IMC 2015: Sessions

Session 542: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Early Scandinavia, I

Tuesday 7 July 2015, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:	Viking Society for Northern Research
Organiser:	Hannah Burrows, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen
Moderator/Chair:	Hannah Burrows, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen
Paper 542-a	Horns of War (Language: English) Hilde Nielsen, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Music, Pagan Religions
Paper 542-b	Often Contradictory, Usually Coherent: The Role of Genre in Representations of Þórr (Language: English) Declan Taggart, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Pagan Religions, Social History
Paper 542-c	Evidence of the Presence of a Scandinavian Military Elite in Grobin from the 7th-9th Century (Language: English) Artis Āboltiņš, Independent Scholar, Riga Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Daily Life
Abstract	This session offers a range of new approaches to medieval Scandinavian studies. Hilde Nielsen presents new theories about the musical horn. In light of recent finds of Iron Age wooden horns, she discusses the significance of the horn in warfare, and its reverberations in Viking Age mythology. Declan Taggart applies recent findings in cognitive science to a case study of Þórr, demonstrating how different genres contribute to a sometimes contradictory picture of Þórr's religious function and mythological characterisation. Artis Āboltiņs will consider evidence for the presence of a military elite in Grobin in the 7th-9th centuries.