3. Conclusions to Part I As described in the Introduction, the debate about oral tradition and the Icelandic sagas under the opposing labels of ‘freeprose’ and ‘bookprose’ came to a dead-end since the methods and ideas available proved unable to shed new light on the problems. All discussion of oral tradition in ancient times and the oral background to the sagas was based on a) direct information… Read more
4. The Same Characters in More Than One Saga As a literary genre, the sagas of Icelanders (‘Íslendingsögur’) are defined by their geographical setting (Iceland) and their historical setting (from the settlement of the country down to shortly after the conversion in the year 1000). These sagas show considerable internal consistency in matters such as the structure of the society depicted and the ethical values portrayed, the… Read more
Pre-Christian Religions of the North and the Need for Comparativism: Reflections on Why, How, and with What We Can Compare Jens Peter Schjødt, Aarhus University Abstract: This article is concerned with some of the problems we have in attempting to reconstruct the pre-Christian religion of the North from extant sources which are for the most part much later than the beliefs and practices they describe. Read more
Methodological Challenges to the Study of Old Norse Myths: The Orality and Literacy Debate Reframed Pernille Hermann, Aarhus University Abstract: In pointing to a theme of importance for source evaluation, this essay gives an overview of the study of Old Norse myths from the perspective of the orality/literacy debate. It seeks to provide a picture of emerging tendencies and directions in scholarship. Taking off… Read more
Framing the Hero: Medium and Metalepsis in Old Norse Heroic Narrative [1] Kate Heslop, University of California, Berkeley Abstract: This essay argues for a medial perspective on heroic legend. Traditional iconographic approaches to this material are methodologically problematic and their potential for generating new readings seems limited. The essay proposes focusing instead on the primary sources’ own discourse on… Read more
The Æsir and Their Idols Jonas Wellendorf, University of California, Berkeley Abstract: Accounts of the destruction of cult figures are conventional narratives that present a standardized sequence of events, although details may vary from one text to the other. The multitude and longevity of such accounts show that they remained popular through millennia. The standard polemic against cult figures includes lines such as “They… Read more
Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons: Oral Memories of the Religion(s) of the Vanir [1] Terry Gunnell, University of Iceland Abstract: This article focuses on the recurring motifs concerning the peculiarities of the religion of the gods referred to as the Vanir, drawing on a range of Old Norse accounts from different times including Landnámabók, Gísla saga Súrssonar, Hrafnkels… Read more
Volund Was Here: A Myth Archaeologically Anchored in Viking Age Scania Torun Zachrisson, Stockholm University Abstract: A recently discovered object from the Viking Age shows a winged human figure. It has been interpreted as a representation of Volund the smith, and, more specifically, the version of the legend found in Þiðreks saga. The context for the object, the center Uppåkra in Sweden, is compared… Read more
The Temple, the Tree, and the Well: A Topos or Cosmic Symbolism at Cultic Sites in Pre-Christian Northern Europe? Olof Sundqvist, Stockholm University Abstract: Revisiting the sanctuary in Uppsala described by Adam of Bremen in the Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum, this essay finds additional evidence from a comparison with West Slavic materials, and argues that the mythic elements rendered by the cultic site (Valhǫll,… Read more
The Mythic Sun: An Areal Perspective Thomas A. DuBois, University of Wisconsin-Madison Abstract: Old Norse materials regarding the sun present conflicting stories about its identity and nature. These contradictions are examined in light of folk song materials and other evidence from Balto-Finnic, Sámi, and Baltic cultures to investigate to what extent a shared mythic narrative of a female sun (or sun’s daughter) may have… Read more
