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Sturla Þórðarson: his work in context of his time and an analysis of the authorial intent The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the literary-historiographical works of Sturla Þórðarson with regard to the specific historical situation at the time of their origin and the methods and authorial intent of this 13th century Icelandic historian. The introductory chapters give a brief overview of Sturla Þórðarson's life in a broader historical context, based on the extant primary sources, and of his literary and literary- historiographical works. The major topic of the thesis is an analysis and comparison of two of the author's works, Íslendinga saga and Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, in context of various scholars' views of medieval historiography. The former saga belongs to the genre of samtíðarsögur (contemporary sagas), the latter to the genre of konungasögur (kings' sagas). Both works present the same historical period. The major object of analysis is the differences in the author's approach to the historical material in his literary-historiographical works of different genres; this analysis is followed by an attempt to explain the differences. The first part of the thesis presents a separate analysis of each saga in context of the given genre. Both sagas are among the latest extant works in their respective...

<p>Under åren 1977–89 bedrev arkeologiska institutionen vid Umeå universitet en forskningsundersökning av en boplats från äldre järnålder på Genesmon i Själevad socken, norra Ångermanland. Under åren 1991–99 rekonstruerades delar av gården i Gene fornby, ett hundratal meter därifrån. Denna avhandling behandlar uppbyggnad och inredning av ett av gårdens långhus, hus II, samt den treskeppiga byggnadstypens konstruktion och funktion i en större kontext. Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva växelverkan mellan teori och praktik i rekonstruktion, att beskriva rekonstruktionsarbete som en föränderlig förklarings- och förståelseprocess samt att undersöka om rekonstruktion kan bidra till ökad förståelse av arkeologiska huslämningar. Efter nära 5000 års dominans i södra och mellersta Skandinavien upphör långhusen att vara det allmänna byggnadsskicket i slutet av yngre järnålder. Varför detta sker blev en viktig fråga för förståelsen av byggnadstypen.</p><p>En hermeneutisk modell används för att beskriva hur tolkningarna under rekonstruktionsarbetet kom att inverka på varandra i en serie av samverkande eller motverkande förklaringar till den arkeologiska lämningen. Utifrån arkeologiska och skriftliga källor beskrivs därefter indelning och inredning av långhuset i sju rumsfunktioner som kan benämnas bur, önd, skåle, fjös, stall, lada och eldhus. Eldens roll, hedersplatsens placering och byggnadstypens förändring i Island blev viktiga delar för att förstå byggnadens ideologiska betydelse. Genom flera experiment med uppvärmning har lösningar sökts på problem med en rökig bostadsmiljö. Erfarenheterna leder slutligen fram till ett förslag på lösning som också illustrerar hur påtagligt förebilden kom att styra tolkningsarbetet.</p><p>Rekonstruktionsarbetet ledde till resultat av olika karaktär: dels erfarenheter om konstruktion, funktion samt material - och tidsåtgång för uppförande av den specifika huslämningen hus II och dels nya generella frågor och ny kunskap som ökar förståelsen kring den treskeppiga byggnadstypen. Långsträckt form, takbärande stolpar, mitthärd och relation till kult och ideologi föreslås som karaktäristiska element för byggnadstypen över tid och rum och byggnadens relation till ideologi föreslås som en av förklaringarna till varför långhusen försvinner i samband med kristnandet. När övergången till ett nytt byggnadsskick med ramverkshus sker under vikingatidens slutskede diskuteras den politiska och kyrkliga makten som styrande till dessa genomgripande förändringar.</p> / <p>During the years of 1977-89 the Department of Archaeology at Umeå University conducted a scientific investigation of an Early Iron Age settlement at Genesmon in the parish of Själevad, northern Ångermanland. Subsequently, during the years 1991-99 parts of the farm were reconstructed at Gene Fornby, a couple of hundred meters away from the site. This thesis deals with the construction and furnishing of one of the farm’s longhouses (House II), and the wider context of the construction and function of the “three-aisled” building type. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the interaction between theory and practice in reconstruction, to describe the reconstruction process as a constantly changing process of explanation and understanding, and to investigate as to whether reconstructions can contribute to an increased understanding of archaeological house remains. At the end of the Late Iron Age, after nearly 5000 years of dominance in Southern and Central Scandinavia, the longhouse ceases to be the dominant form of construction. Understanding why this happened became an important problem in this work. </p><p>During the reconstruction work, different interpretations influenced one another in a series of positive and negative feedbacks into the explanations of the archaeological remains. A hermeneutic model is used to describe this phenomenon. From archaeological and written sources, division and furnishing of the long-houses can be described in terms of seven room functions. These can be classified as storage bur, porch önd, living room skåle, byre fjös, stable stall, barn lada and rough kitchen eldhus. In order to understand the ideological meaning of the buildings the role of the fire, the placement of the seat of honour and the change in the type of building in Iceland became important parts of this study. Numerous heating experiments have been undertaken in order to try to solve the problem of excessive smoke within the building. The experiments finally led to a possible solution that also serves to illustrate just how the model itself came to influence the process of interpretation.</p><p>The reconstruction work led to results of different character: partly data on construction, function and materials – and the time frame for the construction of House II from its archaeological remains; and partly knowledge and new theories which increase our understanding of the three-aisled building form. The elongated form, roof supporting poles, central hearth and a close association with ritual and ideology are suggested as characteristic elements for this type of construction, throughout its chronological and spatial extent. The relationship between the building and Norse ideologies is suggested as one of the explanations for the longhouse’s dissappearance with the introduction of Christianity. At the end of the Viking Age, there is a transition into a new framework based method of construction, and the political and ecclesiastical authorities are discussed as having governed these widespread changes.</p>

