Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400

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Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400

Edited by: Ármann Jakobsson and Mariusz Mayburd

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2020

Published by

Medieval Institute Publications

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This book is in the series

The Northern Medieval World

About this book

This anthology of international scholarship offers new critical approaches to the study of the many manifestations of the paranormal in the Middle Ages. The guiding principle of the collection is to depart from symbolic or reductionist readings of the subject matter in favor of focusing on the paranormal as human experience and, essentially, on how these experiences are defined by the sources. The authors work with a variety of medieval Icelandic textual sources, including family sagas, legendary sagas, romances, poetry, hagiography and miracles, exploring the diversity of paranormal activity in the medieval North. This volume questions all previous definitions of the subject matter, most decisively the idea of saga realism, and opens up new avenues in saga research.

Author / Editor information

Ármann Jakobsson and Mariusz Mayburd, University of Iceland, Reykjavík.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Introduction: The Paranormal Encounter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
Part I: Experiencing the Paranormal
“I See Dead People”: The Externalization of Paranormal Experience in Medieval Iceland Ármann Jakobsson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	9
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Haunted Saga Homesteads, Climate Fluctuations, and the Vulnerable Self Mariusz Mayburd Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	21
Happy Endings: The (Para)Normality of Miracles Ásdís Egilsdóttir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	39
Þórgunna’s Dinner and Other Medieval Liminal Meals: Food as Mediator between this World and the Hereafter Andrea Maraschi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	49
A Troll Did It?: Trauma as a Paranormal State in the Íslendingasögur Marion Poilvez Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	71
Traversing the Uncanny Valley: Glámr in Narratological Space Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	89
On the Threshold: The Liminality of Doorways Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	109
The Burial of Body Parts in Old Icelandic Grágás Sean B. Lawing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	131
Paranormal Prose: “Para-Narrative” and Ice in the Icelandic Sagas Daniel C. Remein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	151
Part II: Figures of the Paranormal
Encounters with Hliðskjálf in Old Norse Mythology Andrew McGillivray Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	175
“Ok flýgr þat jafnan”: Icelandic Figurations of Böðvarr bjarki’s Monster Sandra Ballif Straubhaar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	193
Demons, Muslims, Wrestling Champions: The Semantic History of Blámenn from the Twelfth to the Twentieth Century Arngrímur Vídalín Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	203
The New Faith vs. The Undead: Christmas Showdowns Kent Pettit Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	227
Following up on Female fylgjur: A Re-Examination of the Concept of Female fylgjur in Old Icelandic Literature Zuzana Stankovitsová Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	245
Dólgr í byggðinni: Meeting the Social Monster in the Sagas of Icelanders Rebecca Merkelbach Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	263
Part III: Literature and the Paranormal
Even a Henchman Can Dream: Dreaming at the Margins in Brennu-Njáls saga Christopher Crocker Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	279
A Normal Relationship?: Jarl Hákon and Þorgerðr Hǫlgabrúðr in Icelandic Literary Context Þórdís Edda Jóhannesdóttir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	295
Priest Ketill’s Journey to Rome Gunnvör S. Karlsdóttir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	311
“Darraðarljóð” and Its Context within Njáls saga: Sorcery, Vision, Leizla? Ingibjörg Eyþórsdóttir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	327
Paranormal Tendencies in the Sagas: A Discussion about Genre Martina Ceolin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	347
Reading the Landscape in Grettis saga: Þórhallur, the meinvættur, and Glámur Shaun F. D. Hughes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	367
Trolling Guðmundr: Paranormal Defamation in Ljósvetninga saga Yoav Tirosh Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	395
“Meir af viel en karlmennsku”: Monstrous Masculinity in Viktors saga ok Blávus Védís Ragnheiðardóttir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	421
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	433

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

March 23, 2020

eBook ISBN:

9781501513862

Hardcover published on:

March 23, 2020

Hardcover ISBN:

9781580443296

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

7

Main content:

438

Illustrations:

2

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501513862

eBook ISBN: 9781501513862

Hardcover ISBN: 9781580443296

Keywords for this book

Paranormal Activity; Paranormal Encounters; Icelandic Literature; Sagas

Audience(s) for this book

Medievalists, Scholars of Historical Studies and Icelandic Literature

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Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

Bibliographic data