(From article introduction): In a 2005 article, Ármann Jakobsson discusses the “Nasty Old Men” of the sagas, and tries to understand why some of them contend with their sons. Ármann turns to the Kronos myth in which t... more abstract(From article introduction): In a 2005 article, Ármann Jakobsson discusses the “Nasty Old Men” of the sagas, and tries to understand why some of them contend with their sons. Ármann turns to the Kronos myth in which the father devours his sons out of fear that they will usurp his power, and explains how viewing father-son relations in light of this myth can enlighten us about the family dynamics and the father’s behavior in certain sagas. Interestingly, Ármann spares Njáll the classification as a “Nasty Old Man” type. He argues that Njáll is an example of a virtuous old man who prefers to die rather than to avenge his sons, peacefully accepting his role in society (Ármann Jakobsson 2005, 305). Upon closer examination, the saga reveals quite a different picture of Njáll in his old age—one that fits the paradigm first presented by Ármann. It is generally accepted that by killing Hǫskuldr, the sons of Njáll bring their deaths upon themselves. This can be seen as a first attempt at individuation or assertion of self by the sons. However, they do not follow through with this “rebellion” until completing the process of individuation—that is, becoming an individual of their own and separating from their father—and thus expose themselves to Njáll’s wrath and punishment. It will be argued that although Skarphéðinn offers resistance to his father in certain scenes in the saga, he fails to fully accomplish this rebellion because he is too weak in face of Njáll’s omnipotence. It will also be shown how Njáll and his family fit the paradigm of a family run by a tyrannical father. An explanation will be supplied to reconcile Njáll’s actions with his positive portrayal in the saga.

Medieval Literature, Old Norse Literature, Family, Medieval Scandinavia, Icelandic Family Sagas, and 6 more

Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: Scandinavian Studies

"Medieval Icelandic gender and sexuality have been a constant source of scholarly debate since the late 20th century, with Preben Meulengracht Sørensen and Carol J. Clover elucidating the volatile nature of Old Norse ... more abstract"Medieval Icelandic gender and sexuality have been a constant source of scholarly debate since the late 20th century, with Preben Meulengracht Sørensen and Carol J. Clover elucidating the volatile nature of Old Norse masculinity. Medieval explanations for sex difference have also been a source of much debate in this period, Thomas W. Laqueur’s controversial and popular one-sex model complemented by Joan Cadden’s more heterogeneous treatment of the issue. This thesis provides an extensive interpretation of Guðmundr inn ríki’s portrayal in Ljósvetninga saga. Guðmundr, a powerful goði living in the late 10th and early 11th century, was subjected to sexual insults by his rivals Þorkell hákr and Þórir goði Helgason. These sexual insults described him as effeminate and cowardly, and the thesis shows that the Ljósvetninga saga text follows suit with these slurs. Guðmundr’s description is tied with medieval medical perceptions of sex difference, and with gender perceptions prevalent in medieval Iceland. It is argued that these are not so distant as sometimes suggested, supported by Lars Lönnroth’s study of Latin scholarship’s influence on Íslendingasögur character descriptions. Keywords: argr, níð, homosexuality, sodomy, sex difference, gender, medieval sexuality, medieval medicine, medieval Iceland, Ljósvetninga saga, Guðmundr inn ríki Kyn og kynhneigð á Íslandi á miðöldum hafa verið mjög til umræðu meðal fræðimanna á seinustu áratugum frá því að meðal annars Preben Meulengracht Sørensen og Carol J. Clover drógu fram hið óvissa eðli fornnorrænnar karlmennsku. Hugmyndir miðaldamanna um kyn hafa verið mjög til umfjöllunar á þessu tímabili, einkum hið umdeilda en vinsæla „eins–kyns-líkan“ eftir Thomas W. Laqueur og rækilegri og vandaðri umfjöllun Joan Caddens um málið. Þessi ritgerð felur í sér rækilega túlkun á ímynd Guðmundar ríka í Ljósvetninga sögu. Guðmundur var öflugur goði sem var uppi undir lok 10. aldar og snemma á 11. öld og var níddur af keppinautum sínum, þeim Þorkatli háka og Þóri goða Helgasyni. Í níðinu fólst að stimpla hann sem kvenlegan og ragan og í þessari ritgerð er sýnt fram á að texti Ljósvetninga sögu dregur fram þessa svívirðingu. Lýsingu Guðmundar má túlka út frá læknisfræðilegum miðaldahugmyndum um kynferðamun sem hafi verið ríkjandi á Íslandi á þessum tíma. Því er haldið fram að það sé ekki langsótt að gera ráð fyrir slíkum áhrifum, og rökfærslan styðst við rannsókn Lars Lönnroths á áhrifum latnesks lærdóms á mannlýsingum í Íslendingasögum. Lykilorð: argr, níð, samkynhneigð, sódómska, kynferða munur, Kynhneigð á miðöldum, læknisfræði á miðöldum, Ísland á miðöldum, Ljósvetninga saga, Guðmundr inn ríki סוגיות במחקר מיניות ומגדר באיסלנד של ימי-הביניים היו מקור לדיונים רבים מאז סוף המאה ה-20, כאשר פרבן מולנגרט סורנסן וקרול ג'יי קלובר ביארו את טבעה הבלתי-יציב של הגבריות הנורדית העתיקה. הסברים ימי-ביניימיים להבדלים בין המינים הפכו גם הם למוקד של דיונים רבים בתקופה זו, מחקרה הרבגוני יותר של ג'ואן קאדן משלים את מחקרו המפורסם אך שנוי במחלוקת של תומאס ו. לאקור בנושא. תזה זו מספקת פרשנות מקיפה לעיצוב דמותו של גוד'מונדר אין ריקי ('החזק' או 'בעל הכוח') בסאגת ליוסווטנינגה. גוד'מונדר, מנהיג רב-השפעה שחי בסוף המאה העשירית ובתחילת המאה האחת-עשרה, היה קורבן להכפשות מיניות בידי יריביו ת'ורקל האוקור ('החצוף') ות'וריר גוד'י הלגאסון. הכפשות אלו מתארות אותו כנשי ופחדן, ותזה זו מראה כי הטקסט של סאגת ליוסווטנינגה תומך בהשמצות אף הוא. תיאורו של גוד'מונדר כרוך בתפישות של הבדלים בין המינים שרווחו בשיח הרפואי הימי-הביניימי, וכן בתפישות מגדר שרווחו באיסלנד הימיביניימית. התזה טוענת כי המרחק בין אלו אינו גדול כפי שלעתים גורסים, טענה הנתמכת בחקרו של לארס לונרות' על השפעת השיח בלטינית על תיאורי דמויות בסאגות של האיסלנדים. מילות מפתח: ארגר, ניד', הומוסקסואליות, מעשה סדום, הבדלים בין המינים, מגדר, מיניות ימי-ביניימית, רפואה ימי-ביניימית, ליוסווטנינגה סאגה, גוד'מונדר אין ריקי"

Old Norse Literature, Gender and Sexuality, Medieval sexuality, Icelandic Family Sagas, Medieval Icelandic Literature, and 5 more

More Info: 2014 MA Thesis in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies program at Háskóli Íslands

Sneglu-Halla þáttr” and “Hreiðars þáttr” of the Old Icelandic Kings’ saga compilation Morkinskinna (13th century) both feature protagonists who function as a fool in the courtly society; Sneglu-Halli through his audac... more abstractSneglu-Halla þáttr” and “Hreiðars þáttr” of the Old Icelandic Kings’ saga compilation Morkinskinna (13th century) both feature protagonists who function as a fool in the courtly society; Sneglu-Halli through his audacious behavior and Hreiðarr through his provincial mannerism. Most scholarly attention on these characters has been put on their function in the text and reflection of the Icelander’s role in the Norwegian court. This paper offers an analysis of these two characters in light of the medieval fool, and will examine the latter as an agent of cultural memory.

Medieval Literature, Cultural Memory, Collective Memory, Medieval Icelandic Literature, Old Norse literature and culture, and 1 more

