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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Norse mythology'
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Bek-Pedersen, Karen. "Nornir in Old Norse mythology." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/29143.
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The primary object of the thesis is to discuss a particular group of female supernatural beings called ‘nornir’ and their relationship to the Old Norse concept of fate. Although well-known and often mentioned in scholarship dealing with Old Norse culture, these beings are all too often dealt with in overly superficial ways. The research presented in the thesis seeks to go much deeper in order to properly understand the nature and role of ‘nornir’ in the Old Norse world view, and the conclusions reached importantly overturn a number of stereotypical conceptions that have long dominated our understanding of ‘nornir’. The discussion of these beings falls into four main chapters: a discussion of the similarities and differences between ‘nornir’ and several other kinds of female supernatural beings; a discussion of certain symbolic aspects relating the dwelling place of the ‘nornir’ to their strongly feminine nature; a discussion of the well-established image in which fate is represented through different kinds of textile work, and the problems that surround this metaphor in the Old Norse sources; and a discussion of the Old Norse vocabulary relating to fate and the quasi-legal aspects of the ‘nornir’. The thesis focuses on Old Norse culture and uses predominantly Old Norse source material. Comparative material, especially Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Classical, is, however, employed when this is thought to be relevant.
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Tolley, Clive. "A comparative study of some Germanic and Finnic myths." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.358575.
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Furuko, Kaoru. "Surt's diaries : how the world was created according to Norse mythology." Thesis, Konstfack, Grafisk Design & Illustration, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:konstfack:diva-5126.
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Krause-Loner, Shawn Christopher. "Scar-Lip, Sky-Walker, and Mischief-Monger the norse god Loki as trickster /." Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1063416355.
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Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Comparative Religion, 2003.Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains 72 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-72).
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Twycross, Fiona. "Approaching Ragnarok : use of Norse mythology in late twentieth century Scandinavian literature." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22706.
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The core premise in this thesis is that each generation rediscovers and reinterprets mythology from its own perspective; and that individual authors within each generation make intertextual use of mythology accordingly. With this premise in mind I will examine the intertextual use, interpretation, and revision of Norse mythology, particularly the material from Snorri's Edda and the Poetic Edda, in Scandinavian literature of the 1980s and early 1990s. Through an analysis of the use of mythology by individual authors, I aim to examine the appeal of myth generally, both to authors and readers, and will discuss how the presence of mythological material in literature can reinforce the underlying ideology in the work as a whole, and may also influence the reader's receptiveness to the work. Alongside this, the works will be analysed individually in their social and literary context. The thesis will be divided into three sections. The first section will introduce the earliest literary accounts of Norse mythology, and the cosmology they depict. The re-use of the mythology in literature generally will be discussed, and the tradition of literary re-use of Norse mythology will be presented. The second section will form the main body of the thesis. The first chapter will provide a brief survey of the works to be covered. These are taken from across Scandinavia - primarily from Denmark and Norway. In all the works, which range from post-modern poetry to picture books for children, the use of Norse mythology is a central element. The works will then be analysed in individual chapters. The first four of these (2-5) examine the use of myth in novels: Ragnarok [The Downfall of the Gods] (1982) by Danish author Villy Sørensen; Kärleksguen Frö [The Love God Freyr] (1988) by Swedish writer Torgny Lindgren; Gunnlaðar saga [The Story about Gunnlod] (1987) by Icelandic writer Svava Jakobsdóttir; and Norwegian Vera Henriksen's Ravn og Due [Raven and Dove] (1991). These will be analysed in turn showing how they utilise similar material with a variety of results.
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Reed, Patrick Edward. "Flux." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1489496995093965.
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Johnson, Sean Aram. "Fog on the Barrow Downs: Celtic Roots of Tolkien's Mythology." Thesis, Boston College, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1375.
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Thesis advisor: Philip O'LearyThis paper takes the opportunity to examine some of the lesser known roots the fictional world, Middle Earth, and its accompanying mythology, both created by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is concerned with tracing the elements of Celtic myth and legend that appear to have influenced Tolkien’s work. While he is ambiguous on the subject – flatly denying Celtic influences in one letter, while stating that his stories of Elves are rather Celtic – consulting the text yields a world rife with Celtic underpinnings. This paper makes no claims that such Celtic elements are the only myths Tolkien borrowed from, but attempts to give a compelling case that they some of the elements Tolkien used when creating Middle Earth and, consequently, are worthy of being introduced into the discussion of Tolkien’s extraordinary mythology
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: English Honors Program
Discipline: English
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Avis, Robert John Roy. "The social mythology of medieval Icelandic literature." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2837907c-57c8-4438-8380-d5c8ba574efd.
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This thesis argues that the corpus of Old Norse-Icelandic literature which pertains to Iceland contains an intertextual narrative of the formation of Icelandic identity. An analysis of this narrative provides an opportunity to examine the relationship between literature and identity, as well as the potency of the artistic use of the idea of the past. The thesis identifies three salient narratives of communal action which inform the development of a discrete Icelandic identity, and which are examined in turn in the first three chapters of the thesis. The first is the landnám, the process of settlement itself; the second, the origin and evolution of the law; and the third, the assimilation and adaptation of Christianity. Although the roots of these narratives are doubtless historical, the thesis argues that their primary roles in the literature are as social myths, narratives whose literal truth- value is immaterial, but whose cultural symbolism is of overriding importance. The fourth chapter examines the depiction of the Icelander abroad, and uses the idiom of the relationship between þáttr (‘tale’) and surrounding text in the compilation of sagas of Norwegian kings Morkinskinna to consider the wider implications of the relationship between Icelandic and Norwegian identities. Finally, the thesis concludes with an analysis of the role of Sturlunga saga within this intertextual narrative, and its function as a set of narratives mediating between an identity grounded in social autonomy and one grounded in literature. The Íslendingasögur or ‘family sagas’ constitute the core of the thesis’s primary sources, for their subject-matter is focussed on the literary depiction of the Icelandic society under scrutiny. In order to demonstrate a continuity of engagement with ideas of identity across genres, a sample of other Icelandic texts are examined which depict Iceland or Icelanders, especially when in interaction with non-Icelandic characters or polities.
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Stanciu, Radu Razvan. "Attitudes towards Paganism in Medieval Irish and Old Norse Texts of the Trojan War." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2016. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/290141.
