The Performance of Christian and Pagan Storyworlds: Non-Canonical Chapters of the History of Nordic Medieval Literature

Description

The present collection explores a hitherto understudied body of Nordic medieval literature which, although overlooked in traditional, language-based narratives, was in fact crucial in shaping social and religious identities. By drawing on the ‘performance turn’ in cultural studies, the volume identifies a number of minor and peripheral literary forms and texts that had a vital connection to ritual and ritualized speech. These neglected traditions therefore offer an alternative insight into Nordic literary life and the sets of cultural expression, or storyworlds, underlying Nordic culture. The collected studies explore different aspects of verbal performances as a primary vehicle for the Nordic storyworlds, with a preference for the Christian over the pagan traditions. Emphasis is placed on Latin, Old Norse, and Finnish traditions that were retold and reproduced over time. These ‘living’ literary forms highlight the importance of non-canonical texts for the interpretation of contact between the peripheries and centres of Nordic culture. Through the focus on the interaction between Latin and the vernacular, between eastern Baltic and western Latin influences, and between ritual and speech in religious practice, this collection demonstrates the importance of ‘minor’ texts for the re-construction of medieval Nordic culture and history. Front Matter ("Editorial Board", "Title Page", "Copyright Page", "Table of Contents", "Illustrations", "Acknowledgements"), p. i Free Access Introduction: What Is Nordic Medieval Literature?, p. 1 Lars Boje Mortensen, Tuomas M. S. Lehtonen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100750 The Word of God and the Stories of Saints: Medieval Liturgy and its Reception in Norway, p. 45 Åslaug Ommundsen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100751 The Arrival and Development of Latin Literacy on the Edge of Europe: The Case of Medieval Finland, p. 67 Tuomas Heikkilä https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100752 Spoken, Written, and Performed in Latin and Vernacular Cultures from the Middle Ages to the Early Seventeenth Century: Ramus virens oliuarum, p. 109 Tuomas M. S. Lehtonen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100753 Zoroaster, Saturn, and Óðinn: The Loss of Language and the Rise of Idolatry, p. 143 Jonas Wellendorf https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100754 Edda and ‘Oral Christianity’: Apocryphal Leaves of the Early Medieval Storyworld of the North, p. 171 Henrik Janson https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100755 Ethnocultural Knowledge and Mythical Models: The Making of St Olaf, the God of Thunder, and St Elijah during the First Centuries of the Christian Era in the Scandinavian and Baltic Regions, p. 199 Lauri Harvilahti https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100756 The Performative Texts of the Stave Church Homily, p. 223 Aidan Conti https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100757 The Performative Non-Canonicity of the Canonical: Íslendingasǫgur and their Traditional Referentiality, p. 247 Slavica Ranković https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100758 Provider of Prosperity: The Image of St Anne in Finnish and Karelian Folklore, p. 273 Irma-Riitta Järvinen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100759 (Re)Performing the Past: Crusading, History Writing, and Rituals in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, p. 295 Linda Kaljundi https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100760 Two Medieval Ballads on Betrayal and Deception: Interpreting the Story of the First Christian Bishop in Finland through the Story of Judas Iscariot, p. 341 Pertti Anttonen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100761 Female Mourning Songs and Other Lost Oral Poetry in Pre-Christian Nordic Culture, p. 367 Else Mundal https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100762 ‘She was fulfilled, she was filled by it…’: A Karelian Popular Song of St Mary and the Conception of Christ, p. 389 Senni Timonen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MISCS-EB.1.100763 Back Matter ("Index", "Titles in Series"), p. 433