Jorge Luis Borges's story "El Zahir" describes a moment where the protagonist finds rest from his monomania by reworking one of the central texts in Old Germanic myth, the story of Sigurd and Brynhild. The approach taken here by the protagonist is the paradigm used in this thesis for understanding Borges's own strong readings of Old Germanic literature, specifically Old Scandinavian texts. In chapter one, a brief outline of the myth of Sigurd and Brynhild, with a particular emphasis on Gram, the sword that lied between them, is provided and juxtaposed with Borges's own family history, focusing on the family's storied military past. This image of the sword as the symbol for the north and its relation to Borges's family and political interests is sustained throughout the thesis. Chapter two is a survey of the various facets of Borges's literary output that were influenced by Nordic myth and literary styles: first, literary criticism, second, poetry and prose, and third, translation. The survey shows that Borges's engagement with the north began early and was maintained throughout his life. Likewise, after working through seven works from disparate periods it becomes clear that Borges is not merely introducing the Spanish speaking world to Old Scandinavian texts, but, in the same fashion as the protagonist in "El Zahir," subsuming them in a way that is uniquely Borgesian. The third chapter follows the same approach as the survey but focuses on Borges's short stories, specifically two short stories from his collection entitled Libro de Arena: "Ulrica" and "Undr." Many of the conclusions that emerged in the survey are further validated in the analysis of these two stories, but with greater emphasis on how they relate to Borges's later years, and the themes that begin to surround his preparation for death. The concluding chapter summarizes the findings of the previous three chapters by way of a close reading of Borges's tombstone. Each aspect of the stone is connected to Old Germanic myth and how that symbolized the eventual consummation of his joy: the sword that kept him separated from love was eventually lifted, as it was for Ulrica and Javier in "Ulrica."

This paper focuses on the comic layers in Eddic mythological poetry, namely in Lokasenna, Hárbarðsljóð and Ϸrymskviða, and on their relation to the Old Norse religion. In the past, these comic and seemingly blasphemic poems used to be interpreted as a display of criticism of the religious system or, due to the impossibility to date their origin, as a product of late decadent paganism or even as a Christian satire of this religion. This paper shows that such interpretations are not necessary, and that the comic Eddic poems could have existed as a functional part of the Old Norse religion. It points out the affinity of the categories of religious humour and chaos. Subsequently, it presents various theories, mostly from the field of anthropology of religion, which show that a temporarily confrontation of order with chaos can be a desirable practise for a religion, and that humour can serve as a suitable means to achieve such a confrontation. The second part of the paper focuses on the particular Eddic poems. It analyses in detail their comic layers, and examines the possibilities of their function within the Old Norse religion on the background of the notion of piety and blasphemy in their time. It demonstrates their link to the tradition of ritualized verbal duels and other socio-cultural phenomena,...

The thesis focuses on the reflection of the discovery of America by the Norsemen, and does so in three steps. Firstly, the approach to and the significance of the Norse voyages to America in the medieval materials, and especially in the Vinland sagas, are presented. This part is accompanied by a general introduction into the sagas. Secondly, the situation in the 19th century is introduced. In this period a lot of scientific works as well as works of art aiming at the Norse voyages to the New continent arose. The factors that led to this increased interest are explored, e.g. national movement in Scandinavia. Thirdly, the contemporary reflexion of the Norse discovery of America is analyzed (particularly its influence on works of art, society, politics and scientific research). The methodology used in this thesis is discourse analysis, which points out to the changing reflexion of the given topic.

This thesis examines the memorial meaning attributed to royal power in the Icelandic legal tradition, as it is textually negotiated in sources extant from the period c. 1250-1500. It discusses the significance and functions of the Norwegian king's legal authority as part of the Icelanders' collective remembrance of their country's legal past (spanning the years c. 870-1302), and as a defining element in the creation of the Icelandic identity as a community of law. The scope of analysis covers thirteenth- to fifteenth-century legal sources (sections of law-books and legal texts preserving legal arrangements between Iceland and Norway made in the eleventh century and in the period c. 1260-1302), and a fourteenth-century account of the Norwegian king's involvement in a settlement dispute in ninth-century Iceland. These main sources are analysed against the background of several auxiliary sources (saga narratives, diplomas) from a New Philological perspective and scrutinised using the methods developed in cultural memory studies. This provides a novel perspective on the primary sources, filling a gap in recent scholarship on cultural memory in Old Norse literature and historiography. Both categories of texts, drawing on oral and written traditions of law-making and story-telling, are vehicles for multi-faceted culturally meaningful and often contradictory memories of the Norwegian king. The Icelandic laws preserve provisions bestowed upon the Icelanders by the Norwegian monarchs, whereas the sagas convey semi-mythological images of the monarchs, who act as legislators, negotiators of legal agreements with the Icelanders, and as law-keepers. By analysing the memorial functions of royal power in the primary sources, the thesis argues for the complexity of the Icelanders' self-definition as a kingless community of law, who nevertheless incorporate and actively engage with royal power, which shapes the collective memory of the country's legal tradition.

