Fate

The paper is an attempt to describe the literary system of medieval Iceland on the basis of five principles: genealogy, geography, religion, relation to the supernatural and social status of the protagonists. A subsequent study of several family sagas (Íslendingasögur) will reveal a specific trait distinguishing them from others: their predilection for "ontological uncertainty", i.e. the uncertain religious, supernatural and social status of their protagonists. This is to be understood in relation to what was going on in Icelandic society in the first half of the 13th century, which is when family sagas seem to have appeared. This is a period when the dominant group in society seems to be recomposing itself. On the one hand, a hitherto more or less homogeneous chieftain class is dividing itself into a class of overlords dominating the others: on the other hand, church officials, until then a part of this homogeneous dominant class, define themselves increasingly as a separate group with its own identity, inducing the remaining chieftain class to define itself as laymen. This social redefinition is the main drive behind the appearance of the family sagas. They express the uncertainty that necessarily accompanies such a redefinition.

1998

Based on a literary and historical perspective, this talk will explore what in actuality are the famous “Viking Sagas” in a way that is fitting both for complete newcomers and connoisseurs of Norse culture. The origin of the various subgenera of sagas such as kings’ sagas, legendary sagas and chivalric sagas will all be discussed, alongside the transmission of skaldic poetry, the historicity of saga narratives and much more. In addition, a special focus will be put on the place of supernatural and Heathen motives in this literary tradition and how much faith can modern Pagans and Heathens have in these age-old tales.

2021

The 9 essays collected in this volume are the result of a workshop for international doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in Old Norse-Icelandic Saga Studies held at the Institute for Nordic Philology (LMU) in Munich in December 2018. The contributors focus on ›unwanted‹, illicit, neglected, and marginalised elements in saga literature and research on it. The chapters cover a wide range of intra-textual phenomena, narrative strategies, and understudied aspects of individual texts and subgenres. The analyses demonstrate the importance of deviance and transgression as literary characteristics of saga narration, as well as the discursive parameters that have been dominant in Saga Studies. The aim of this collection is to highlight the productiveness of developing modified methodological approaches to the sagas and their study, with a starting point in narratological considerations. Andreas Schmidt and Daniela Hahn are postdoctoral researchers, reading and teaching Old Icelandic literature from narratological perspectives. Both completed their PhDs in Scandinavian Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. Following Bad Boys and Wicked Women (Münchner Nordistische Studien 27), this is their second co-edited collection of essays.

Mediaevistik: Internationale Zeitschrift für …, 2006

This article focuses on works attributed to Oddr Snorrason and Gunnlaugr Leifsson who were monks at Þingeyrar around the turn of the twelfth century. More specifically, the study examines their learned and creative use of biblical typology and symbolism in relation to King Ólafr Tryggvason and the Swedish Viking Yngvarr viðforli. These figures become especially prominent when the theme of salvation is touched on; this, it is argued, was of considerable importance to the Icelandic aristocratic and intellectual elite in the second half of the twelfth century. This, in turn, may shed light on the active participation of the chieftains Gizurr Hallsson and Jón Loptsson in this early phase of saga writing in Iceland.

Dominican Resonances in Medieval Iceland The Legacy of Bishop Jón Halldórsson of Skálholt, 2021

AUC PHILOLOGICA, Vol 2019 No 3, 2019

Scholars have traditionally viewed the post-classical sagas and þaettir of Icelanders, written between the second half of the 13th century and the early 15th century, as inferior to the classical sagas and þaettir in terms of narrative form and social relevance. In the present study we argue that the post-classical texts show an innovative approach to the concept of narrative space, and that they are reflective of the various narrative modes in a way that allows the narratives to become more varied and multi-layered than the classical sagas. We also argue that the increased use of supernatural motifs is not a sign of disinterest in the social concerns, because such motifs contribute to the conceptualization of the social issues that had changed after the end of the Sturlung Age, but they had not become less significant.

Pacifica Graduate Institute Doctoral Dissertation, 2020

Different cultures have different conceptions of fate but share parallel metaphors for this phenomenon in the personified forms of goddesses (and mythic women) and the non-personified forms of cloth and thread. This study proposes that such common fate- metaphors are archetypal. The archetypal expressions of fate examined in this dissertation include crafters, wielders, and agents of fate—the Weaver, the Foreteller, and the Summoner—as well as material channels of fate, the Thread and the Cloth. The archetypal Weaver is the maker of opportunity. She spins, plies, or weaves fate and sometimes does other textile-related work that closely involves fate—like the Morrigan washing the garments of those doomed to die in battle. The Weaver archetype has two aspects: one weaves harmony, and the other weaves discord. The archetypal Foreteller speaks fate before it comes to pass. She stitches an interwoven image (the foretold phenomenon) into the fabric of life by providing the “vocal woof” to the warp threads of fate. The archetypal Summoner draws someone toward her allotted fate, at times pulling on the thread of fate itself. Summoners regularly take the shape of personal gods, guides (psychopomps), or spirit doubles, but they are not always on such intimate terms with those they summon. The perilous Sirens, for example, summon anyone who chances to hear them. Summoners often appear in myth as shape-shifters. The archetypal Thread essentially connects and represents the most potently fundamental and transformative experiences known to the human condition: birth, death, life, and love. The goddesses of fate craft each fate-thread, usually near the time of birth or conception. The archetypal Cloth symbolizes a complex, creative, and harmonious interweaving of many strands into a single, unified whole—an important metaphor for the fate of individuals, families, and society. Throughout history women have been the primary (often the only) makers of cloth—which is associated with fortune of every kind—thus the Cloth archetype and the fateful power of the Feminine are inextricably bound. KEYWORDS: comparative mythology, archetypal psychology, feminist literary criticism, Irish mythology, Táin Bó Cúailnge, Fedelm, Freyja, seiðr, Darraðarljóð, wool-work