Under åren 1977–89 bedrev arkeologiska institutionen vid Umeå universitet en forskningsundersökning av en boplats från äldre järnålder på Genesmon i Själevad socken, norra Ångermanland. Under åren 1991–99 rekonstruerades delar av gården i Gene fornby, ett hundratal meter därifrån. Denna avhandling behandlar uppbyggnad och inredning av ett av gårdens långhus, hus II, samt den treskeppiga byggnadstypens konstruktion och funktion i en större kontext. Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva växelverkan mellan teori och praktik i rekonstruktion, att beskriva rekonstruktionsarbete som en föränderlig förklarings- och förståelseprocess samt att undersöka om rekonstruktion kan bidra till ökad förståelse av arkeologiska huslämningar. Efter nära 5000 års dominans i södra och mellersta Skandinavien upphör långhusen att vara det allmänna byggnadsskicket i slutet av yngre järnålder. Varför detta sker blev en viktig fråga för förståelsen av byggnadstypen. En hermeneutisk modell används för att beskriva hur tolkningarna under rekonstruktionsarbetet kom att inverka på varandra i en serie av samverkande eller motverkande förklaringar till den arkeologiska lämningen. Utifrån arkeologiska och skriftliga källor beskrivs därefter indelning och inredning av långhuset i sju rumsfunktioner som kan benämnas bur, önd, skåle, fjös, stall, lada och eldhus. Eldens roll, hedersplatsens placering och byggnadstypens förändring i Island blev viktiga delar för att förstå byggnadens ideologiska betydelse. Genom flera experiment med uppvärmning har lösningar sökts på problem med en rökig bostadsmiljö. Erfarenheterna leder slutligen fram till ett förslag på lösning som också illustrerar hur påtagligt förebilden kom att styra tolkningsarbetet. Rekonstruktionsarbetet ledde till resultat av olika karaktär: dels erfarenheter om konstruktion, funktion samt material - och tidsåtgång för uppförande av den specifika huslämningen hus II och dels nya generella frågor och ny kunskap som ökar förståelsen kring den treskeppiga byggnadstypen. Långsträckt form, takbärande stolpar, mitthärd och relation till kult och ideologi föreslås som karaktäristiska element för byggnadstypen över tid och rum och byggnadens relation till ideologi föreslås som en av förklaringarna till varför långhusen försvinner i samband med kristnandet. När övergången till ett nytt byggnadsskick med ramverkshus sker under vikingatidens slutskede diskuteras den politiska och kyrkliga makten som styrande till dessa genomgripande förändringar. / During the years of 1977-89 the Department of Archaeology at Umeå University conducted a scientific investigation of an Early Iron Age settlement at Genesmon in the parish of Själevad, northern Ångermanland. Subsequently, during the years 1991-99 parts of the farm were reconstructed at Gene Fornby, a couple of hundred meters away from the site. This thesis deals with the construction and furnishing of one of the farm’s longhouses (House II), and the wider context of the construction and function of the “three-aisled” building type. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the interaction between theory and practice in reconstruction, to describe the reconstruction process as a constantly changing process of explanation and understanding, and to investigate as to whether reconstructions can contribute to an increased understanding of archaeological house remains. At the end of the Late Iron Age, after nearly 5000 years of dominance in Southern and Central Scandinavia, the longhouse ceases to be the dominant form of construction. Understanding why this happened became an important problem in this work. During the reconstruction work, different interpretations influenced one another in a series of positive and negative feedbacks into the explanations of the archaeological remains. A hermeneutic model is used to describe this phenomenon. From archaeological and written sources, division and furnishing of the long-houses can be described in terms of seven room functions. These can be classified as storage bur, porch önd, living room skåle, byre fjös, stable stall, barn lada and rough kitchen eldhus. In order to understand the ideological meaning of the buildings the role of the fire, the placement of the seat of honour and the change in the type of building in Iceland became important parts of this study. Numerous heating experiments have been undertaken in order to try to solve the problem of excessive smoke within the building. The experiments finally led to a possible solution that also serves to illustrate just how the model itself came to influence the process of interpretation. The reconstruction work led to results of different character: partly data on construction, function and materials – and the time frame for the construction of House II from its archaeological remains; and partly knowledge and new theories which increase our understanding of the three-aisled building form. The elongated form, roof supporting poles, central hearth and a close association with ritual and ideology are suggested as characteristic elements for this type of construction, throughout its chronological and spatial extent. The relationship between the building and Norse ideologies is suggested as one of the explanations for the longhouse’s dissappearance with the introduction of Christianity. At the end of the Viking Age, there is a transition into a new framework based method of construction, and the political and ecclesiastical authorities are discussed as having governed these widespread changes.