The aim of this thesis is to set up characteristic attributes of saga time structure and with concern to these to show how the Old Norse people understood time. Main attention is concentrated on the time structure of the family sagas. First, it is shown the principal of the dating in saga and how it differs from the principal of dating in annal and chronicle. I proceed to deal with the most common time indications to appear in saga and their role in the storytelling. The focus point of this thesis is a comparison of narrated time and time of narration. To support this intention, I use the three concepts of Gerard Genette - duration, order and frequency. Based on the duration concept, I try to investigate why extensive time leaps abound in sagas and what on the other hand appears to have been given some extra author's attention. According to the order concept, a question is discussed to what extent the saga holds the chronological composition. Within the frequency concept, it is compared how many times an event occurs to how many times it is narrated. In the following chapters the time structure of the kings'sagas and the legendary sagas is discussed. The crucial difference between the time structure of these and the structure of family saga is established. There is a conclusion to each chapter,...

The aim of this master’s degree essays is to analyse and compare the first-contact situations and means of communication as described in four different sagas including Legendary Sagas and Sagas of Icelanders, more specifically Vínlandsagas. Two additional papers on contacts and communication with indigenous people from the perspectives of Spanish conquistadores and Brittish settlers in Australia were reviewed to establish a baseline for behaviour in contact situations with unknown peoples. The analysis of both sagas and additional sources shows that neither of them focus in their description on communications tools and instead focus on the different behaviour of the indigenous people as observed by the settlers and conquistadores and on the actions and transactions with the indigenous peoples. / Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die Beschreibungen von Erstkontaktsituationen und Kommunikationsmitteln in vier verschiedenen Sagas zu vergleichen und zu analysieren. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Vorzeitsagas und Isländersagas, insbesondere Vínlandsagas untersucht. Zudem wurden zwei ergänzende Artikel zu Erstkontakten und Kommunikation mit indigenen Bevölkerungen aus der Sicht von spanischen Conquistadores und britischen Kolonisateuren in Australien aufgearbeitet, um eine Operationslinie für das Verhalten in Kontaktsituationen mit fremden Bevölkerungen zu haben. Die Analyse von sowohl Sagas als auch den ergänzenden Quellen zeigt, dass weder Sagas noch spätere Aufzeichnungen Beschreibungen der Kommunikationsmittel en detail erwähnen. Stattdessen liegt der Fokus auf dem vom eigenen abweichenden Verhalten und dem Umgang mit den indigenen Bevölkerungen.

This dissertation investigates the links between Chrétien de Troyes’ romance Le Chevalier au lion from the late twelfth century and the Old Swedish text Herr Ivan, written at the behest of Queen Eufemia of Norway at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The study has two parts. The first sets out to determine the sources of the Swedish text: Was Le Chevalier au lion really the source text of Herr Ivan? The second part raises the question of what happened to the courtly ideals that characterize the French romance when they were transferred into Swedish. The analysis of the question concerning the sources of Herr Ivan confirms that Le Chevalier au lion was the translator’s main source, while the Old Norse version Ívens saga, from the middle of the thirteenth century, was used as a secondary source. The relationship between Le Chevalier au lion, Ívens saga and Herr Ivan is examined through a comparison of the three texts: the choice of verse or prose, the role of prologues and epilogues, and the use of the voice of a narrator and of direct and indirect discourse. Four specific passages are compared at a micro-level. By comparing Herr Ivan to its sources, it becomes clear that the Swedish translator wanted to stress certain courtly ideals by presenting a distinct and coherent interpretation of what Chrétien de Troyes refers to as courtoisie. This indicates that the function of the text was to present a set of ideological and aesthetic values. The analysis of the transmission of courtly ideals takes its point of departure in the uses of the French word courtois and the Swedish equivalent hövisker. As a next step, three elements intimately linked to courtliness are examined: aventure, gaieté and honneur. Also the different roles played by the lion are highlighted. Finally, it is shown how the courtly ideals of Herr Ivan can be read in the light of the other Old Swedish texts written at the behest of Queen Eufemia: Hertig Fredrik av Normandie and Flores och Blanzeflor.

