The fornaldarsogur : Stephen Mitchell's contribution

The fornaldarsogur (literally, "sagas of antiquity") have long been relegated to the status of "poor cousins" within the family of Old Icelandic literature. To a large degree this downgrading has occurred because the fornaldarsogur are often fantastic narrations that read very differently from the more sober and worldly islendingasogur [family sagas]. Written in the period from roughly the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, the fornaldarsogur, a mixture of tradition and invention, often recount legendary and mythic events from the recesses of Scandinavian folk memory. Sometimes a tale follows its hero or heroes into the supernatural world and also recounts quasi-historical memories of events that can be traced as far back as the migration period. In general, the fornaldarsogur focus on Scandinavia; southern Germanic matters and events are less evident and usually only enter the tales in connection with stories built on, or sharing motifs and traditions with, Eddic material, as they do in the Volsunga saga

Choices of honor : telling saga feud, thattr, and the fundamental oral progression

The family and Sturlunga sagas are not only narratives of "sophisticated conventionality," but it is precisely the unclear combination of mundane and refined that has made these medieval texts so hard to classify.1 On the one hand the sagas are a sophisticated written phenomenon. On the other, they are stories filled with repetitions and other conventions of oral, ethnographic narration recounting the social past. Can we determine the elemental, generative structure of the Icelandic texts? The answer is yes, since the sagas themselves, despite their overlay of sophistication, retain this primary repetitive progression. With our question in mind, let us look at just such a progression.Not

A Bayesian approach to linking archaeological, paleoenvironmental and documentary datasets relating to the settlement of Iceland (Landnám)

YesIcelandic settlement (Landnám) period farmsteads offer opportunities to explore the nature and timing of anthropogenic activities and environmental impacts of the first Holocene farming communities. We employ Bayesian statistical modelling of archaeological, paleoenvironmental and documentary datasets to present a framework for improving chronological robustness of archaeological events. Specifically, we discuss events relevant to the farm Hrísbrú, an initial and complex settlement site in southwest Iceland. We demonstrate that tephra layers are key in constraining reliable chronologies, especially when combined with related datasets and treated in a Bayesian framework. The work presented here confirms earlier interpretations of the chronology of the site while providing increased confidence in the robustness of the chronology. Most importantly, integrated modelling of AMS radiocarbon dates on Hordeum vulgare grains, palynological data, documented evidence from textual records and typologically diagnostic artefacts yield increased dating reliability. The analysis has also shown that AMS radiocarbon dates on bone collagen need further scrutiny. Specifically for the Hrísbrú farm, first anthropogenic footprint palynomorph taxa are estimated to around AD 830–881 (at 95.4% confidence level), most likely before the tephra fall out of AD 877 ± 1 (the Landnám tephra layer), demonstrating the use of arable fields before the first known structures were built at Hrísbrú (AD 874–951) and prior to the conventionally accepted date of the settlement of Iceland. Finally, we highlight the importance of considering multidisciplinary factors for other archaeological and paleoecological studies of early farming communities of previously uninhabited island areas

L’Islande durant l’âge Viking : sagas et cultures d’un « grand village »

Quoi que périphérique pour beaucoup d’Européens, l’Islande ancienne a beaucoup à nous dire sur la vie paysanne au Moyen Âge et sur les cultures de village. Les sources médiévales y sont en effet nombreuses et variées : ce sont les sagas, les histoires, les livres de loi, les vies d’évêques et de saints, écrites en vieux noirois, la langue des fermiers libres (bændr, singulier bóndi). D’une manière originale, les sources littéraires fournissent des descriptions détaillées sur la vie séculière,..

Völsunga saga. English

The Saga of the Volsungs is an Icelandic prose epic whose anonymous thirteenth-century author based his story on the legends of Old Scandinavian folk culture. A trove of traditional lore, it tells of love, jealousy, vengeance, war, and the mythic deeds of the dragonslayer, Sigurd the Volsung. The Saga is of special interest to admirers of Richard Wagner, who drew heavily upon this Norse source in writing his Ring Cycle. With its magical ring acquired by the hero, and the sword to be reforged, the saga has also been a primary source for writers of fantasy such as J. R. R. Tolkien and romantics such as William Morris.Byock's comprehensive introduction explores the history, legends, and myths contained in the saga and traces the development of a narrative that reaches back to the period of the great folk migrations in Europe when the Roman Empire collapsed

Diatoms as bioindicators of site use: locating turf structures from the Viking Age

a b s t r a c t Diatoms recovered from archaeological features on a Viking Age farmstead excavation in the Mosfell Valley in southwestern Iceland are utilized as microscopic indicators of turf-based structures. Eroded turf can be difficult to distinguish macroscopically from naturally occurring sediments because turf foundations erode and melt into the landscape over time, leaving minimal evidence of site use. Turf was a principle building component in Iceland until the early 20th century. Turf strips and blocks were harvested from lowlands where organically rich peat and abundant water contributed to the development of bog plants with thick root mats that produced premium turf. Diatoms embedded in turf reflect the ecological conditions of the peat-bog at the time of deposition. Turf was cut from the bog and transported to higher elevations where drainage was more conducive to house construction. Siliceous diatom frustules are resistant to decay and preserve well archaeologically. The presence of diatoms in archaeological sediments is considered a marker of sediment provenience and an indication of human site use and anthropogenic modification of natural substrates. This paper demonstrates how diatom analysis can determine the presence and delimitation of archaeological features otherwise difficult to distinguish with the naked eye

Imaging the AD 1500 Katla tephra inside the Leiruvogur “Inner Skiphóll” harbour using GPR

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