Supernatural Encounters in Old Norse Literature and Tradition

Description

The Icelandic sagas have long been famous for their alleged realism, and within this conventional view, references to the supernatural have often been treated as anomalies. Yet, as this volume demonstrates, such elements were in fact an important part of Old Norse literature and tradition, and their study can provide new and intriguing insights into the world-view of the medieval Icelanders. By providing an extensive and interdisciplinary treatment of the supernatural within sagas, the eleven chapters presented here seek to explore the literary and folkloric interface between the natural and the supernatural through a study of previously neglected texts (such as "Bergbúa þáttr", Selkollu þáttr, and "Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra"), as well as examining genres that are sometimes overlooked (including "fornaldarsögur" and "biskupa sögur"), law codes, and learned translations. Contributors including Ármann Jakobsson, Margaret Cormack, Jan Ragnar Hagland, and Bengt af Klintberg explore how the supernatural was depicted within saga literature and how it should be understood, as well as questioning the origins of such material and investigating the parallels between saga motifs and broader folkloric beliefs. In doing so, this volume also raises important questions about the established boundaries between different saga genres and challenges the way these texts have traditionally been approached. List of Illustrations vii The Supernatural in Old Norse Literature and Research: An Introduction / Daniel Sävborg and Karen Bek-Pedersen 1 "Bergbúa þáttr": The Story of a Paranormal Encounter / Ármann Jakobsson 15 The Pre-Christian Jól: Not a Cult of the Dead, but the Norse New Year Festival / Bettina Sommer 31 Scandinavian Folklore Parallels to the Narrative about Selkolla in "Guðmundar saga biskups" / Bengt af Klintberg 59 Saints, Seals, and Demons: The Stories of Selkolla / Margaret Cormack 75 The People, the Bishop, and the Beast: Remediation and Reconciliation in Einarr Gilsson's "Selkolluvísur" / Mart Kuldkepp 105 Grettir the Strong and Guðmundr the Good / Marteinn Helgi Sigurðsson 123 From the Inside Out: Chronicles, Genealogies, Monsters, and the Makings of an Icelandic World View / Arngrímur Vídalín 143 The Troll and Old Norwegian-Icelandic Law / Jan Ragnar Hagland 175 Between a Rock and a Soft Place: The Materiality of Old Norse Dwarves and Paranormal Ecologies in "Fornaldarsögur" / Miriam Mayburd 189 The Literary Reuse of Myths in "Þorsteins þáttr bǿjarmagns": A Key Elf Queen Legend and Another Twist on the Twist / Eldar Heide 215 "Flagð undir fögru skinni": The Tricky Transmission of Trollwives in "Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra" / Philip Lavender 239 Index of Personal Names 261