IMC 2013: Sessions

Session 318: The Pleasure of Violence: Positive Depictions of Violence in Medieval Texts

Organiser:	Christine Voth, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Moderator/Chair:	Christine Voth, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Paper 318-a	Pleasure versus Necessity: Reasons for Fighting the Undead in the Sagas of Icelanders (Language: English) Rebecca Merkelbach, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Mentalities
Paper 318-b	Violence-Motivated Far-Travel: The Case of Auður Djúpauðga (Language: English) Sofie Vanherpen, Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, Universiteit Gent Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Mentalities
Paper 318-c	The Legend of Fáfnir in Old Norse Skaldic Verse: Or, Should We Always Let Sleeping Dragons Lie? (Language: English) David Baker, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian
Abstract	Medieval texts and images are full of explicit, sometimes even enthusiastic depictions of violence. Inspired by these depictions, this session asks if the exertion of violence was linked to the experience of pleasure. If so, was this combination considered a taboo or was it approved practice? In this session, the three papers examine Icelandic and Old Norse sources to explore on how pleasure and violence coexist in different ways.