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The thesis compares the depictions of paganism found in the Middle Irish Togail Troí ('The Destruction of Troy'; first half of the twelfth century) and the Old Norse Trójumanna saga ('The Story of the Trojans'; first half of the thirteenth century), which are both based on Dares Phrygius's Late Antique De excidio Troiae historia. The two vernacular adaptations are presented in the wider context of the medieval popularity of Dares's text. The in-depth analysis of the pagan references (most of which relate to mythology and ritual), reveals Togail Troí's and Trójumanna saga's general source-based approach and their shared reliance on Latin mythographic scholarship, but also a different approach concerning the literary presentation of paganism. The Irish text's 'Christian' approach to the issue (as seen through authorial comments and historical contextualisation) is shown to be in contrast to the Norse text's 'classicising' approach (i.e. paganism presented as in the classical sources themselves). The findings of this analysis are then compared with the literary attitudes towards paganism encountered in medieval Irish and Norse texts more widely (especially in those set in Ireland or Nordic countries). This comparison reveals a general sympathy for many pagan characters that finds some parallels in the Trojan texts as well, but also a different representation of pagan deities in the two traditions. Indeed, the Irish tendency to avoid depicting the gods as such and the opposite Norse tendency, to portray them in an explicit way (often from a pagan point of view), mirror the evidence furnished by Togail Troí and Trójumanna saga. The literary attitudes to paganism and particularly towards mythology, which are encountered in the two texts, are further explored from the point of view of authorship. It is shown that the Irish author is writing in a historiographical mould, while the Norse author is writing in what could be described as a mythographical mould. Two complementary lines of interpretation are sketched for this phenomenon. The first one emphasises the existence of two different cultures of dealing with paganism in Irish and Norse literature respectively. The second line of interpretation draws to the fore two different approaches to the author-text relationship, examined through the framework of medieval literary theory. The final chapters highlight the importance of the research both for our understanding of the unique and complex literary cultures of medieval Ireland and Iceland and for the light that can be shed on the multifaceted relationship between authors and texts in medieval literature through the prism of paganism.
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Talvitie, T. (Tiina). "From divine to earthly:ravens and crows in Celtic and Norse mythology before and after the emergence of Christianity." Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2017. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201705181929.
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This thesis studies ravens and crows in Celtic and Norse mythology before and after the emergence of Christianity. There are five research questions the thesis concentrates on. First, are there any shared meanings in Celtic and Norse mythologies with regard to ravens and crows, and in what respect do these meanings differ in Celtic and Norse mythologies? The second research question is whether there are any possible reasons behind Celtic and Norse mythologies using these birds in a (possibly) similar manner in some context, and in a (possibly) different manner in the other. The question as to whether the use of raven and crow in these epics is interchangeable is also looked into. Fourth, after looking into ravens and crows in the Celtic and Norse mythologies, their symbolical meanings in The Bible are studied. Finally, by comparing these meanings the aim of this thesis is to find out whether emerging of Christianity would have, based on these texts, changed the way people regard these birds. The research material consists of three texts: The Táin, Edda and The Doauy-Rheims Bible, The Táin being an Irish epic, Edda a Norse epic and Doauy-Rheims Bible a translation from The Vulgate Bible. The theoretical background section of this thesis sheds some light on how Christianity gained ground in Ireland and Nordic countries. The findings show that the way ravens and crows are portrayed in The Táin and Edda are somewhat similar, however, there seems to be difference in how natural these birds and their actions appeared to people. These birds are used in a rather intermixed way in both of the epics, but in some contexts Edda separates crows to be somewhat inferior to ravens. The Bible brings a different view on how these birds are perceived. They are created by God, inferior to him and humans. Therefore, a continuum can be established from The Táin where crows and ravens are closest to deities and their actions are perceived to be natural, to Edda where these birds were deemed as part of life of humans and deities but, for example, gods and goddesses do not transform to ravens or crows as in The Táin. In Edda, ravens’ and crows’ feeding on carrion is not seen quite as natural as in The Táin. In The Bible, then, these birds are valued as part of Creation but they are clearly inferior to God and humans. Thus, based on the research material, emergence of Christianity has brought with it a different relationship to natureTutkielma käsittelee korppeja ja variksia kelttiläisessä ja muinaisnorjalaisessa mytologiassa ennen ja jälkeen kristinuskoa. Tutkimuskysymyksiä on viisi. Ensimmäisenä tutkitaan, onko kelttiläisessä ja muinaisnorjalaisessa mytologiassa yhteisiä merkityksiä korpeille ja variksille sekä miltä osin merkitykset taas eroavat toisistaan. Toinen tutkimuskysymys on, löytyykö mahdollisia syitä sille, miksi kelttiläisessä ja muinaisnorjalaisessa mytologiassa käytetään näitä lintuja (mahdollisesti) samalla tavalla jossain asiayhteydessä ja (mahdollisesti) eri tavalla toisessa asiayhteydessä. Tutkielma käsittelee myös sitä, onko korppi- ja varis- nimityksiä käytetty rinnasteisesti. Kun on käsitelty korppeja ja variksia kelttiläisessä ja muinaisnorjalaisessa mytologiassa, tutkitaan näiden lintujen symbolisia merkityksiä Raamatussa. Lopuksi vertailemalla näitä merkityksiä pyritään ottamaan selvää — perustuen tutkimusmateriaalina käytettyihin teksteihin — ihmisten suhtautuminen korppeihin ja variksiin muuttunut kristinuskon tulon jälkeen. Tutkimusmateriaali koostuu kolmesta tekstistä: The Táinista, Eddasta ja Doauy-Rheims -Raamatusta. The Táin on irlantilainen, Edda taas muinaisnorjalainen eepos, Douay-Rheims- Raamattu taas käännös Versio Vulgatasta. Tutkielman teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin sitä, miten kristinusko valtasi maaperää Irlannissa ja Pohjoismaissa. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että korpit ja varikset esitetään sekä The Táinissa että Eddassa melko samalla tavalla. On kuitenkin havaittavissa ero siinä, kuinka luonnollisina nämä linnut ja niiden toiminnot näyttäytyvät ihmisille. Korppi- ja varis- nimityksiä käytetään molemmissa eepoksissa varsin rinnasteisesti, tosin Eddassa varikset nähdään joissain kohdin korppeja alempiarvoisina. Raamatun myötä tulee mukaan hiukan erilainen tapa nähdä korpit. Jumala on luonut ne itseään ja ihmisiä alempiarvoisiksi. Näin ollen, tekstit voidaan nähdä eräänlaisena jatkumona The Táinista jossa varikset ja korpit ovat lähinnä jumalia ja niiden toiminta nähdään luonnollisena, Eddaan, jossa nämä linnut nähtiin osana ihmisten ja jumalten elämää mutta esimerkiksi The Táinista löytyvä jumalten muuntautuminen näiksi linnuiksi puuttuu Eddasta. Eddassa myöskään korppien ja varisten haaskansyöntiä ei nähdä niin luonnollisena tapahtumana kuin The Táinissa. Jatkumon toisessa päässä on Raamattu, jossa näitä lintuja kyllä pidetään arvossa siinä mielessä, että ne ovat osa luomakuntaa, mutta ne ovat selvästi Jumalaa ja ihmisiä alempiarvoisia. Näin ollen tutkimusmateriaalin perusteella kristinuskon rantautuminen toi mukanaan toisenlaisen luonto-suhteen
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Braithwaite-Westoby, Manu. "Images from Old Norse Mythology and Legend on Anglo-Scandinavian and Scandinavian Stone Sculpture and some Wood Objects." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/10537.
