Scandinavian-Canadian Studies/Études Scandinaves au Canada
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Völur and Seiðr: How Pre-Christian Shamanistic Practices Gave Viking-Age Women Agency
Get PDFThe Viking-Age was a patriarchal time when men dominated the social and political world. However, due to the shamanistic practice of seiðr, women of this time had access to unique roles as spiritual leaders. This essay discusses the impact seiðr had on Viking-Age women’s agency and self-empowerment. Seiðr has close ties to textile arts, with seiðr rituals taking influence from repetitive spinning and weaving circles. The relationship between seiðr and textile art is seen throughout Norse mythology, and women who practice seiðr (called völur) are agential characters throughout many Icelandic sagas, most notably Thorbjörg from Eirik the Red’s Saga and Gunnhildr in Njal’s Saga. The rise of Christianity in Scandinavia and its subsequent anti-witchcraft laws soon led to the dissipation of seiðr
The Saga of Ambrosius and Rosamunda: A Parallel Translation of the Oldest Icelandic Version in AM 576 b 4to
Get PDFThis article presents the first English translation of any version of Ambrósíus saga og Rósamunda, an Icelandic romance preserved in 20 manuscripts, the oldest being an abridged version of the narrative in AM 576 b 4to (c. 1700). This translation is of this abridged and oldest witness of the romance, accompanied by an edition of the Icelandic text. The romance is about the young merchant Ambrosius, his bride Rosamunda, his friend Marsilius, and includes an example of the pound of flesh motif that circulated widely in pre-modern European literature. The romance was likely translated into Icelandic from a Danish chapbook in the later seventeenth century: AM 576 b 4to, summarized from a now lost manuscript, contains a note to that effect
Mythological Allusion in the Late Verse of Egill Skallagrímsson
Get PDFThe essay examines Egill Skallagrímsson’s renunciation of his veneration of Óðinn, the god of war and poetry, in the poem Sonatorrek. References to this patron and to the whole corpus of early Scandinavian mythology almost entirely disappear from the verse Egill composed over the last decades of his life. The events and emotional state that prompted this decision and the procedure by which it was effected is examined in detail.Cet article examine le renoncement d’Egill Skallagrímsson à sa vénération d’Óðinn, dieu de la guerre et de la poésie, dans le poème Sonatorrek. Les références à ce patron et à l’ensemble du corpus de la mythologie scandinave précoce disparaissent presque entièrement des vers composés par Egill au cours des dernières décennies de sa vie. Les événements et l’état émotionnel qui ont motivé cette décision, ainsi que la procédure par laquelle elle a été mise en œuvre, sont examinés en détail
Joel D. Anderson. Reimagining Christendom: Writing Iceland’s Bishops into the Roman Church 1200-1350.
No full textTwo Sagas from New Iceland: Reference and Allusion in Gimli Saga and Icelandic River Saga
Get PDFWhen Manitoba’s Icelandic settler community composed its local history books two of the titles included the term saga: Gimli Saga (1975), authored by The Gimli Women’s Institute, and Icelandic River Saga (1985), authored by local historian Nelson Gerrard. By using the term saga, these local histories are set within and evoke an extended Icelandic historiographical tradition. This article introduces the Icelandic saga as a literary form and surveys the history and practice of local history writing, focusing particularly on the genre’s significance in Canada. The central argument draws on a comparison between select episodes from the so-called Vínland sagas (Grœnlendinga saga and Eiríks saga rauða) with scenes from Gimli Saga and Icelandic River Saga, the latter selected for their apparent textual references and allusions to the aforementioned medieval sagas
Pulmonic Ingressive Speech in Icelandic
Get PDFPulmonic ingressive speech – utterances spoken on the in-breath – is a common feature of many languages including Icelandic. This paper presents findings from a survey-based study on the use of ingressive speech in Icelandic. The research was conducted in Iceland and Icelandic-speaking communities in North America. The study confirms our first hypothesis—that ingressive speech in Icelandic is used primarily by women. Our second hypothesis – that it is on the wane – was confirmed by the North American respondents, but results from Iceland were mixed. Our third hypothesis – that ingressive speech is non-existent in North American Icelandic was not confirmed. The article concludes with a comparison of our findings with scholarship on ingressive speech in the North Atlantic/Baltic Zone.La parole ingressive pulmonaire - les énoncés prononcés à l\u27inspiration - est une caractéristique commune à de nombreuses langues, y compris l\u27islandais. Cet article présente les résultats d\u27une étude sur l’usage de la parole ingressive en islandais. L’étude a été menée en Islande et dans les communautés islandophones en Amérique du Nord. Les résultats de l\u27enquête confirment notre première hypothèse que la parole ingressive est principalement utilisée par les femmes. Notre deuxième hypothèse, que son usage se diminue, a été confirmée par les répondants nord-américains, tandis que les résultats de l’Islande sont variés. Notre troisième hypothèse, soit que la parole ingressive n’existe pas en islandais d\u27Amérique du Nord, n\u27a pas été confirmée. L\u27article se termine par une comparaison de nos résultats avec les études sur la parole ingressive dans la zone de l\u27Atlantique Nord et de la Baltique
