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IMC 2015: Sessions

Session 1142: Scandinavian History in the Viking and Middle Ages, IV: Aspects of Saga

Wednesday 8 July 2015, 11.15-12.45

Organisers:Edward Carlsson Browne, Independent Scholar, Cambridge
Paul Gazzoli, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Moderator/Chair:Paul Gazzoli, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Paper 1142-aMetamorphosis and Social Metaphor in Medieval Scandinavia
(Language: English)
Gwendolyne Knight, Historiska institutionen, Stockholms Universitet
Index terms: Anthropology, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Social History
Paper 1142-bRemoulding and Recycling: How to Build Your Own Jómsvíkinga saga
(Language: English)
Michael Irlenbusch-Reynard, Abteilung für Skandinavische Sprachen und Literaturen, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Medievalism and Antiquarianism
Paper 1142-cSturlunga saga and Lay Piety in 13th-Century Iceland
(Language: English)
Haki Antonsson, Department of Scandinavian Studies, University College London
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Lay Piety
Abstract

The first paper explores the use of metamorphosis as a social metaphor in not only literature, but also natural philosophy and theology. As a corollary, it discusses the use of literature as a historical source within the broader project. The second considers the German reception of Jómsvíkinga saga and examines how editors and retellers sought to amend certain flaws in the original plot, commenting on the various degrees and methods of intrusion applied in order to achieve a streamlined object of exploitation. The third will examine the presentation of lay piety in Sturlunga saga, in particular on how the ritual of penance is presented and functions in the sagas of this compilatory text.