Hnefatafl - the Strategic Board Game of the Vikings

In case you're unfamiliar with the site or the game, Sten Helmfrid has gathered a wealth of information on the Norse game of tafl and its many variants. Kings, nobles, and war leaders were expected to be well-versed in this game and its strategies, and the gods themselves are recorded as playing it in Voluspa. Not only to learn more about the Norse and Germanic peoples, but also gain a special insight into their history and politics, you would do well to visit this site.

The Sagas of Icelanders as a Historical Source

Courtesy of Medievalists.net:

"The Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders), sometimes called the Icelandic family sagas) are a valuable resource in the study of society and culture in the Viking age. However, for a variety of reasons, one can not depend upon the sagas as historical fact. This article provides an introductory look at using the Sagas of Icelanders as a historical source. The Sagas of Icelanders are comprised of about two score longer narratives and a larger number of tales. The stories are unique among medieval literature in that they focus not on kings or saints or mythological heroes, but rather on the farmers and chieftains who settled Iceland during the Viking age. Theyíre stories about plain folk in the pursuit of honor, while engaged, for the most part, in their normal, everyday activities. Additionally, the stories are unique because they were written in the vernacular, old Icelandic, rather than in Latin." The complete article by William R. Short, first published in 2005, may be found at the Hurstwic site.

Njáls saga as a novel: four aspects of rewriting

Via Medievalists.net:

"Inspired by Njáls saga and Laxdæla saga, the novel Fire in the Ice by American novelist Dorothy James Roberts is one of numerous modern rewritings of classical and medieval literature. With her works Roberts joined a diverse group of nineteenth and twentieth century writers who borrowed plots and themes from Iceland’s early literature in their own works. The earlier adaptations were often influenced by the nationalistic and racial concerns of the rewriters, but the tides had changed when Fire in the Ice was published in 1961. By then the sagas were celebrated as remarkable works of art, even as milestones in the history of World Literature. “The best Icelandic Sagas,” writes Roberts in her preface, “approach the finest of modern novels, and are more closely related to them than to the European literature of their time.” With this statement in mind, four important aspects of Roberts’ rewriting are explored." The full article by Jón Karl Helgason of the Reykjavík Academy, originally published in The Garden of Crossing Paths: The Manipulation and Rewriting of Medieval Texts, edited by M. Buzzoni and M. Bampi (Venezia: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina, 2005), may be viewed at the Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia site.

Learning Magic in the Sagas

The völva from Völuspá. An illustration
from Fredrik Sander's 1893 Swedish edition of the Poetic Edda.

Via Medievalists.net:

"The image of magic spells being taught by more seasoned practitioners to others eager to learn them comports well with what can be deduced about the actual practice of witchcraft and magic in medieval Scandinavia. For example, at the conclusion of that most remarkable document on love magic, jealousy and sexual intrigue from ca. 1325, De quadam lapsa in hæresin Ragnhilda Tregagaas, Ragnhildr tregagás of Bergen claims that the incantation and performative magic she uses against her erstwhile lover are ones she learned in her youth from Solli Sukk. In a similar case from Sweden in 1471, a witch in Arboga referred to in the surviving records as galna kadhrin ‘Crazy Katherine’ instructs Birgitta Andirssadotthir on how to prevent her lover from pursuing another woman. Another late 15th-century Swedish case likewise describes how Margit halffstop says that she learned from another woman, Anna finszka, the spell by which she could bewitch a man from a distance." The full paper, written by Stephen Mitchell of Harvard University and presented at the 11th International Saga Conference in 2000, may be read at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences site

Monstrosity in Old English and Old Icelandic Literature

Courtesy of Medievalists.net:

"Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to examine Old English and Old Icelandic literary examples of monstrosity from a modern theoretical perspective. I examine the processes of monstrous change by which humans can become identified as monsters, focusing on the role played by social and religious pressures."

The full doctoral dissertation by Alistair McLennan to the University of Glasgow may be found here.

Wikipedia entry for the day: Sága and Sökkvabekkr

Sága records while Odin dictates in an
 illustration (1919) by Robert Engels.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

"In Norse mythology, Sága (Old Norse: [saːɣa], possibly meaning "seeress"[1]) is a goddess associated with the location Sökkvabekkr (pronounced [sɔkːwabekːr] in Old Norse; "sunken bank", "sunken bench", or "treasure bank"[2]). At Sökkvabekkr, Sága and the god Odin merrily drink as cool waves flow. Both Sága and Sökkvabekkr are attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess and her associated location, including that the location may be connected to the goddess Frigg's fen residence Fensalir and that Sága may be another name for Frigg." Read the full article at Wikipedia.

The Enchanted Islands: A comparison of mythological traditions from Ireland and Iceland

Ósvör Fishing Museum at Bolungarvik, Iceland Image from Wikimedia Commons

Originally posted at Medievalists.net. The Enchanted Islands: A comparison of mythological traditions from Ireland and Iceland, by Katarzyna Herd, Master’s Thesis, University of Jyväskylä, 2008: "The later conversion to Christianity did not destroy completely the previous, older cults. In some areas the old stories were erased almost totally, but every now and then a Christian monk, a true follower of a new faith, felt the need to preserve those mysterious legends of his ancestors. That was the case in Ireland and Iceland, where the two major mythologies, the Norse and the Celtic, were written down." Read the full thesis here.