318 research outputs found
New Focus on Retrospective Methods. Resuming Methodological Dis-cussions: Case Studies from Northern Europe. Edited by Eldar Heide & Karen Bek-Petersen.
No full textThe present anthology is rooted in collaboration that began at the 14th International Saga Conference in Uppsala in 2009, where Eldar Heide discussed the need for greater methodological awareness in studies dealing with the use of post-medieval material in the study of Old Norse religion and mythology, and also of Old Norse literature and history. This was then followed up by the founding of the Retrospective Methods Network, which started by promoting a conference the following year in cooperation with the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Bergen and has been active since. New Focus on Retrospective Methods is a collection of articles that were originally presented as papers at the conference
Áns saga bogsveigis
No full textABSTRACT
This article argues that the Icelandic legendary saga Áns
saga bogsveigis was written as a complementary Egils
saga with an alternative outcome, one in which it is not
the aggressive tyrant who wins, but the farmers. To achieve this,
the author uses an option that Egill’s family did not have, because
it was humiliating: The hero plays the wretched fool; consequently,
he is not taken seriously, and therefore he can build up power in
secret until he is able to defeat the king. At the same time, Áns
saga seems to be a twist on Þorsteins þáttr bǿjarmagns,
which seems to be a twist on the myth of Þórr’s visit to Útgarða-Loki.
In the myth, the superhumanly strong hero is unexpectedly humiliated,
because his opponent controls what he sees. In Þorsteins
þáttr, the hero turns the tables, because he controls
what his opponent sees. In Áns saga, the herculean
hero chooses to be humiliated, and this is why
he unexpectedly wins
Onderzoek naar de invloed van de baggerspeciestortingen op de slibconcentratie in het groote gat. Deel II: Bijlagen
No full textDit zijn de bijlagen behorende bij het rapport 'Onderzoek naar de invloed van de baggerspeciestortingen op de slibconcentratie in het groote gat, Deel II: Tekst' (Heide & Ploeg, 1992)
The term leizla in Old Norse vision literature – contrasting imported and indigenous genres?
No full textThis article attempts to explain why the Latin genre designation visio, which literally means ‘sight, something seen, vision’, is translated into Old Norse predominantly as leizla, which literally means ‘leading, guiding’ (leið-sla). At thetime, visio, when used as a generic term, most often referred to Christian morally instructive narratives about people who journey to Heaven, Purgatory and Helland about what they see and experience there. Such journeys are undertaken involuntarily by the soul (anima, spiritus) of the person who is experiencing the vision while the body remains behind, lying still and usually lifeless because the person is close to death, dreaming or in some sort of trance. The author suggests that the term leizla was chosen in order to provide a contrast to the pre-existing Norse tradition of similar journeys. This included narratives similar tosuch visions, namely narratives about journeys to the realm of the dead and back again and about journeys undertaken during a trance with only the soul going abroad while the body remains behind. Yet while the Christian visio narratives at the time of the earliest Old Norse translations usually feature a guide, often an angel or a saint, leading the visionary through the otherworld, there is no guide featured in the indigenous Norse narratives; in these, people always travel alone. This difference may be exactly what is indicated by the term leið-sla. The author evaluates this theory in relation to the translation of vision narratives from Latin into other Northern, Eastern and Western European languages during the Middle Ages and concludes that, within the (West) Norse area, visionary narratives of this kind were translated during a period of time when the need for a precisedesignation – leizla, ‘guiding’ – was greater there than in other geographical-linguistic areas
Áns saga bogsveigis – A Counterfactual Egils saga and yet another Twist on the Myth of Þórr’s Visit to Útgarða-Loki
No full textThis article argues that the Icelandic legendary saga Áns saga bogsveigis was written as a complementary Egils saga with an alternative outcome, one in which it is not the aggressive tyrant who wins, but the farmers. To achieve this, the author uses an option that Egill’s family did not have, because it was humiliating: The hero plays the wretched fool; consequently, he is not taken seriously, and therefore he can build up power in secret until he is able to defeat the king. At the same time, Áns saga seems to be a twist on Þorsteins þáttr bǿjarmagns, which seems to be a twist on the myth of Þórr’s visit to Útgarða-Loki. In the myth, the superhumanly strong hero is unexpectedly humiliated, because his opponent controls what he sees. In Þorsteins þáttr, the hero turns the tables, because he controls what his opponent sees. In Áns saga, the herculean hero chooses to be humiliated, and this is why he unexpectedly wins.publishedVersio
Old Icelandic and Sami Ancestor Mountains: A Comparison
No full textFrom thirteenth-century Iceland, we have texts that tell us about a belief in local mountains where people could go after death. In mainland Scandinavia, the eighteenth-century sources for Sami religion tell us about a similar tradition. In this chapter, I will compare these traditions and argue that they overlapped both in content and geographically, and that they constituted a partly shared tradition. I will compare the textual information about the two traditions, and I will compare the relevant places in the context of the surrounding landscapes. In Sami tradition, the places are in a few cases lakes and rivers rather than mountains.publishedVersio
The Trust Game: The influence of Trust on Collaboration in the light of Technological Innovations
No full textAdopting innovations is key for organizations to compete in a complex system, such as the transportation system. In a complex system where social (e.g. organizations) and technical (e.g. information systems) interact with each other, collaboration can be challenging. One of the barriers identified that hampers collaboration is trust. To understand the influence of trust on collaboration, enabled by technological innovations, simulation games in our perspective are a suitable method for our study. First, we introduce the results of a literature study that was carried out to identify related work regarding trust and simulation games. Subsequently, a case from the transport sector is defined to serve as a basis for the trust game. To conclude, we illustrate our simulation gaming approach and discuss the first initial results of a playtest session with the Trust Game.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Policy Analysi
Retrospection of medieval landscape change in mid-Sweden: historical maps analysed using a retrogressive approach
No full textContradictory cosmology in Old Norse myth and religion â but still a system?