In this thesis, medieval free translation is explored as a text-producing practice as it appears in Alexanders saga, a 13th century Old Norse translation of the medieval Latin epic Alexandreis. The practice is investigated through analyses of (1) the rendering of the source text and (2) the translator’s role in making the target text. The rendering is analyzed through a systematic comparison between source and target text using a method of analysis based on systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Contrary to what was assumed previously, the rendering pro­ves to be consistent in the text, but a surprising result is that the rendering in chapters 2–4 and in chapters 1 and 6–10 respectively represent two significantly dif­ferent patterns, the former being closer to the source text than the latter, pre­sumably due to two different translators. The investigation further confirms an observation in previous research on Old Norse free translation that the rendering of parts in direct speech are closer to the source than that of narrative and descriptive discourse. The rendering is closest where the translator indicates that he is quoting the author of the source text. These patterns are found in both groups of chapters, and as they are confirmed in other Old Norse translations, they might be interpreted as a translation norm. The conceptions of translation are further investigated by examining what kind of text-producing role the translator assumes. It is claimed that, despite the freedom in free ren­dering, the translator assumes the role of intermediary between the source text and the receivers of the target text rather than the role of independent text pro­ducer. From an analysis of the translator’s metatextual additions, it seems as though this is also what the translator assumes the receivers of the text expect him to do. The results indicate the presence of certain conceptions of how translation was to be carried out in West Nordic society. The ”free” translation strategies did not mean freedom from or obliviousness to translation norms, but rather re­late to a specific text-producing practice.

This dissertation considers the literary treatment of revenge in medieval England and Iceland. Vengeance and feud were an essential part of these cultures; far from the reckless, impulsive action that the word conjures up in modern minds, revenge was considered both a right and a duty and was legislated and regulated by social norms. It was an important tool for obtaining justice and protecting property, family, and reputation. Accordingly, many medieval literary works seem to accept revenge without question. Many, however, evince a great sensitivity to the ambiguities and paradoxes inherent in an act of revenge. In my study, I consider three works that are emblematic of this responsiveness to and indeed, anxiety about revenge. Chapter one focuses on the Old English poem Beowulf; chapter two moves on to discuss Chaucer’s Reeve’s Tale and Tale of Melibee from the Canterbury Tales; and chapter three examines the Old Icelandic family saga, Ljósvetninga saga. I focus in particular on the treatment of the avenger in each work. The poet or author of each work acknowledges the perspective of the avenger by allowing him to express his motivations, desires, and justifications for revenge in direct speech. Alongside this acknowledgement, however, is the author’s own reflection on the risks, rewards, and repercussions of the avenger’s intentions and actions. The resulting parallel but divergent narratives highlight the multiplicity of viewpoints found in any act of revenge or feud and reveal a fundamental ambivalence about the value, morality, and necessity of revenge. Each of the works I consider resists easy conclusions about revenge in its own context and remains incredibly current in the way it poses challenging questions about what constitutes injury, punishment, justice, and revenge in our own time.

This dissertation considers the literary treatment of revenge in medieval England and Iceland. Vengeance and feud were an essential part of these cultures; far from the reckless, impulsive action that the word conjures up in modern minds, revenge was considered both a right and a duty and was legislated and regulated by social norms. It was an important tool for obtaining justice and protecting property, family, and reputation. Accordingly, many medieval literary works seem to accept revenge without question. Many, however, evince a great sensitivity to the ambiguities and paradoxes inherent in an act of revenge. In my study, I consider three works that are emblematic of this responsiveness to and indeed, anxiety about revenge. Chapter one focuses on the Old English poem Beowulf; chapter two moves on to discuss Chaucer’s Reeve’s Tale and Tale of Melibee from the Canterbury Tales; and chapter three examines the Old Icelandic family saga, Ljósvetninga saga. I focus in particular on the treatment of the avenger in each work. The poet or author of each work acknowledges the perspective of the avenger by allowing him to express his motivations, desires, and justifications for revenge in direct speech. Alongside this acknowledgement, however, is the author’s own reflection on the risks, rewards, and repercussions of the avenger’s intentions and actions. The resulting parallel but divergent narratives highlight the multiplicity of viewpoints found in any act of revenge or feud and reveal a fundamental ambivalence about the value, morality, and necessity of revenge. Each of the works I consider resists easy conclusions about revenge in its own context and remains incredibly current in the way it poses challenging questions about what constitutes injury, punishment, justice, and revenge in our own time.