1550–1700) the diabolical element served as one of the most cen- tral arguments in the burning of witches. The diabolic pact that was believed to have been made between the witch and the Devil so that the witch could obtain earthly fortune, wealth and powers provided the witch trials and the prosecutors with deadly ammunition. In Denmark, the theologian Niels Hemmingsen (1513–1600), who gained European attention and fame during his lifetime, summed up what would become the dominant view among in- tellectuals of the Devil’s position in Denmark-Norway in the following cen- 8 Ane Ohrvik tury when he proclaimed that “the Devil is behind” all sorts of magical prac- tice. In Admonitio de superstitionibus magicus vitandis, first published in 1575, he explained how human beings alone were not able to use magical powers and perform magical art; it was the Devil who helped in doing the magic work (Gilje 2003:202–205).2 While witchcraft beliefs, especially among the common people, did not end with the decline in witchcraft prosecutions in the eighteenth century it was, nevertheless, in part theologians and legal intellectuals who had occu- pied the same positions during the witch hunt who now raised doubts about the reality of witchcraft and the Devil’s power and existence that eventually drained the diabolical argument concerning witchcraft. As Robert Muchem- bled puts it in his comprehensive study of the history of the Devil, “The Eu- rope of Enlightenment, in contrast, saw the twilight of the devil and the re- treat of the horned Lucifer…” (Muchembled 2003:7). This brief presentation of the history of the Devil serves as a background to the “life” the Devil took on in the eighteenth century. While most theolo- gians and intellectuals spoke from new positions where the Devil was re- duced to superstitious beliefs among the peasants, the Devil was still very much alive and active, if we judge from the black books in Norway. In these writings, the Devil represents both a power that people had to protect them- selves from, and simultaneously a force to take advantage of and engage for personal purposes. How can the position of the Devil in the black books be understood? The article will start by contextualizing the Norwegian black book production before turning to a close reading of two types of texts in one particular black book; the paratexts that illuminate the writer’s interpre- tation of the knowledge presented in the book and the charms constituting the main content of the black book. Norwegian Black Books The rich collection of black books found in Norway testifies to a widespread and vibrant writing which continued to be produced throughout the early modern period and during most of the nineteenth century.3 Including advice and recipes on topics such as sickness in humans and livestock, how to achieve luck in love, hunting, battles, games and trials, how to prepare do- mestic articles such as ink, paint and salmiac, and how to protect the house- hold against witches and bewitchment, the books are rich sources for a va- riety of topics; book history and manuscript culture, early modern medical practices and beliefs, practical knowledge in general, and witchcraft beliefs. The strong influence of magical-religious beliefs and practices in the books was also the main reason for the earliest studies of these manuscripts con- ducted by the Norwegian Church historian Anton C. Bang (1840–1913) (see Bang 1890, 1901). In the early twentieth century, the Nordic counterparts of “… For All Honest Christian and Science-Loving Readers” 9 these books (Danish