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The objective of this thesis was to survey the various stone and wood monuments (that include images from Old Norse mythology and legend) in the north of England and Scandinavia during the so-called Viking Age. Chapter One examines the English material, with a particular focus on the myths involving Völundr the smith, Sigurðr, Ragnarök, Þórr and the Miðgarðsormr and some other more obscure figures. Chapter Two explores the relationship between the form of pre-Christian religion of the Vikings and Christianity. In this instance, the stone sculpture from northern England became the grounds for examination, although I have also invoked many of the relevant texts from the Old Norse-Icelandic literary record. Chapter Three is an examination of the material from Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) and the Isle of Man. This chapter has been divided into three sections – one for each country with further subdivisions on the basis of myth. Chapter Three is similar to the first in presentation, although more independent analysis has been undertaken as language barriers have prevented me from reading the Scandinavian written records with complete accuracy. My arguments include the following: (a) that the relationship between Old Norse paganism and Christianity has been largely underestimated and has yet to be properly researched; (b) that this relationship has deep roots on many levels as evidenced by the Viking Age sculpture and Old Norse literature; (c) many of the Scandinavian myths and legends were thought continuous within the broad Christian framework and were embraced, hence their appearance on the monuments; (d) there is an old tradition of image making in Scandinavia and the British Isles that connects the two areas together, despite the vastness of the sea; (e) many of the monuments in both areas share aspects of composition, style and content and should be viewed as belonging to the same overarching tradition but, in some cases, as having arisen independently.
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Quinn, Judy. "The eddic tradition : a study of the mode of transmission of eddic mythological poetry in the middle ages." Phd thesis, Department of English, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8670.
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Kuusela, Tommy. ""Hallen var lyst i helig frid" : Krig och fred mellan gudar och jättar i en fornnordisk hallmiljö." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för etnologi, religionshistoria och genusvetenskap, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-147261.
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This thesis is the first study to examine the interaction between gods and giants in Old Norse mythology from the perspective of Iron Age halls. Its central aim is to contextualise Old Norse mythological narratives that describe the interactions between gods and giants in a hall environment, and to show how the mythological depictions can be compared to the norms and rules found in Iron Age hall culture, especially in connection with its warrior ideology. The relationships observed also apply to the Iron Age’s aristocratic sovereigns and their dynamic dealings – both peaceful and martial – found in the connection and rivalry between different halls and hall owners. The giants are related to the concept of “the Other”, and as hall-owners can thus be contextualised with real social relations in Iron Age society. The investigation centers arounds key topics from the perspective of a hall setting, departing from mythic traditions regarding Óðinn and Þórr as guests in the halls of giants. These topics include grið within the hall; the good and generous host; the dangerous and hostile guest; the hall as an arena for knowledge and mead; and finally the destruction of halls as an attack on the hall owner’s fame and honour. Similarities and differences between myths about Óðinn’s and Þórr’s interaction with hall-owning giants are examined in depth, and it is argued that Óðinn embodies wisdom and extracts knowledge or valuables from the giants by cunning tricks or manipulation, having (usually) travelled there alone and in disguise. Þórr, on the other hand, is argued to embody physical strength, honour, glory and courage, and his dealings with the giants revolve around these issues. He seldom seems to travel alone or under cover, and when his courage or honour is threatened, his response is to kill his host (and his retinue) and to destroy the giant’s hall. It is argued that the Old Norse conception of the world is to be understood as neither dualistic or monistic. Instead, it is proposed that the myths can be understood from a perspective of conflicts that are temporal and not permanent in nature.
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Schlereth, L. T. "British theories of mythology and Old Norse poetry : a study of methodologies in the mid-19th to early 20th centuries." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2012. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1346490/.
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This study is an examination of the major theories concerning mythology that were popular in the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and the ways in which they can be applied to Old Norse myth. The goal is to develop a greater understanding of how specific theories can or cannot be applied to certain mythological poems that are contained with the Poetic Edda collection. The examination begins with the etymological approach of Max Müller and his applicability to Alvíssmál, Skírnismál and Lokasenna. It will be shown that Müller’s ideas are difficult to apply, with only Skírnismál being particularly receptive. The next chapter examines the development of anthropological approaches, specifically that of Edward Tylor and Andrew Lang, and the content of Vafþrúðnismál and Vǫlospá. These poems will be shown to have many indicators of the scholar’s theories, but offer little insight into any larger, societal, functions the myths contained within the poems may have served. The third chapter focuses on the role ritual was thought to play in relation to myth and continues the examination of Vafþrúðnismál and Vǫlospá from the perspective of William Robertson Smith and Sir James George Frazer. Here, special focus is placed on the riddle-contest form of Vafþrúðnismál and the narrative surrounding the god Baldr that is partially contained in Vǫlospá. Finally, the study analyzes the theories of the Cambridge Ritualists and Bertha Phillpotts; scholars who posited that myths were derived from not only rituals, but ritual dramas. These final scholars will reveal that at the beginning of the twentieth century there was good reason to believe some of the Poetic Edda poems had a previous dramatic state, but more thorough research was needed. The study concludes with a summary of scholarship that followed these academics and possible future avenues of examination.
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Gardela, Leszek. "Entangled worlds : archaeologies of ambivalence in the Viking age." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2012. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=207460.
