Scandia Journal of Medieval Norse Studies

MYTHOLOGY AND PRE-CHRISTIAN NORSE RELIGIONS: AN INTERVIEW WITH TERRY A. GUNNELL

2023-11-15T09:10:58-03:00

A NEW AND IN-DEPTH ANTHOLOGY ON THE FEMALE RITUAL SPECIALISTS OF THE VIKING AGE: THE NORSE SORCERESS (GARDELA; BØNDING; PENTZ)

2023-11-14T09:43:35-03:00

FROM REFORMATION TO THE WELFARE STATE: SCANDINAVIA SINCE 1500 (B. NORDSTROM)

2023-10-03T16:25:59-03:00

VIKINGS IN NORTH AMERICA: AMERICAN VIKINGS (M. WHITTOCK)

2023-09-06T13:22:59-03:00

Review

UM NOVO PARADIGMA: THE MYTHS AND REALITIES OF THE VIKING BERSERKR (R. DALE)

2023-11-15T10:50:51-03:00

This work briefly analyzes Roderick Dale's most recent work, The myths and realities of the Viking Berserkir.

O PAGANISMO NÓRDICO NO BRASIL: DEUS PARA MIM É ODIN (S. TSUGAMI)

2023-04-21T12:22:20-03:00

A MULHER NÓRDICA EM FOCO: O MITO DA MULHER GUERREIRA (L. CAMPOS)

2023-10-10T16:50:35-03:00

UMA NOVA VISÃO DOS SÁMIS: LAPPONIA (V. MENINI)

2023-11-14T09:44:26-03:00

ESTUDANDO AS CRENÇAS PRÉ-CRISTÃS: AS RELIGIÕES NÓRDICAS DA ERA VIKING (J. LANGER)

2023-08-27T19:04:11-03:00

“OK HUGÐA EK ÞAT ARGS AÞAL!”: QUEERNESS IN OLD NORSE SOCIETY AND MYTHS

2023-08-23T15:17:08-03:00

The Æsir, the gods of the Norse myths, are not a cis-heterosexual monolith, despite the traditional interpretations of the myths. Over the past thirty years scholars have exposed or teased out the queerness within the pantheon and the myths. I use a queer theoretical framework to interpret the gods’ actions and characters and to locate them within a queer context. I then show how their transgender elements belong to a tradition of transgender deities which began among the people of the Corded Ware Culture (ca. 2,800 B.C.E.). I turn to the specific cultural influences of the Germanic tribes which influenced Norse society in their regard of queer and transgender behavior and individuals. After discussing some of the anticipated objections to my arguments, I then demonstrate how several of the major gods of the Norse pantheon are either queer, transgender, or both.

TRADUIRE L’EDDA: LES TRADUCTIONS DE L’EDDA POÉTIQUE EN LANGUE FRANÇAISE; MÉTHODES, PRATIQUES ET LIMITATIONS

2023-07-31T17:18:25-03:00

This article is an in-depth study of the characteristics of the translation of the Poetic Edda in the French language from the eighteenth century to the present day. In a context where the reception of Norse myths and their influence upon popular culture has become a fully fledged field of study, it is judicious to investigate the translation process of the eddic poems as well as their impact. If this topic has already been addressed abroad (i.e. not in France), there exist so far no similar studies in the French language. This article will therefore approach this topic in an exhaustive and systematic fashion. I will begin by presenting the translations, their authors, their sources, as well as their influences within their own historical contexts, all the while comparing them to a control group consisting of English-language translations of the Poetic Edda. During this process, the main characteristics of eddic translation such as the adaptation of heiti and kenningar, the eventual inclusion of notes, and the arrangement of the poems will be examined. This article will then be rounded off with a synthesis displaying the characteristics and accomplishments of close to three centuries of eddic translations in the French language, before asking the question of what future translations could bring to the field.

MOVILIDAD, COMUNIDAD Y CONTACTO CULTURAL: ROLES Y PARTICIPACIÓN DE LAS MUJERES EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN, REPRODUCCIÓN Y TRANSMISIÓN DE LA IDENTIDAD DIASPÓRICA VIKINGA

2023-07-30T18:29:37-03:00

The migrations of Scandinavian peoples that took place from the 8th century onwards formed a diaspora whose settlements extended from the Volga to the island of Newfoundland. As a diasporic group, these populations shared the same origin and common cultural elements, as well as a notion of belonging to a transterritorial human community. But this identity was not based solely on the fact of the Scandinavian provenance: it had to be constantly reaffirmed and transmitted from generation to generation. This article explores women’s participation in the construction and maintenance of this diasporic identity as a social and cultural strategy, especially in those spaces where other ethnic groups coexisted.

