Medieval Scandinavia; Viking Age, religious and magical practices; icelandic sagas

Understanding the balance of power in Eastern Iceland: Some remarks on the Saga of the Men of Svinafell.

by gregory cattaneo

Forthcoming in Sredniowiecze polskie i powszechne, Vol. 8, Publication of the University of Silesia, Poland, 2012.

The objective of this study is to analyze the conflict presented in a less known saga: the Saga of the Men of... more The objective of this study is to analyze the conflict presented in a less known saga: the Saga of the Men of Svinafell (Svínfellinga saga). Until now none of the studies dealing with conflict in Iceland took this saga into consideration. Moreover facing the scarcity of studies concerning the Eastern Quarter, it seems interesting to look at this saga under this scope in order to offer another perspective on mechanisms of conflicts’ resolution in Medieval Iceland and more precisely around the middle of the 13th century

Review: “Antonio Costanzo, Hávamál. La voce di Odino [Hávamál, the voice of Odin], Diana edizioni, 2010

by gregory cattaneo

Félicitons enfin la parution du livre d’Antonio Costanzo qui relève de l’honnête vulgarisation, en offrant outre une... more Félicitons enfin la parution du livre d’Antonio Costanzo qui relève de l’honnête vulgarisation, en offrant outre une élégante traduction, un très utile manuel d’initiation  aux croyances des anciens scandinaves.

Racconti di viaggio nelle Fornaldarsögur

by Lorenzo Lozzi Gallo

in "Testi cosmografici, geografici e odeporici del Medioevo germanico", ed. D. Gottschall, Louvain-la-neuve 2005, pp. 123-173.

Considering space and geographical lore in the late medieval Icelandic sagas known as 'fornaldarsögur' (sagas of the... more Considering space and geographical lore in the late medieval Icelandic sagas known as 'fornaldarsögur' (sagas of the ancient time). The approach of these sagas to space evolves over time from (almost) realistic to fable-like and "abstracted".

Hack-Silver, Weights and Coinage: the Anglo-Scandinavian Bullion Coinages and their Use in Late Viking-Age Society

by Christoph Kilger

in: Graham-Campbell, J. Sindbæk & Williams G. 2011 (eds.) Silver Economies, Monetisation and Society in Scandinavia, AD 800-1100. Aaarhus University Press, pp 257-278

The aim of this paper is to discuss the monetary use and function of the Anglo-Scandinavian coinages, especially the... more The aim of this paper is to discuss the monetary use and function of the Anglo-Scandinavian coinages, especially the Sigtuna coinage. In the early days of numismatic research their status among other Viking-age and early medieval coinages was not clearly understood, nor was it clear how they should be classified. Today, their status as Scandinavian imitations of English coins – minted in Viking towns such as Sigtuna and Lund – has been recognized. Their numismatic classification has recently been accomplished by meticulous die-studies, but the question of how they were used as means of payment remains unresolved.

It is suggested that the coinages did not necessarily have a nominal value, but an officially sanctioned exchange-value, which could only be reckoned and valued by weight and not by number. In such a monetary system, which had both elements of a coin-based and a bullion-based economy, weighing was probably the only way in which to settle the exchange-value. The archaeological evidence from the Sigtuna mint seems to suggest that the Sigtuna coins were weighed with oblate spheroid weights. These weights follow the Islamic mitqal standard.

It is also argued that at some stage in the bullion economy, coined silver was preferred to hack-silver in transactions. Because of that there might have existed a similar situation in the transactional sphere in the Viking Age, as later during the Middle Ages, whereby different qualities of silver were recognized and valued according to different exchange-rates. This change in the transactional sphere had probably been prompted by the arrival of Western European silver coins to Scandinavia at the turn of the first millennium AD.Finally, the Anglo-Scandinavian coinages probably did not have any monetary value outside the strongholds in which they were minted. They were intended for use only by people visiting the town and using its market.

On the Road to Paradise:'Austrvegr'in the Icelandic Imagination

by Sverrir Jakobsson

Beast and Man: Realism and the Occult in Egils saga

by Ármann Jakobsson

Defining a nation: Popular and public identity in the middle ages

by Sverrir Jakobsson

An article in Scandinavian Journal of History, 24(1999), 191–201.

Toteutuvat sanat: kohtalon artikulointi islantilaisessa saagassa

by Joonas Ahola

"Fulfilling words. Articulation of Fate in Icelandic Saga."
In Korkeempi kaiku. Knuuttila, S. & Piela, U. (eds.). Helsinki : Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura p. 161-173. (Kalevalaseuran vuosikirja; 88) 2009.

Erindringen om en mægtig personlighed: den norsk-islandske historiske tradisjon om Harald Hårfagre i et kildekritisk perspektiv.

by Sverrir Jakobsson

An article published in Historisk tidsskrift, 81 (2002), 213-30.

„Centre and Periphery in Icelandic Medieval Discourse“, in Á austrvega. Saga and East Scandinavia. Preprint papers of the 14th international Saga Conference. Uppsala 9th-15th August.

by Sverrir Jakobsson

The Peace of God in Iceland in the 12th and 13th centuries

by Sverrir Jakobsson

A draft version of a paper published in Sacri canones servandi sunt. Ius canonicum et status ecclesiae saeculis XIII-XV (Opera Instituti historici Pragae. Series C – Miscellanea, 19), ed. Pavel Krafl (Prague, 2008), 205-13.

Heaven is a Place on Earth: Church and Sacred Space in 13th century Iceland

by Sverrir Jakobsson

A draft version of an article published in Scandinavian Studies, 82 (2010), 1-20.

The Emergence of Norðrlönd in Old Norse Medieval Texts

by Sverrir Jakobsson

A draft version of a paper published in Iceland and Images of the North, eds. Sumarliði Ísleifsson & Daniel Chartier (Quebec, 2011), 25-40.

State formation and pre-modern identities in the North

by Sverrir Jakobsson

A draft version of an article published in Arkiv för nordisk filologi, 125 (2010), 67-82.

„The Trollish Acts of Þorgrímr the Witch: The Meanings of Troll and Ergi in Medieval Iceland,“ Saga-Book 32 (2008), 39–68.

by Ármann Jakobsson

Page proofs.

„The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Bárðar saga and Its Giants,“ Mediaeval Scandinavia 15 (2005), 1–15.

by Ármann Jakobsson

Fascicule de l'Institut Árni Magnússon d'études islandaises de Reykjavik

by gregory cattaneo

„The Impetuousness of Þráinn Sigfússon: Leadership, virtue and villainy in Njáls saga,“ Arkiv för nordisk filologi 124 (2009), 53–67.

by Ármann Jakobsson

„Two wise women and their young apprentice: a miscarried magic class,“ Arkiv för nordisk filologi 122 (2007), 43–57.

by Ármann Jakobsson

„Laxdæla Dreaming: A Saga Heroine Invents Her Own Life,“ Leeds Studies in English new ser. 39 (2008), 33–51.

by Ármann Jakobsson