The Íslendingasögur, written in Iceland in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, primarily describe the lives of Icelanders during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Many of these lives involve encounters with foreign peoples, both abroad and in Iceland, who are portrayed according to stereotypes which vary depending on the origins of those people. Notably, inhabitants of the places identified in the sagas as Írland, Skotland and Vínland are portrayed as being less civilized than the Icelanders themselves. This thesis explores the ways in which the Íslendingasögur emphasize this relative barbarity through descriptions of diet, material culture, style of warfare, and character. These characteristics are discussed in relation to parallel descriptions of Icelandic characters and lifestyle within the Íslendingasögur, and also in the context of a tradition in contemporary European literature which portrayed the Icelanders themselves as barbaric. Innovatively, comparisons are made with descriptions of barbarians in classical Roman texts, primarily Sallust, but also Caesar and Tacitus. Taking into account the availability and significance of classical learning in medieval Iceland, the comparison with Roman texts yields striking similarities between Roman and Icelandic ideas about barbarians. It is argued that the depiction of foreigners in the Íslendingasögur is almost identical to that of ancient Roman authors, and that the medieval Icelanders had both means and motive to use Roman ideas for inspiration in their own portrayal of the world. Ultimately it is argued that when the medieval Icelanders contemplated the peoples their Viking Age ancestors encountered around the world, they drew on classical ideas of the barbarian to complement the mix of oral tradition, literary inspiration and contemporary circumstance that otherwise form the Íslendingasögur.

Foreign words, such as names, locations or sometimes entire phrases, are a problem for any system that is meant to convert graphemes to phonemes (g2p; i.e.converting written text into phonetic transcription). In this thesis, we investigate both rule-based and neural methods of phonetically transcribing English words found in Icelandic text, taking into account the rules and constraints of how foreign phonemes can be mapped into Icelandic phonology. We implement a rule-based system by compiling grammars into finite-state transducers. In deciding on which rules to include, and evaluating their coverage, we use a list of the most frequently-found English words in a corpus of Icelandic text. The output of the rule-based system is then manually evaluated and corrected (when needed) and subsequently used as data to train a simple bidirectional LSTM g2p model. We train models both with and without length and stress labels included in the gold annotated data. Although the scores for neither model are close to the state-of-the-art for either Icelandic or English, both our rule-based system and LSTM model show promising initial results and improve on the baseline of simply using an Icelandic g2p model, rule-based or neural, on English words. We find that the greater flexibility of the LSTM model seems to give it an advantage over our rule-based system when it comes to modeling certain phenomena. Most notable is the LSTM’s ability to more accurately transcribe relations between graphemes and phonemes for English vowel sounds. Given there does not exist much previous work on g2p transcription specifically handling English words within the Icelandic phonological constraints and it remains an unsolved task, our findings present a foundation for the development of further research, and contribute to improving g2p systems for Icelandic as a whole.

