IMC 2019: Sessions

Session 1525: Mental and Material: Building World(s) in the Medieval North, I - Worlds of Literature

Thursday 4 July 2019, 09.00-10.30

Organiser:	Rebecca Merkelbach, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Moderator/Chair:	Rachel Evans, School of English, University of Leicester
Paper 1525-a	Tales from the Perilous Realm?: Exploring the World(s) of the 'Post-Classical' Sagas of Icelanders (Language: English) Rebecca Merkelbach, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Mentalities
Paper 1525-b	The Mental and the Mound: The Narrative Role of Imagined Burial Mounds in the Post-Classical Íslendingasögur (Language: English) Basil Price, Department of English, Arizona State University Index terms: Anthropology, Language and Literature - Scandinavian
Paper 1525-c	Old Age as Disability in Old Norse Sagas? (Language: English) Anna Katharina Heiniger, Faculty of Icelandic & Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Iceland, Reykjavík Index terms: Daily Life, Language and Literature - Scandinavian
Abstract	The concept of worldbuilding, and the related idea of story-worlds - originally derived from the creation and study of the imaginary worlds of fantasy literature - have been influential tools in the analysis of narrative worlds across literatures. This series of sessions aims to apply these tools to the worlds of the medieval north. Employing an interdisciplinary focus that includes but ultimately goes beyond narrative worlds, they investigate how medieval Scandinavian worlds were built in history, archaeology, and material culture. This first session introduces the concept of worldbuilding and explores different aspects of the way it can be applied to the Íslendingasögur by focusing on non-canonical texts and new theoretical approaches.