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When all available sources on the Viking world are combined, there is a strong sense that the Scandinavians of the late Iron Age (8th-11th centuries AD) recognised no clear distinctions between the profane and the sacred. The latter could manifest itself in different ways, in places, beings or objects, and it often aroused ambivalent feelings of both fear and awe. This thesis explores these entanglements and the notion of ambivalence in relation to a particular group of Viking-Age individuals involved in the practice of magic (e.g. seiðr). Chapters 1-3 form the background for the considerations on ritual specialists' lives, tools of trade and ways of burial. After a detailed review of Viking-Age funerary practices, focus shifts towards the corpus of so-called ‘deviant burials', which in recent years have often been interpreted as belonging to ritual specialists. Chapter 4 compares the written and archaeological evidence for the funerary treatment of ritual specialists. Particular attention is devoted to graves where the deceased are covered with stones, since in the written sources execution by stoning is often employed as a punishment for malevolent magic. Nonetheless, caution is suggested in labeling all of them as belonging to ritual specialists and the necessity of a more individual, contextual approach is proposed. Chapter 5 examines a specific group of Viking-Age artefacts that usually take the form of iron rods, which have recently been interpreted as magic staffs. These items are discussed in the light of Old Norse texts and comparative materials from other areas of the world. Ultimately, the thesis embraces the notion of ambiguity in Viking attitudes to the supernatural, viewing this not as an obstructive problem but as an active component of interpretation. This combines an appropriate caution in approaching a difficult aspect of past societies, with a sensible refusal to introduce more rigid definitions than those used by the Vikings themselves.
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Jolly, Adam Howard. "Three Furies: The Mythic and the Mundane." TopSCHOLAR®, 2004. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1098.
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Adam Jolly May 7th, 2004 67 pages
Directed by: Dr. Nancy Roberts, Dr. David Lenoir, and Dr. Lloyd Davies
Department of English Western Kentucky University
This thesis, consisting of three short stories, proposes to explore ubiquitous motifs by exhibition of symbolic, mythological conceptions and personalities relating mutually with the everyday and the exceptional in a plausible way. These stories are intended to include effectual inquiry and still be inventive and entertaining.
Source materials for this thesis range from Norse mythology to Homer to the Charlie Daniels Band.
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Mattioli, Vittorio. "Grímnismál : a critical edition." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/12219.
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The purpose of this thesis is an in-depth analysis of the Eddic poem Grímnismál found in the manuscript known as Codex Regius (GKS 2365 4to), located in Reykjavík, dated to c. 1270 and a fragment (AM 748 I 4to), located in Copenhagen, dated to c. 1300. While a great deal of work has been done on Grímnismál as part of the Elder Edda, there is yet no specific edition focusing on it alone. New studies on Germanic paganism and mythology show its shifting nature and the absence of specific tenets or uniform beliefs throughout the Germanic speaking world and in time. The relatively absent sources are similarly scattered. As such, the thesis suggests a new method of study, following a focused historical approach in which only Grímnismál is analysed in an attempt to understand the beliefs of the people that composed it. The nature of pagan belief itself prevents one from drawing more general conclusions on ‘Norse mythology' as a whole. Part 1 is divided into two chapters and deals with my approach, the nature of Germanic belief, and the sources available as well as techniques of interpretation for them, all relevant to the production of the arguments made in the thesis. Part 2 deals with Grímnismál itself: Chapter 1 provides an analysis of the manuscripts, Chapter 2 contains my editing notes and Chapter 3 analyses the contents of the poem, Chapter 4 consists of my conclusions to this study, focusing on the cosmology and the dating of the poem. Part 3 contains the edition of Grímnismál and is followed by Part 4 which is the commentary to the poem. The thesis is followed by two appendices, one containing a facing transcription of the manuscripts and the other being a glossary to all words used in Grímnismál. Finally, this thesis includes a digital edition worked on xml. This is available in the following link: https://starescomp.github.io/grimnismal/#idm140518410334752
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Butts, IV Leverett Belton. "Heroes with a Hundred Names: Mythology and Folklore in Robert Penn Warren's Early Fiction." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2009. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/english_theses/71.
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This dissertation examines Robert Penn Warren‘s use of Arthurian legend, Judeo-Christian folklore, Norse mythology, and ancient vegetation rituals in his first four novels. It also illustrates how the use of these myths helps define Warren‘s Agrarian ideals while underscoring his subtle references to these ideals in his early fiction.
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Dessì, Giulia. "“The Treasures of the Gods” di Neil Gaiman: proposta di traduzione." Bachelor's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2017. http://amslaurea.unibo.it/13798/.
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L'elaborato consiste in una proposta di traduzione di un racconto tratto da "Norse Mythology" di Neil Gaiman e in una breve analisi dell’origine e della storia traduttiva dei due testi medievali alla base dell’opera di Gaiman, l’Edda di Snorri e l’Edda poetica, da cui deriva gran parte della nostra conoscenza della mitologia norrena.
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Grigg, Madeline J. "Dog Stars." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1555682074446507.
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Kaiser, Charlotte. "Krankheit und Krankheitsbewältigung in den Isländersagas medizinhistorischer Aspekt und erzähltechnische Funktion /." Köln : Seltmann & Hein, 1998. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/50093851.html.
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Pekkarinen, Anu. ""Minnecllîche Meit" vs "Tíuvelés WIP" : increasing female property rights and the courtly contradictions manifested by the figure of Brünhild /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2004. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p1422950.
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Gillberg, Moa. "Frösöns offerträd : En symbios av två kulturer?" Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-185592.
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The sacrificial tree of Frösö: A symbiosis of two cultures? This bachelor thesis deals with the site of what has been interpreted as the remains of a sacrificial tree under the church of Frösö, on the island of Frösö. The found material consists predominantly of animal bones, where a large part has been identified as wild animals such as brown bears, but also a large number of juvenile pigs. Previous research has interpreted the place as an Old Norse place of worship to the Norse god Frey, due to the rich numberof pigs and the islands theophoric name (translated to “The island of Frey”). The unusual wild animals, such as squirrels and red deer have been interpreted as a staging of the ancient world tree Yggdrasil in Norse mythology. The overrepresentation of bones from brown bear however has been debated and is often compared to Sami bear graves. There are some similarities to the bear graves, but the differences that exist needs to be looked at more closely. The aim is to process materials and interpretations in a more holistic way. This is done by discussing various ritual acts, belief system and the choice of place of worship and sacrificial material, then apply this to the findings under the church of Frösö. Since such a large part of the bone material descents from brown bears, the use of bears in various cult practices has also been studied. The aim of this study is to provide new insight and interpretation of which ethnic groups may have used the site, before the church was built.The discussion concludes that a symbiosis is possible in the vicinity of the island, and that it is therefore not unlikely that this also applies to the island of Frösö. The found material under the church of Frösö could be remnants of a bear ceremony, but it could also be remnants from a more economic aspect or simply a mixture of the two. The bear was important financially in the Norse society and a Sami influence, based on their customs and beliefs, is not entirely unlikely given the close contact that existed. This could therefore have been symbolically incorporated into the religious rites.