This thesis studies the equilibrium real effective exchange rates and the degree of misalignment of currencies. It focuses on the real effective exchange rates of Icelandic króna and Chinese renminbi, with special attention paid to the evolution of these exchange rates in the period of crisis. It identifies key factors influencing the real effective exchange rates of króna and renminbi, calculates their equilibrium level and confirms that these currencies were misaligned in the pre-crisis period. It stresses the impact of real interest rate differential in the case of króna and of sterilization operations applied by the People's Bank of China in the case of renminbi. It further examines whether the relationship between real exchange rates and economic fundamentals was distorted in the crisis. Finally, the thesis provides an insight into whether the crisis led to narrowing the degree of misalignment of renminbi and króna.

Comparison of Old Norse and Proto-Norse Noun Declension The purpose of this thesis is to follow the development of noun declensions from Proto-Norse to the Old Norse (Old Icelandic) language. The first of the three chapters seeks to give a comprehensive overview of Proto-Norse noun declensions. This overview is based on the evidence of the older runic inscriptions and on reconstruction using relevant linguistic literature. Each of the declensions is presented in the form of a paradigm accompanied by commentary and quotations of preserved grammatical forms. The second and largest chapter presents a survey of Old Norse (Old Icelandic) noun declensions. The survey has two aims. The first aim is to provide a synchronic description of the Old Norse noun declension system which would not be encumbered by an excess of diachronic approach as is often the case in the traditional grammars of Old Norse. At the same time, however, it should show how Old Norse inflectional exponents and classes continue the Proto-Norse declensions as presented in the first chapter. There is also a discussion of some of the systemic causes leading to morphological changes in inflection. The third chapter sums up the previous diachronic analysis and questions the validity of the traditional designations of declension classes based on...

The mythology of migration is deeply integral to the medieval Germanic societies peopling Northern Europe and the island nations of the North Sea. Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic society construct their identities through a memory of migration that takes places within a frontier that is mythic and historical in scope. By surveying eco-critical components of Anglo-Saxon poems such as “The Wife’s Lament” and “The Husband’s Message” alongside the Icelandic sagas Egil’s saga and The Vinland sagas, a shared tradition of the frontier ideal is revealed.

This thesis examines the historical development of the expletive það in Icelandic, from the earliest texts to the present day. This development is set against the backdrop of Icelandic clause structure, with particular attention to verb-second, information structure and the left periphery. The study combines corpus linguistic data and quantitative techniques with theoretical analysis, conducted within Lexical Functional Grammar. I show that Icelandic underwent three syntactic developments in the period 1750-present and argue that these all reflect one overall change: the establishment of það as a structural placeholder for the topic position (the clause-initial prefinite position). I claim that það functions as a topic position placeholder in the earliest attested stage of Icelandic (1150-1350), but is restricted to a specific context: topicless subjectless constructions with a clausal object, where það has cataphoric reference. The three changes in the period 1750-present represent the establishment of this topic position placeholder in new contexts: (1) það generalises to all types of topicless subjectless construction, beyond those with a clausal object; (2) það emerges in presentational constructions (which inherently lack a topic), out-competing the earlier expletive form þar; (3) in cataphoric contexts with a clausal subject, það begins to transition from subject to topic position placeholder. The majority of these contexts exhibit at least a short period in which það - or alternatively þar - behaves like a subject. Icelandic thus exhibits the emergence of a topic position placeholder expletive from an earlier subject-like element. This shift towards prefinite expletives, which sets Icelandic apart from e.g. Mainland Scandinavian, happens relatively late in the diachrony (1750-present). Moreover, the Icelandic development challenges the standard claim in the literature on Germanic expletives, which assumes that subject expletives emerge from prefinite expletives.