No full textThis paper presents a new understanding of the cosmology of pre-Christian Scandinavian myth. The sources appear to give contradictory information; for example, the Ãsir are located in different places: at the centre of the world, in the west, in the east, under the sea, and in the sky; Hel is placed both in the underground and beyond the sea. In recent studies, this has led to the conclusion that there is no system. The author argues that there is, and that we misunderstand the passages to other worlds. The otherworld can be defined as ââ¬Ëthe world beyond what we can access by natural meansââ¬â¢. The starting-point is the realm that is physically accessible to humans, forming a compressed, wide ââ¬Ëbubbleââ¬â¢ around him/her and the local community, since our natural range is very wide in the horizontal plane in all directions, but very short downwards and upwards. Still, people have always imagined that it is possible supernaturally to transcend this ââ¬Ëbubbleââ¬â¢ through certain passages. These passages point in many directions from the middle of the ââ¬Ëbubbleââ¬â¢, but the locations of the passages are not identical to the location(s) of the other world(s), the passages being interchangeable with each other and often lead to the same (kind of) land/place. The other worlds have interfaces with this world and with each other, but have no geographical location in relation to this world or to the others â they are simply ââ¬Ëbeyond the passagesââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëon the other sideââ¬â¢. Accordingly, the fundamental model may be construed as an opposition between ââ¬Ëusââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëthe othersââ¬â¢, with an ever-changing border. This system becomes clear when we examine not only the limited Old Norse sources, but consider them in the light of the abundant folktales and legends recorded in post-medieval times throughout Northern Europe
Jomfruland, Jungfrun, Landegode og Godøya på Sunnmøre – ikkje farlege, men reine og gode?
No full textThis article presents new explanations for the following names: Godøya in Sunnmøre, Western Norway; Jomfruland on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast, Jungfrun in Kalmarsund, Sweden; and Landegode, which has been used about three separate Norwegian islands: the mentioned Jomfruland; Svinøya north of Stad, Western Norway; and Landegode near Bodø, Northern Norway. The traditional explanation is that the three Landegode islands together with Jungfrun are particularly dangerous places within the coastal waters and that the names are placating names that were used in order to appease the powers thought to reside there and let sailors pass without any trouble. However, the claim that these islands are dangerous places does not stand up to scrutiny. What distinguishes them, together with the island of Godøya in Sunnmøre, is quite the contrary: They are natural navigation marks surrounded by clear waters, free of skerries and reefs, so that sailors are able to steer towards them in order to avoid any sub-surface dangers. This must have been invaluable in times before sea charts, compass and more advanced navigational aids. My suggestion therefore is that the name Landegode, ‘the good land’, is to be understood literally: The three Landegode islands are places that are good, in the sense of helpful, for sailors. The name Godøya in Sunnmøre, derived from Guðey ‘god-island’, is, I believe, to be understood in a similar way – the difference being that, here, the easy approach from the sea was considered so useful that it was linked to the gods. Regarding Jomfruland ‘Virgin-Land’ and Jungfrun ‘The Virgin’, my suggestion is that a wordplay is at issue: These islands are either flanked or surrounded by clear waters, which in Norwegian and Swedish is expressed as ‘clean waters’, while virgins were said to be ‘clean’ in former times
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