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Wickström, Johan. "Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-9196.
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Narratives of Nordic pre-history are common in textbooks of the Swedish 'folk school'. This thesis discusses them from an ideological critical perspective and analyses them as textbook myths. This analytic concept of myth is constructed and used as a tool for studying ideological expressions in pedagogical texts. It is compatible with a historical materialist, social constructivist and Gramsci inspired perspective towards folk schooling and can handle questions of selection and re-organisation of ancient narrative material. The study shows how a paternalistic ethnic ideology which showed the pupils how their ancestors immigrated and set up society and order is replaced by nationalistic myths where the Swedes are projected on the totality of the past. Idealisation of farmers and expressions that neutralise poverty and legitimates subordination are used continuously throughout the study period. After 1868 a national folk concept is established. Textbook myths with a euhemeristic portrayal of civilisation are replaced by other scientific ways of handling pre-historic religions including elements from nature mythology and evolutionary theory. The myths handle religions both through Christian polemics and theological projections. The results of the analyses are interpreted in the light of the contemporary socio-economic changes where a feudal agrarian society's principles for classifications and hierarchies are challenged and broken by the principles of a class society with a nationalistic ideology. In the concluding chapters the myths are discussed and interpreted in relation to curriculum codes and in a Gramsci inspired perspective as expressions of a passive bourgeois revolution, where intellectuals of the middle class conquered the school and the textbook myths by making alliances with the farming class and trying to neutralise the poor and the working class. The thesis contributes to research in the use of history, representation in pedagogical texts and to research in nationalism.
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Lawson, Michael David. "Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3538.
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Using the lives of impaired individuals catalogued in the Íslendingasögur as a narrative framework, this study examines medieval Scandinavian social views regarding impairment from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Beginning with the myths and legends of the eddic poetry and prose of Iceland, it investigates impairment in Norse pre-Christian belief; demonstrating how myth and memory informed medieval conceptualizations of the body. This thesis counters scholarly assumptions that the impaired were universally marginalized across medieval Europe. It argues that bodily difference, in the Norse world, was only viewed as a limitation when it prevented an individual from fulfilling roles that contributed to their community. As Christianity’s influence spread and northern European powers became more focused on state-building aims, Scandinavian societies also slowly began to transform. Less importance was placed on the community in favor of the individual and policies regarding bodily difference likewise changed; becoming less inclusive toward the impaired.
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Hansson, Nora. "Klassiskt och nordiskt : fornnordiska motiv i bildkonsten 1775-1855." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Konstvetenskapliga institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-403548.
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The subject of this master’s thesis is depictions of Old Norse mythology and related motifs in the visual arts during the period 1775–1855. The main question of this research is how the motifs were visualized and how the depictions are related to the classical tradition. Three artworks are objects of detailed study: Johann Heinrich Füssli’s painting Thor Battering the Midgaard serpent (1790), Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg’s The death of Balder (1817) and Nils Jacob Blommér’s painting Näcken and the daughters of Ägir (1850). The paintings are compared with literary sources and analyzed in relation to classicism as well as ideas about history and the Old Norse. It is argued that symbols, themes and compositions from the classical tradition, such as the heroic nude, were used by artists to visualize motifs from Old Norse mythology. It is also argued that the depictions, which by previous scholars have been considered primarily classical, are in fact characterized by a resistance against likeness with the Olympic gods and antique costume.
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Reynoso-Rábago, Alfonso. "La vision du monde dans la mythologie maseuale (nahua) de la Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexique) /." [Montréal] : Université de Montréal, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/umontreal/fullcit?pNQ92769.
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Thèse (Ph.D.) -- Université de Montréal, 2004."Thèse présentée à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) en anthropologie" Version électronique également disponible sur Internet.
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Reed, Mark Dobson. "The Role of Popular Mythology and Popular Culture in Post-war America, as represented by four novels - The Floating Opera and The End of the Road, by John Barth, White Noise, by Don DeLillo, and Vineland, by Thomas Pynchon." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/627.
Full textAbstract:
The four novels - The Floating Opera, The End of the Road, White Noise, and Vineland - are representative of the cultural shift away from traditional moral concepts after World War II. Popular culture has increasingly become the guiding force for the continuation of American society, and in Don DeLillo�s White Noise, popular culture and its creation of myth (according to the author�s representation of America) has become embedded in the system and life of contemporary America. John Barth�s novel The End of the Road and its predecessor The Floating Opera are important in any discussion of the role of popular culture and popular mythology in post-war America. They both appear to signal an end to sincere intellectual thought or debate, and the notion of imposing a rational moral world upon the social landscape surrounding the individual. The Floating Opera explores the common tendency of society to avoid difficult intellectual struggles, and the central character and first-person narrator ultimately realises that questions about the nature of existence are of no objective value. In The End of the Road the character Jacob Horner adopts a superficial reflection of pre-existing rules and social conventions. Together these novels reflect much of what is at present understood as the postmodern aesthetic, and are indicative of many of the changes in America that were about to occur. The Floating Opera was published in 1956 and The End of the Road was published in 1958, but they are still highly relevant beyond the period in which they were written. White Noise (1984) portrays a system founded on the Hollywood mythology, and the superficial reflection of pre-existing rules and social conventions found in The End of the Road. The novel revolves around the experiences of the narrator, Jack Gladney, a university lecturer who teaches Hitler studies at Blacksmith College, and his wife Babette. The course which he teaches on Hitler is influenced by Hollywood myth, and the novel portrays a consumer-based society that has lost much of the firm moral basis which traditional religious concepts formerly supplied. The role of television, Hollywood, and the idea of simulation are all explored throughout the novel and are important forces in any examination of post-war American society. Finally, in Vineland (1990) the social upheavals which occurred during the late �60s and early �70s are explored from the perspective of the 1980s. The novel refers to a vast array of images and icons from popular culture, and the brief youth rebellion, in the late �60s, which failed to inspire any final social revolution. The result of this failed social revolution is a landscape of popular culture in modern America, where Godzilla leaves footprints in Japan and popular mythology from television or pulp novels coincides with everyday life. There are references in typical Pynchonesque fashion to those who must necessarily be orchestrating these social and cultural alterations, but they, as specific individuals, remain anonymous or hidden from the scope of the author (although, as in White Noise, there are deliberate references to the CIA and other agencies or departments within the U.S. Federal Government). Vineland is important, therefore, both as an account of the social changes which occurred in America between the late �60s and �80s, and the increasing role of popular culture in America. These four novels form the basis of an exploration of the role of popular mythology and popular culture in post-war America. They form a clear progression, and allow a detailed analysis of the social and cultural changes which contemporary America has undergone since the end of World War II.
