IMC 2012: Sessions
Session 223: Scandinavia and Europe, c. 1050-1250, II: Kings, Crusaders, and Ancestors - Interpretative Models in Medieval Scandinavian Literature
Monday 9 July 2012, 14.15-15.45
Organiser: | Edward Carlsson Browne, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen |
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Moderator/Chair: | Edward Carlsson Browne, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen |
Paper 223-a | An Earl, a Duke, and a Chieftain: Tostig, Skúli, and Snorri (Language: English) Index terms: Genealogy and Prosopography, Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Scandinavian |
Paper 223-b | Orkneyinga Saga and Crusader Historiography in the North (Language: English) Index terms: Crusades, Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Literacy and Orality |
Paper 223-c | Ethics and Kingship in 12th- and 13th-Century Skaldic Verse (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Literacy and Orality, Mentalities |
Abstract | The papers in this session build upon close reading of Norse-Icelandic sagas and verse to elucidate the mental conceptions these works had of important individuals and institutions within their society. Alex Woolf examines the portrayal of Tostig in Heimskringla in light of his probable descent from Snorri's patron Jarl Skúli. Roland Scheel considers narratives of crusading expeditions through the prism of Orkneyinga saga and the Danish chronicle Historia de profectione Danorum in Hierosolymam in an attempt to explain the emergence of a 'crusader conscience' in Scandinavian literature. David Baker looks at the nexus of historical lore and grammatical learning in 12th century skaldic verse and analyses the changing poetic interpretations of traditional narratives concerning legendary heroes. |