Myths and magic in the medieval Far North : realities and representations of a region on the edge of Europe / edited by Stefan Figenschow, Richard Holt and Miriam Tveit.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Figenschow, Stefan, editor.

Holt, Richard, 1948 June 22- editor.

Tveit, Miriam, editor.

Series:

Acta Scandinavica ; v. 10.

Acta Scandinavica, 2466-586X ; volume 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Manners and customs.

Folklore.

Norway, Northern--Folklore.

Norway, Northern.

Norway, Northern--Social life and customs.

Norway, Northern--Religious life and customs.

Norway--History--To 1030.

Norway.

History.

Norway--History--1030-1397.

Northern Norway.

Folklore and history.

Genre:

Folklore.

History.

Physical Description:

280 pages : 8 illustrations (chiefly color), 2 color maps ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2020]

Summary:

"The history of the Far North is tinged by dark fantasies. A remote location, harsh climate, a boundless and often mountainous wasteland, complex ethnic composition, and strange ways of life: all contributed to how the edge of Europe was misunderstood by outsiders. Since ancient times, the North has been considered as a place that exuded evil: it was the end of the world, the abode of monsters and supernatural beings, of magicians and sorcerers. It was Europe's last bastion of recalcitrant paganism. Many weird tales of the North even came from within the region itself, and when newly literate Scandinavians began to re-work their oral traditions into written form after 1100 AD, these myths of their past underlay newer legends and stories serving to support the development to Christian national monarchies. The essays in this volume engage closely with these stories, questioning how and why such traditions developed, and exploring their meaning. Through this approach, the volume also examines how historiographical traditions were shaped by authors pursuing agendas of nation-building and Christianization, at the same time that myths surrounding and originating among the multi-ethnic populations of the Far North continued to dominate the perception of the region and its people, and to define their place in Norwegian medieval history"-- Back cover

Contents:

Introduction : myths and magic in the medieval Far North / Stefan Figenschow, Richard Holt, Miriam Tveit

Bearded women and sea monsters : European representations of the Far North in the Early and High Middle Ages / Miriam Tveit

Myth, magic, and rituals in the Nordic world

On the view of 'the other'

abroad and at home : the geography and peoples of the Far North, according to Historia Norwegie / Lars Ivar Hansen

The ice giant cometh : the Far North in the old Norse-Icelandic sagas / Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough

Fishermen in trouble

Grímnismál and Elf Islands in northern Norway / Petter Snekkestad

Sámi myths and medieval heritage / Marte Spangen

'I hurl the spirits of Gandul'. pleasure, jealousy, and magic : the witchcraft trial of Ragnhild Tregagaas in 1325 / Rune Blix Hagen

The meaning of ale : understanding political conflicts in the north in light of cultural practice / Karoline Kjesrud

Myths and representations in the political consolidation of the north

The origins of political organization in the high north : a study of the historical and material remains of Finnmǫrk, Hálogaland, and the mythical O̜mð / Yassin Nyang Karoliussen

Norwegian or northern : the construction and mythography of Háleygr identity, c. 800-1050 / Ben Allport

The formation of a Norwegian kingdom : a northern counter-narrative? / Richard Holt

Approaches to mythologized 'others' in Norwegian expansion to the north / Stefan Figenschow

Index of people and places

General index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Other Format:

e-book version

ISBN:

9782503588230

2503588239

OCLC:

1237549618

Publisher Number:

9782503588230