Tamás Reinicke
“WITH UNLEARNED TONGUES IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE
WORLD”: EUROPEAN OTHERNESS IN THE ICELANDIC
RIDDARASǪGUR
MA Thesis in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies.
Central European University
Budapest
June 2020
CEU eTD Collection
“WITH UNLEARNED TONGUES IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE WORLD”:
EUROPEAN OTHERNESS IN THE ICELANDIC RIDDARASǪGUR
by
Tamás Reinicke
(Hungary)
Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies,
Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements
of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique,
Medieval, and Renaissance Studies.
Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU.
______Chair, Examination Committee
______Thesis Supervisor
______Examiner
______Examiner
CEU eTD Collection
Budapest
June 2020
“WITH UNLEARNED TONGUES IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE WORLD”:
EUROPEAN OTHERNESS IN THE ICELANDIC RIDDARASǪGUR
by
Tamás Reinicke
(Hungary)
Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies,
Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements
of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique,
Medieval, and Renaissance Studies.
Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU.
______External Reader
CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2020
“WITH UNLEARNED TONGUES IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE WORLD”:
EUROPEAN OTHERNESS IN THE ICELANDIC RIDDARASǪGUR
by
Tamás Reinicke
(Hungary)
Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies,
Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements
of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique,
Medieval, and Renaissance Studies.
Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU.
______External Supervisor
CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2020
I, the undersigned, Tamás Reinicke, candidate for the MA degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree.
Budapest, 1 June 2020
______Signature CEU eTD Collection Abstract
The fourteenth century saw the emergence of a new literary genre in Iceland. The
indigenous riddarasǫgur (chivalric sagas) adapted their setting, themes, and topoi from
European romance literature, seemingly completely superseding those appearing in earlier
Icelandic works. The riddarasǫgur introduced chivalric literature to an environment where it
had no precursor and no social basis, yet it quickly spread and acquired immense popularity
that persisted for centuries. The sudden shift in the interest of saga authors and compilers is
usually explained with the necessity to adjust and reformulate Icelandic identity after the
widescale political and social changes that began in the late thirteenth century.
This thesis uses four of the riddarasǫgur, all belonging to the subgroup known as
meykongr (maiden-king) sagas, to examine the ways European identities were perceived,
received, and adapted in late medieval I