Skip to main content

IMC 2019: Sessions

Session 122: Old Norse Myth and Materiality, I: Landscape and Environment

Monday 1 July 2019, 11.15-12.45

Organisers:Pete Sandberg, Institut for Kultur og Samfund, Aarhus Universitet
Declan Taggart, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen
Moderator/Chair:Pete Sandberg, Institut for Kultur og Samfund, Aarhus Universitet
Paper 122-aSeeking the Sea in Old Norse Myth
(Language: English)
Jonas Koesling, School of Humanities, University of Iceland, Reykjavík
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Pagan Religions
Paper 122-bThe Real World of the Old Norse Gods
(Language: English)
Declan Taggart, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Pagan Religions
Abstract

This is the first of two sessions on materiality in Old Norse myth. These sessions examine aspects of the mythological narratives preserved in the literature and material culture of medieval Scandinavia, focusing on the grounding of myth in the encounter with the material world. The first session has a particular focus on the relationship between Old Norse myth, and the material environment and landscape. Through papers examining the apocalyptic dimensions of Icelandic volcanism, personifications and reifications of the sea, and conceptualizations of space in mythic cosmography, this session contributes to discussions of the relationship between human culture and the environment.