STORSJÖODJURET: UNA SOLUCIÓN AL ENIGMA DE LA SERPIENTE-MONSTRUO DEL LAGO STORSJÖN, EN JAMTLUND (SUÉCIA)

2023-01-31T12:08:10-03:00

There is the traditional belief that in the lake Storsjön (Sweden), exists and appears a giant snake. This belief began a few centuries earlier and is related to the Frösö Runestone, which has a snake engraved, like many other runestones. The people around Lake Storsjön, who did not understand the runes and did not know what the serpent carved into the stone was, misunderstood what it meant and forged a legend that ended up being taken for granted.

O CORPO (IM)PENETRÁVEL: MAGIA E IMAGEM HEGEMÔNICA DO CORPO NA ESCANDINÁVIA MEDIEVAL

2023-04-25T19:35:03-03:00

Studies regarding how the body was understood in Medieval Scandinavia’s cultural milieu are still scarce. Assuming that a socially constructed and hegemonic model of bodily image circulates in societies offering a frame of reference within which the body is understood, we aim to point out how the hegemonic model concerning the body in Medieval Scandinavia was perceived in terms of (im)penetrability. Considering we are investigating a Pre-Modern society, we must also pay attention to the relationship between magic and the conception of the body, demonstrating how magic ends up reinforcing the hegemonic image of the body and also organizing the way that the different forces and agents impact its physical limits, whether supernatural or not.

NAS GARRAS DAS SERPENTES: UM ESTUDO ICONOLÓGICO DA PEDRA RÚNICA U 629

2023-08-28T08:31:00-03:00

This paper aimed to analyze the symbolism of the snake found in the runestone U 629, located in Sweden. In this monument is the intriguing representation of two snakes holding people by the heads. Although the image of snakes is common in runestones, the example of U 629 is unique in that it shows this context. Therefore, we carried out a study of symbolism to try to understand what that image could have meant. We used the archaeological method of Bahn and Renfrew (2012) and scholars of Symbology. In the end, we arrived at four hypotheses about it.

CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE A RECEPÇÃO DOS NORMANDOS NO ROMANTISMO FRANCÊS (SÉCULO XIX)

2023-08-01T03:05:01-03:00

O presente artigo tem como objetivo discutir brevemente a recepção dos normandos em meio a intelectualidade francesa, no contexto da origem do mito das nações. Para isso, será realizado um exame a respeito de alguns autores que abordaram a temática ao longo dos séculos XVIII e XIX, articulando as diferentes matrizes teóricas e metodológicas aos problemas que cada grupo possuía, inseridos em suas temporalidades. O foco central será a análise de algumas obras selecionadas de autores como François Guizot, Augustin Thierry e Jules Michelet, cuja relevância política e cultural para o período pode ser verificada através do exame historiográfico e do papel que os dois primeiros desempenharam na política francesa. Além disso, para que as discussões possuam sentido, farei uma breve análise da forma como essa elite letrada tratou os normandos ao longo das duas metades do século XVIII e no período da Restauração.

EDITORIAL NOTE

2023-11-14T08:28:36-03:00

Cover image: Thyre Dannebod grundlægger Dannevirke (Thyra Dannebod establishes the Danevirke), Lorenz Frølich, 1855. Color illustration for the fourth edition of the 1914 book Illustreret Danmarkshistorie for Folket (Illustrated history of Denmark for the people, original black and white).

In 2023, Queen Thyra once again became the focal point of Viking Age researchers. An ongoing interdisciplinary investigation has unveiled several novel insights into the renowned queen, particularly in relation to the Jelling II runestone (DR 42, 10th century AD) and other runestones. Runologist Lisbeth Imer, in collaboration with archaeologists Kitzler Åhfeldt and Henrik Zedig, employed 3D typology research to ascertain that the master carver of the Jelling runestones, as well as those from Læborg and Bække in southern Jutland, was Ravnunge-Tue. The identification of the individual responsible for the inscriptions was achieved through a comparative analysis of the shape, depth, and language of various runestones. Additionally, the presence of the name "Thyra" in the latter two runestones solidified her identity as the wife of King Gorm, the father of Harald Bluetooth—the inaugural unifier and principal Christianizer of Denmark. These research findings were officially published in October 2023 (Imer; Åhfeldt; Zedig, 2023, pp. 1262-1278).