The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero
ABSTRACT: The article presents a case study within the recent renaissance of folkloristic approaches to Old Norse-Icelandic religious history and saga literature. It undertakes a comparative analysis of medieval literary and recent local traditions about the burial of Ǫnundr Wooden-Foot, who was th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
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Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift |
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| Online Access: | https://tidsskrift.dk/rvt/article/view/132135 |
| _version_ | 1797360914055299072 |
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| author | Matthias Egeler |
| author_facet | Matthias Egeler |
| author_sort | Matthias Egeler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
ABSTRACT: The article presents a case study within the recent renaissance of folkloristic approaches to Old Norse-Icelandic religious history and saga literature. It undertakes a comparative analysis of medieval literary and recent local traditions about the burial of Ǫnundr Wooden-Foot, who was the great-grandfather of Grettir the Strong and an important character in the introductory chapters of Grettis saga. First, the article lays out the different accounts of Ǫnundr’s burial in medieval literature. Second, it contrasts the literary accounts with a broad range of more recent local traditions. Furthermore, it brings the physical topography of Ǫnundr’s alleged burial site into the discussion. The article then uses this ensemble of data to problematise issues such as the relative importance of chronological vs. geographical distance between a narrative and its alleged object, throwing new light on the relevance of recent local traditions for understanding medieval saga accounts.
RESUME: Denne artikel præsenterer en case study inden for den folkloristiske tilgang til studiet af oldnordisk og oldislandsk religionshistorie og sagalitteratur. Den byder på en komparativ analyse af litterære middelalderkilder samt nyere, lokale traditioner om begravelsen af Ǫnundr Træfod, som var oldefar til Grettir den Stærke og en vigtig figur i de indledende kapitler af Grettis saga. Først fremstiller artiklen forskellige beretninger om Ǫnundrs begravelse ifølge middelalderlitteraturen. Derpå kontrasteres disse beretninger med en bred vifte af nyere, lokale traditioner. I tillæg diskuteres den konkrete topografi omkring Ǫnundrs påståede gravsted. Derpå bruger artiklen denne samling af data til at problematisere aspekter såsom den kronologiske kontra den geografiske afstand mellem fortællingen og dens genstand. Herved kastes der nyt lys på lokale traditioners relevans i forhold til vores forståelse af sagaberetninger fra middelalderen.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:46:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d627af4d3064a76beef4227f37e1686 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1904-8181 |
| language | Danish |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:46:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d627af4d3064a76beef4227f37e16862024-01-09T11:07:42ZdanReligionsvidenskabeligt TidsskriftReligionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift1904-81812022-03-017410.7146/rt.v74i.132135The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero Matthias Egeler ABSTRACT: The article presents a case study within the recent renaissance of folkloristic approaches to Old Norse-Icelandic religious history and saga literature. It undertakes a comparative analysis of medieval literary and recent local traditions about the burial of Ǫnundr Wooden-Foot, who was the great-grandfather of Grettir the Strong and an important character in the introductory chapters of Grettis saga. First, the article lays out the different accounts of Ǫnundr’s burial in medieval literature. Second, it contrasts the literary accounts with a broad range of more recent local traditions. Furthermore, it brings the physical topography of Ǫnundr’s alleged burial site into the discussion. The article then uses this ensemble of data to problematise issues such as the relative importance of chronological vs. geographical distance between a narrative and its alleged object, throwing new light on the relevance of recent local traditions for understanding medieval saga accounts. RESUME: Denne artikel præsenterer en case study inden for den folkloristiske tilgang til studiet af oldnordisk og oldislandsk religionshistorie og sagalitteratur. Den byder på en komparativ analyse af litterære middelalderkilder samt nyere, lokale traditioner om begravelsen af Ǫnundr Træfod, som var oldefar til Grettir den Stærke og en vigtig figur i de indledende kapitler af Grettis saga. Først fremstiller artiklen forskellige beretninger om Ǫnundrs begravelse ifølge middelalderlitteraturen. Derpå kontrasteres disse beretninger med en bred vifte af nyere, lokale traditioner. I tillæg diskuteres den konkrete topografi omkring Ǫnundrs påståede gravsted. Derpå bruger artiklen denne samling af data til at problematisere aspekter såsom den kronologiske kontra den geografiske afstand mellem fortællingen og dens genstand. Herved kastes der nyt lys på lokale traditioners relevans i forhold til vores forståelse af sagaberetninger fra middelalderen. https://tidsskrift.dk/rvt/article/view/132135Saga topographyKaldbaksdalurǪnundr tréfótrnarrative distancelocal traditionscomparative analysis |
| spellingShingle | Matthias Egeler The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift Saga topography Kaldbaksdalur Ǫnundr tréfótr narrative distance local traditions comparative analysis |
| title | The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero |
| title_full | The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero |
| title_fullStr | The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero |
| title_short | The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero |
| title_sort | grave mound of a saga hero |
| topic | Saga topography Kaldbaksdalur Ǫnundr tréfótr narrative distance local traditions comparative analysis |
| url | https://tidsskrift.dk/rvt/article/view/132135 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthiasegeler thegravemoundofasagahero AT matthiasegeler gravemoundofasagahero |