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Reed, Mark Dobson. "The Role of Popular Mythology and Popular Culture in Post-war America, as represented by four novels - The Floating Opera and The End of the Road, by John Barth, White Noise, by Don DeLillo, and Vineland, by Thomas Pynchon." University of Sydney. English, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/627.
Full textAbstract:
The four novels - The Floating Opera, The End of the Road, White Noise, and Vineland - are representative of the cultural shift away from traditional moral concepts after World War II. Popular culture has increasingly become the guiding force for the continuation of American society, and in Don DeLillo�s White Noise, popular culture and its creation of myth (according to the author�s representation of America) has become embedded in the system and life of contemporary America. John Barth�s novel The End of the Road and its predecessor The Floating Opera are important in any discussion of the role of popular culture and popular mythology in post-war America. They both appear to signal an end to sincere intellectual thought or debate, and the notion of imposing a rational moral world upon the social landscape surrounding the individual. The Floating Opera explores the common tendency of society to avoid difficult intellectual struggles, and the central character and first-person narrator ultimately realises that questions about the nature of existence are of no objective value. In The End of the Road the character Jacob Horner adopts a superficial reflection of pre-existing rules and social conventions. Together these novels reflect much of what is at present understood as the postmodern aesthetic, and are indicative of many of the changes in America that were about to occur. The Floating Opera was published in 1956 and The End of the Road was published in 1958, but they are still highly relevant beyond the period in which they were written. White Noise (1984) portrays a system founded on the Hollywood mythology, and the superficial reflection of pre-existing rules and social conventions found in The End of the Road. The novel revolves around the experiences of the narrator, Jack Gladney, a university lecturer who teaches Hitler studies at Blacksmith College, and his wife Babette. The course which he teaches on Hitler is influenced by Hollywood myth, and the novel portrays a consumer-based society that has lost much of the firm moral basis which traditional religious concepts formerly supplied. The role of television, Hollywood, and the idea of simulation are all explored throughout the novel and are important forces in any examination of post-war American society. Finally, in Vineland (1990) the social upheavals which occurred during the late �60s and early �70s are explored from the perspective of the 1980s. The novel refers to a vast array of images and icons from popular culture, and the brief youth rebellion, in the late �60s, which failed to inspire any final social revolution. The result of this failed social revolution is a landscape of popular culture in modern America, where Godzilla leaves footprints in Japan and popular mythology from television or pulp novels coincides with everyday life. There are references in typical Pynchonesque fashion to those who must necessarily be orchestrating these social and cultural alterations, but they, as specific individuals, remain anonymous or hidden from the scope of the author (although, as in White Noise, there are deliberate references to the CIA and other agencies or departments within the U.S. Federal Government). Vineland is important, therefore, both as an account of the social changes which occurred in America between the late �60s and �80s, and the increasing role of popular culture in America. These four novels form the basis of an exploration of the role of popular mythology and popular culture in post-war America. They form a clear progression, and allow a detailed analysis of the social and cultural changes which contemporary America has undergone since the end of World War II.
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Morais, Guilherme Augusto Louzada Ferreira de. "A representação do modelo de herói clássico na personagem feminina Katniss Everdeen, de "Jogos vorazes" /." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/152788.
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Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
Estudamos a série de livros “Jogos vorazes” (2010-2011) com o objetivo de demonstrar como se dá a permanência e a representação do modelo heroico da Antiguidade Clássica na Contemporaneidade por meio da análise da caracterização da personagem feminina Katniss Everdeen. Para tanto, enfocamos a personagem criada por Collins e as características que a definem como heroína, comparando-a ao modelo heroico clássico descrito por tantos autores da Grécia e Roma, como, por exemplo, Homero, Hesíodo, Vergílio, etc., e considerando também as reflexões sobre o herói tecidas por Campbell em O herói de mil faces (1997), dentre outros títulos e autores que embasam nossos estudos. Percebemos que há, na série, uma mudança na representação de arquétipos literários, a saber, herói clássico versus donzela clássica, visto que Katniss Everdeen assume o papel de herói e Peeta Mellark, tributo masculino, assume o papel de donzela, pois, em grande parte do enredo, é salvo por ela. Dessa forma, buscamos verificar o que desvia a trama em estudo dos moldes então estabelecidos pelos Clássicos, ou seja, como Collins redefine os padrões da Literatura Clássica greco-romana, nos quais o homem era guerreiro e a mulher era dona de casa. Para isso, iniciamos nossas considerações a partir de Jung (2002), porque autores como Randazzo (1996), Vogler (2006) e Meletínski (1998), dentre outros, partem das postulações do psicanalista suíço para discutirem a respeito de arquétipos encontrados na publicidade, literatura e cinema. No percurso do estudo da heroína, realizamos uma breve comparação entre Katniss, outrora escravazida pela Capital (em uma espécie de escravidão velada), que se torna heroína e símbolo de toda uma revolução, e o herói masculino de outra obra, Espártaco, escravo e gladiador da Trácia, que foi líder de uma revolução conhecida por Guerra dos Escravos, conforme se pode comprovar no romance Espártaco, de Howard Fast (1981), publicado originalmente em inglês em 1951, e no filme baseado nesta obra literária, de Stanley Kubrick (1960), com a finalidade principal de comprovar a mudança no tratamento dos arquétipos e averiguar a presença de elementos ligados à cultura romana na série escrita por Collins. Enfim, buscamos verificar de que modo o modelo de Herói Clássico, seja na figura dos heróis mitológicos, seja na personagem histórica de Espártaco, é representado na caracterização da protagonista feminina de “Jogos vorazes” e quais significados tais representações acrescentam à interpretação da série.
