The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers
ABSTRACT: According to scholarly consensus on the development of Old Icelandic literature, The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (Fóstbræðra saga) is an example of the earliest sagas. Such archaic sagas can be distinguished by their repetitious and fragmented or episodi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Alberta Library
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian-Canadian Studies |
| Online Access: | https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/163 |
| _version_ | 1797808646579552256 |
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| author | Helga Kress |
| author_facet | Helga Kress |
| author_sort | Helga Kress |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
ABSTRACT: According to scholarly consensus on the development of Old Icelandic literature,
The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (Fóstbræðra saga) is an example of the earliest sagas. Such archaic sagas can be distinguished by
their repetitious and fragmented or episodic narrations; they are negatively characterized
by authorial digressions. Yet in the case of The Saga of the Sworn Brothers the digressions are actually key to understanding the saga itself. Full of irony
and grotesque bodily imagery, they represent a medieval society’s culture of the carnival
or “grotesque realism.” They function as a parody of heroes and heroic ideals in hierarchical and patriarchal
societies.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:40:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f482cd1dbbdd4f108f7793aaa27ab950 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0823-1796 2816-5187 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:40:45Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Alberta Library |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian-Canadian Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f482cd1dbbdd4f108f7793aaa27ab9502023-06-08T18:01:48ZengUniversity of Alberta LibraryScandinavian-Canadian Studies0823-17962816-51872019-12-012610.29173/scancan163The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn BrothersHelga Kress ABSTRACT: According to scholarly consensus on the development of Old Icelandic literature, The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (Fóstbræðra saga) is an example of the earliest sagas. Such archaic sagas can be distinguished by their repetitious and fragmented or episodic narrations; they are negatively characterized by authorial digressions. Yet in the case of The Saga of the Sworn Brothers the digressions are actually key to understanding the saga itself. Full of irony and grotesque bodily imagery, they represent a medieval society’s culture of the carnival or “grotesque realism.” They function as a parody of heroes and heroic ideals in hierarchical and patriarchal societies. https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/163 |
| spellingShingle | Helga Kress The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers Scandinavian-Canadian Studies |
| title | The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers |
| title_full | The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers |
| title_fullStr | The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers |
| title_short | The Culture of the Grotesque in Old Icelandic literature: The Saga of the Sworn Brothers |
| title_sort | culture of the grotesque in old icelandic literature the saga of the sworn brothers |
| url | https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/163 |
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