IMC 2017: Sessions
Session 1043: Lies and Liars in the Middle Ages: Perceptions and Punishments
Wednesday 5 July 2017, 09.00-10.30
| Organiser: | Ole-Albert Rønning, Institutt for Arkeologi, Bevaring og Historie, Universitetet i Oslo |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Ragnhild Marthine Bø, Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og historie, Universitetet i Oslo |
| Paper 1043-a | What Makes a Liar: Half-Truths and How to Get Away with Them in Old Norse Saga Literature (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Mentalities |
| Paper 1043-b | Pants on Fire: Sanctions and Consequences of Perjury in Medieval Norwegian Law (Language: English) Index terms: Canon Law, Law, Mentalities, Social History |
| Paper 1043-c | Pretentions and Proofs: Dubious Claims of Kingship in High Medieval Norway (Language: English) Index terms: Political Thought, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Abstract | In a society that was built on face-to-face communication and trust, the liar was dangerous. They could be a political threat, ridiculing the powerful, and a spiritual menace, whose sacrilege brought on the wrath of God. But what makes a liar? What, in the medieval context, determined whether a statement or practice was considered untrue? This session aims to approach the issue of how medieval society dealt with the problem of lies and liars, how it constructed them and reacted to them, in the realms of politics, religion, literature, and law. |