The present study aims at analyzing the series titled “The Hunger Games” to demonstrate, by observing the characterization of the female character Katniss Everdeen, how the representation of the heroic model from Classical Antiquity persists in Contemporary Literature. In order to do so, we have focused on the character created by Collins and the features that define her as a heroine, comparing her to the classical heroic model described by several authors in Greece and Rome, such as Homer, Hesiod, Vergil, etc., as well as to specifications about the hero character presented in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” (1997), by Joseph Campbell, along with additional information on the topic provided by other authors. We have observed a change, in Collins’ novels, regarding the representation of literary archetypes, namely the classical Hero versus the classical Maiden, as Katniss Everdeen takes the role of the Hero and Peeta Mellark, the male tribute, plays the role of the Maiden, for throughout a large part of the plot he is saved by her. Therefore, we seeked to verify what deviates the plot in study from the patterns once established by Classical tradition, or, in other words, to observe how Collins redefines the standards of the Greco-Roman Classical Literature, in which the man was a warrior and the woman was a housewife. Our study is based on Jung (2002) because authors such as Randazzo (1996), Vogler (2006) and Meletínski (1998), among others, consider the postulates of the Swiss psychoanalyst to discuss archetypes found in advertising, literature and cinema. In the course of the study of the heroine, for the purpose of proving the change in the treatment of archetypes and ascertaining the presence of elements related to the Roman culture in the series written by Collins, we made a brief comparison between Katniss, once slaved by the Capitol (in a kind of veiled slavery), who becomes a heroine and a symbol of an entire revolution, and the male hero of another artwork, Spartacus, a slave and gladiator from Thrace who was the leader of a revolution known as the “War of the Slaves,” as it can be seen in Howard Fast’s (1981) novel Spartacus, originally published in English in 1951, and in the film based on this literary work, directed by Stanley Kubrick (1960). Finally, our study demonstrates that the Classical Hero model, whether taken from mythological heroes or from the historical character of Spartacus, plays an important role in the characterization of the female protagonist of “The Hunger Games,” adding different meanings to the interpretation of the series.
Proc. 2015/23592-6
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Saussard-Colard, Dorothée-Laure. "Le visage romanesque : dans les œuvres de Chariton, de Xénophon d'Éphèse, de Longus, d'Héliodore d'Émèse et d'Achille Tatius." Thesis, Besançon, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012BESA1035.
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L’analyse du vocabulaire grec du visage dans l’ensemble des romans de Chariton, de Xénophon, de Longus, d’Héliodore et d’Achille Tatius a pour dessein de montrer l’intérêt certain, à la fois esthétique et sensoriel, porté à cette partie souveraine du corps. Quelle est donc l’importance accordée au visage du héros ou de l’héroïne ? Et de quelle manière le discours rend-il compte de son incarnation, de sa réalité organique ? Comment les visages des personnages interagissent-ils ? Parce que le visage se révèle une interface entre l’intime et le social, entre l’intériorité et l’expressivité, on peut se demander en quoi ce lieu privilégié du corps, à travers la description de l’aspect physique des personnages, caractérise leur éthos permanent ou communique au lecteur leurs émotions fugitives. Le visage s’offre aux regards et interpelle. Ses traits sont autant de signes à interpréter pour celui ou celle qui le regarde et dont il mobilise le système de reconnaissance et de représentation. Certes, la description physique des héroïnes comme celle des jeunes hommes ne se limite pas au visage. Mais, seul le visage, qui n’a rien d’incertain, d’irrégulier, de disharmonieux, est appelé à refléter les vertus des personnages mais aussi ses plus grandes souffrances. La mise en icônes de traits représentatifs des personnages s’inscrit dans la logique des procédures de description physique qui caractérise la culture romanesque. Le roman aime ainsi à représenter la beauté, en alliant aux manifestations physiques les émotions de l’âme. Les visages des héros romanesques grecs sont dévoilés dans une sorte de mosaïque à la fois anatomique et littéraire, évoquant les éléments fondamentaux qui les constituent. Ainsi, sans confondre visage et portrait, nous avons déconstruit le visage romanesque pour en montrer les diverses facettes, la palette des couleurs, les références littéraires intertextuelles et mythologiques mais aussi certains invariants, pour enfin mieux le reconstruire. Nous avons donc procédé à l’étude et à l’analyse du visage, non seulement comme entité mais en tant que visage morcelé, voire éclaté. L’étude approfondie des sens s’est attachée à souligner la passion, ses effets et les émotions du corps, entre plaisir et souffrance, entre affection et violence. Cette recherche a permis de souligner les éléments communs aux différents romanciers, mais aussi leur originalité d'écriture. L'importance accordée au visage et plus généralement au corps dans la narratologie laisse apparaître le reflet des valeurs de la société grecque de leur tempsThe analysis of Greek vocabulary about the face in Chariton, Xenophon, Longus, Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius’s novels as a whole plans to show the definite interest, both aesthetic and sensory focused on this sovereign part of the body. So what is the importance attached to the hero or heroine’s faces? And how does the discourse explain its incarnation and organical reality? The face proves to be an interface between the private and social world, between interiority and expressiveness. So we can wonder how this privileged part of the body characterizes their permanent ethos ; we can wonder how it transmits their fleeting emotions to the reader, through the description of the physical look of the characters. The face catches attention. Its features mobilize the system of recognition and representation. Indeed the physical description of heroines as well as heroes is not limited to the face. But only the face, with nothing uncertain, irregular, disharmonious, is assigned to reflect the characters’ virtues but also their greatest suffering. « La mise en icônes »of characters’ representative features is part of the procedures of physical description that characterize the culture of the novel. Thus the novel likes to represent beauty by combining physical expressions with soul feeling. The faces of Greek novelistic heroes are revealed in a kind of mosaic at once anatomical and literary, evoking the basic elements that constitute them. Thus, without mixing up face and portrait, we have deconstructed the novelistic face to show its various facets, colour palette, intertextual literary and mythological references ; but also to show some invariants to, at last, rebuild it in a better way. We have therefore conducted a thorough study and analysis of the face not only as an entity but as a fragmented even blown up face. The detailed study of senses has endeavoured to emphasize passion and its effects, and show the emotions of the body between pleasure and suffering, affection and violence. On the one hand this research has permitted to highlight the elements common to the different novelists, their original writing and the importance granted to face and more generally to body in narratology. On the other hand it has led us to analyze the reflection of the values of the Greek society of their days
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McGillivray, Andrew. "Mythic transformations: tree symbolism in the Norse plantation." 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1993/4433.