Location: Leeds International Medieval Congress

Event Date: Jul 8, 2015

An Icelandic father lays a feminine piece of cloth on a pile of compensation money, thus forcing the offended party to continue a feud and placing his sons in danger. He later on uses guilt and weak logic to sway his ... more abstractAn Icelandic father lays a feminine piece of cloth on a pile of compensation money, thus forcing the offended party to continue a feud and placing his sons in danger. He later on uses guilt and weak logic to sway his sons from fighting their assailers, thus dooming them to certain death. The logical reading for these actions is that the father is, whether consciously or subconsciously, aiming for his sons' deaths. But readers of Njáls saga have generally either not considered or avoided such an interpretation, explaining away Njáll's actions as lack of foresight. Surprisingly enough, the scholar who had come the closest to an unfavorable interpretation of Njáll's actions was Einar Ól. Sveinsson, although he used these to show the protagonist's Christian spirit rather than murderous motives. In this paper I present a psychoanalytic interpretation of the above mentioned two crucial scenes. By applying Ármann Jakobsson's "Nasty Old Man" type in the Íslendingasögur on Njáll, I show that it was not a failing of his predictive powers that spawned these destructive actions but rather a result of key aspects in his personality and the relationship between the members of his family. In his last days, "Old Beardless" did not lose the will to fight; it is simply the choice of his adversaries that will surprise the reader.

Parent Child Relationships, Icelandic Sagas, Íslendingasögur, and Njáls saga

Location: The 3rd annual Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North

Event Date: Apr 13, 2013

Contemporary and modern readers (and listeners) of Ljósvetninga saga would be hard-pressed to ignore the problematic sexuality which Guðmundr inn ríki represents. The jokes about his masculinity, the slurs directed a... more abstractContemporary and modern readers (and listeners) of Ljósvetninga saga would be hard-pressed to ignore the problematic sexuality which Guðmundr inn ríki represents. The jokes about his masculinity, the slurs directed at him by his enemies and the rumors of his hot-pot encounters with his cowardly friend Rindill all add up to a very consistent and interesting character. While Gísli Sigurðsson and Theodore M. Andersson have both looked at the various aspects of Guðmundr's sexuality, they have done so briefly, and mostly in order to explain political and oral aspects in the saga, rather than placing them in the context of the discussion of gender and sexuality in Old Norse society. This paper addresses the portrayal of the fascinating and colorful character of Guðmundr and considers Ljósvetninga saga as a níðrit, as Barði Guðmundsson (1953) has designated it. Guðmundr is examined in light of not only the framework of Old Norse argr, but also that of the medieval Sodomite. This paper furthermore investigates the possible connection between perceptions of an argr man and the one-sex model which has been proposed to have existed in medieval Europe by Thomas W. Laqueur, thus placing Old Norse sexuality in a larger framework. Were the authors of Ljósvetninga saga trying to portray Guðmundr inn ríki as a gendered woman? And if so - to what end?

Gender and Sexuality, Icelandic Sagas, and Íslendingasögur

Location: The Interdisciplinary Student Symposium on Religion, Ideology and Cultural Practices in the Old Norse World, Aarhus University

Event Date: Mar 21, 2014

In 1046, the year Magnús góði Ólafsson and Haraldr harðráði rule jointly, an Icelandic fool (heimskr) named Hreiðarr arrives at King Magnús' Norwegian court, manipulates his way into the king's favor, gets involved in... more abstractIn 1046, the year Magnús góði Ólafsson and Haraldr harðráði rule jointly, an Icelandic fool (heimskr) named Hreiðarr arrives at King Magnús' Norwegian court, manipulates his way into the king's favor, gets involved in a feud with King Haraldr, and returns to Iceland as a much richer and smarter man. Long overshadowed by Heimskringla, the recent publication of Morkinskinna by Íslenzk Fornrit and the scholarly work done by Ármann Jakobsson, T. M. Andersson and K. E. Gade have sparked renewed interest in this sophisticated Kings' Saga and its þættir. However, the short story of Hreiðarr the heimskr remains little discussed by scholars other than as an example for perceptions of kingship in Morkinskinna and as evidence for the awkwardness of Icelanders in the Norwegian court. In my paper I demonstrate that Hreiðars þáttr is critical for our understanding of the way Icelanders perceived themselves and their unique political situation in the 13th century. Building on Ármann Jakobsson's study of Morkinskinna, I offer a literary interpretation of Hreiðarr's character that reveals why its author emphasizes his foolish attributes. I argue that the author of this þáttr presented its readers with a model of behavior to adopt when abroad, which would help them both achieve success and maintain their identity as Icelanders in a time when Icelandic independence was so fleeting. Being heimskr is not necessarily a bad thing, and Hreiðarr shows us that things are never as simple as they seem.

Icelandic Sagas, Konungasögur, and Morkinskinna

Location: The Interdisciplinary Student Symposium on Religion, Ideology and Cultural Practices in the Old Norse World, Aarhus University

Event Date: Mar 1, 2013