| Abstract | Paper -a:
Frequently overlooked as the product of convention and assumptions of undefined spaces and places, the topography and movement through these topographical places plays a central role in identity formation in the Old Norse romance. Physically but also mentally challenging heroes, landscape is used as contested space and concept to form chivalric values and determine the development of the protagonists' identity. As heroes wander lost through diverse landscape of the Old Norse romance, this imaginary topography becomes a site of exploration and self-definition as heroes negotiate the terrain of the landscape and social or political challenges they are engaged in.
Paper -b:
Medieval depictions of forest hermits tend to emphasize their status as exiles living beyond the realm of normal human institutions, as agents occupying the breach that connects civilized human society with wild nature and extreme religion. This paper explores how medieval literary depictions of forest hermits also emphasize the hermit's ambiguous role as a user, and sometimes protector, of forest resources. The paper examines how this theme traces to a well-established hagiographic tradition whereby hermit-saints might be miraculously succored, but also how it relates to the hermit's role as hands-on exploiter of the forest landscape.
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