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This thesis explores tree symbolism as interpreted from a selection of Old Norse poetic and prose mythological sources. The primary poetic sources include the Eddic poems Vǫluspá, Hávamál, Grímnismál, Vafþrúðnismál, Lokasenna and Baldrs draumur. Selected fragments from these poems are arranged and analyzed with particular attention to the symbol of the tree. Fragments are also selected from Gylfaginning of Snorri’s Edda, and are explored alongside the poetic sources.
The focus topics progress from a description of the tree at the beginning of time, as the spatial structure of the mythic cosmos, the object of sacrifice, weapon of death, material of mortal creation, instrument of fate and, finally, source of rebirth after the cosmic destruction. The aim is to observe the transformation of the symbol of the tree both spatially, within the Eddic cycle, and temporally, as the prose accounts drawn from Gylfaginning are believed to be younger than the mythological poems. The abstract concept of the book is developed in relation to the symbol of the tree, and as the thesis progresses the relationship between tree, book and human is developed that ultimately seeks to mobilize the dynamism of such associations. The hopeful outcome undertakes to provide some insight into the human condition.
This thesis is also theoretical and two important sources are applied to the poetic subject: the socio-philosophical work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, along with the psychoanalytic interpretations of Carl Gustav Jung. Both of these voices address the symbol of the tree and its significance for the human condition, which, when considered alongside the close analyses of the textual fragments approach what is common to the tree, the book and the human, but also discerns where the three points diverge.
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"Norse Romanticism: Subversive Female Voices in British Invocations of Nordic Yore." Master's thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.17774.
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abstract: The mid-eighteenth century publication of national British folk collections like James MacPherson's Works of Ossian and Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, placed a newfound interest in the ancient literature associated with Northern/Gothic heritage. This shift from the classical past created a non-classical interest in the barbarism of Old Norse society, which appeared to closely resemble the Anglo-Saxons. In addition to this growing interest, Edmund Burke's seminal treatise, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, provided a newfound aesthetic interest in objects of terror. The barbaric obscurity and exoticism associated with the Norse culture provided the perfect figures to explore a Gothic heritage while invoking the terror of the sublime. This interest accounted for a variety of works published with Gothic themes and elements that included Old Norse pagan figures. Though a few scholars have attempted to shed light on this sub-field of Romanticism, it continues to lack critical attention, which inhibits a more holistic understanding of Romanticism. I argue that "Norse Romanticism" is a legitimate sub-field of Romanticism, made apparent by the number of primary works available from the age, and I synthesize the major works done thus far in creating a foundation for this field. I also argue that one of the tenets of Norse Romanticism is the newfound appreciation of the "Norse Woman" as a democratized figure, thus opening up a subversive space for dialogue in women's writing using the Gothic aesthetic. To illustrate this, I provide analysis of three Gothic poems written by women writers: Anna Seward's "Herva at the Tomb of Argantyr," Anne Bannerman's "The Nun," and Ann Radcliffe's "Salisbury Plains. Stonehenge." In addition, I supplement Robert Miles' theoretical reading of the Gothic with three philosophical essays on the empowerment of the imagination through terror writing in Anna Letitia Aikin (Barbauld) and John Aikin's "On the Pleasure Derived from Objects of Terror" and "On Romances" as well as Ann Radcliffe's "On the Supernatural in Poetry."Dissertation/Thesis
M.A. English 2013
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Marais, Carin. "Die neerslag van die Noorse mitologie op enkele Afrikaanse en Nederlandse letterkundige werke." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12502.
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Wanner, Kevin J. "The distinguished norseman : Snorri Sturluson, the Edda, and the conversion of capital in medieval Scandinavia /." 2003. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3097170.
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Nielsen, Eva Edmondson Laura. "The Elder Edda revisted past and present performances of the Icelandic Eddic poems /." Diss., 2005. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04112005-125543.
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Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2005.Advisor: Dr. Laura Edmondson, Florida State University, School of Theatre. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 13, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains v, 67 pages. Includes bibliographical references.
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Baer, Patricia Ann. "An Old Norse Image Hoard: From the Analog Past to the Digital Present." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/4582.
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My Interdisciplinary dissertation examines illustrations in manuscripts and early print sources and reveals their participation in the transmission and reception of Old Norse mythology. My approach encompasses Material Philology and Media Specific Analysis. The reception history of illustrations of Old Norse Mythology affects our understanding of related Interdisciplinary fields such as Book History, Visual Studies, Literary Studies and Cultural Studies.
Part One of my dissertation begins with a discussion of the tradition of Old Norse oral poetry in pagan Scandinavia and the highly visual nature of the poems. The oral tradition died out in Scandinavia but survived in Iceland and was preserved in vernacular manuscripts in the thirteenth century. The discovery of these manuscripts in the seventeenth century initiated a cycle of illustration that largely occurred outside of Iceland. Part One concludes with an analytical survey of illustrations of Old Norse mythology in print sources from 1554 to 1915 revealing important patterns of transmission.
Part Two traces the technological history of production of digital editions and manuscript facsimiles back to the seventeenth century when manuscripts were hand-copied and published by means of copperplate engravings. Part Two also discusses the scholarly and cultural prejudices towards images that are only now slowly fading. Part Two concludes with a description of my prototype for a digital image repository named MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository). MyNDIR will facilitate the emergence of images of Old Norse Studies from the current informal crowd sourcing of material on the web to a digital image repository supporting the dissemination of accurate scholarly knowledge in a widely accessible form.
Part Three presents two thematic case studies that demonstrate the value of applying the skills of visual literacy to illustrations of Old Norse mythology. The first study examines Jakob Sigurðsson’s illustrations of Norse gods in hand-copied paper manuscripts from eighteenth-century Iceland. The second study examines illustrations by prominent Norwegian artists in the editions of Snorre Sturlason: Kongesagaer published in 1899 and 1900 respectively. What emerged from these studies is an understanding that illustrations offer insights for the study of Old Norse texts that the words of the texts alone cannot provide.Graduate
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pabaer@uvic.ca
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Michalíková, Jana. "Náboženství a humor: Komické vrstvy ve staroseverských náboženských textech a jejich vztah k oficiálnímu náboženství." Master's thesis, 2014. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-332239.
Full textAbstract:
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,...
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Reynoso-Rábago, Alfonso. "La vision du monde dans la mythologie maseuale (nahua) de la Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexique)." Thèse, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/14234.
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