Origin Legends in Early Medieval Western Europe

Description

"This volume contains work by scholars actively publishing on origin legends across early medieval western Europe, from the fall of Rome to the high Middle Ages. Its thematic structure creates a dialogue between texts and regions traditionally studied in isolation. Part 1 (Regions) introduces the corpus of origin texts from the areas under this volume's purview. Part 2 (Themes) identifies key themes that appear in origin legends and introduces new arguments on a wide range of early medieval material. The chapters in Part 3 (Approaches) conclude the volume by highlighting a range of disciplinary, methodological, and theoretical approaches to origin legends"-- Contents Figures Notes on Contributors 1. Introduction Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Part 1 Regions 2. Origin Legends of Visigothic Spain in Isidore of Seville’s Writings 1 Introduction 2 Isidore’s Origin Story 3 Classical Connections: Getae and Scythians 4 Biblical Connections: Gog, Magog, and Noah 5 Journey from Barbarism to Civilization 6 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 3. Origin Legends in Ireland and Celtic Britain 1 Ulaid Abbreviations Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 4. Origin Legends in Italy in the Early Middle Ages 1 Italian Peoples and Ambiguous Italies 2 Origin Legends of the Romans and the Goths 3 Origin Legends of the Lombards 4 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 5. Origin Stories in the Viking Diaspora—Norway, Iceland, Orkney 1 Introduction 2 How Iceland Was Settled 3 How Norway Was Settled 4 Origins of the Orkney Earls 5 Origins of Origin Stories 6 Historical Contexts of Origin Stories 7 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 6. The Origin Legend of the Goths in the Getica by Jordanes 1 Scandza—Location 2 Scandza—Ethnographical Description 3 Gothic Migration and Its Irreversibility 4 A Story of the Goths Becoming Civilized? Bibliography Primary Sources Translations of Primary Sources Secondary Sources 7. The Early History of Frankish Origin Legends, c.500–800 C.E. Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Part 2 Themes 8. The Legend of Trojan Origins in the Later Middle Ages: Texts and Tapestries 1 Jean de France and the Politics of Tapestry 2 Cultural Meanings of the Trojan War 3 The Origins of Chivalry 4 The Nine Worthies 5 The Grenier Tapestries 6 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 9. Fallen Angels and the Island Paradise Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 10. The New Israel Motif in Early Medieval Origin Legends 1 Frankish History in Old Testament Style 2 The Two Exoduses 3 Sailing to the Promised Land 4 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 11. Out-of-Scandinavia: New Perspectives on Barbarian Identity 1 ‘The North’ 2 Origin Legends 3 Jordanes and the Goths 4 The Dissemination of the ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ Legend 5 Scandinavian Ancestors in Anglo-Saxon Texts 6 Importing Legends to the North 7 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 12. Oral Tradition and Origin Legends 1 What Is Oral Tradition? 2 Example 1: The Origins of the Lombards 3 Example 2: The Trojan Origins of the Franks 4 Conclusions Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Part 3 Approaches 13. Origin Legends and Objects 1 Approaches to Origin Legends and Objects 2 Romulus and Remus 3 Object as Origin Legend: The Horn of Ulf in York Minster 4 Conclusions Bibliography Primary Sources Manuscripts Printed Primary Sources Secondary Sources Online Secondary Sources 14. Historiography and the Invention of British Identity: Troy as an Origin Legend in Medieval 1 The Trojan Origins of Britain 2 Troy and the Origins of the Gaels in Ireland 3 Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 15. Origin Legends and Genealogy Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 16. Myths of the Eastern Origins of the Franks: Fictions or a Kind of Truth? 1 Gregory of Tours 2 Fredegar and the Liber Historiae Francorum 3 Conclusions Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 17. Origines gentium and the Long Shadow of Rome Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 18. Myth, Memory, and the Early History of the Diocese of Tours in Gregory’s Decem libri historiarum 1 The Decem libri as Origo Turonensis 2 The Decem libri as Origo Martini et Gregorii Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources 19. Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index