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Review of: Jorunn Joiner, Remembering Classical Scandinavia in Britain, 1760–1830, Lund: Lund University 2024, ISBN 9789189874480, 232 pp.

This article explores the concept of Otherness in two íslendingaþættir: Þórhalls þáttr knapps and Auðunar þáttr vestfirska. By analysing the protagonists’ social behaviour and interactions within the context of societal and situational shifts, this study examines how Otherness is constructed, challenged, and renegotiated throughout the narratives. Employing a framework of fluid and positive Otherness, this study examines how Othering qualities can be diminished or cemented as a result of individual behaviour and societal reactions. This approach underscores the importance of examining Otherness as a context-sensitive concept, with Otherness being both a source of disruption and a potential means for social reintegration.

This dissertation examines the concept of Otherness in the short medieval tales of Icelanders (Íslendingaþættir) and, to a lesser extent, in the sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur), by focusing on linguistic and cultural identity markers and descriptors and their role in constructing Otherness. Literary analysis is employed to examine the developments of characters presented as Others, socioonomastics and literary onomastics are used to analyse differences between Norwegian and Icelandic personal names, and cognitive semantics is utilized to study the meanings of the adjective ódæll (meaning “difficult” or “hard to deal with”). The purpose of five discrete studies is to highlight different aspects of linguistic and narratological Otherness in the tales and sagas of Icelanders and thecomplexity and nuances that inform Otherness in the Icelandic Middle Ages.

The results show how everyday Otherness has positive, neutral and negative aspects: these highlight the changeability of Otherness within the narrative and demonstrate the function of stable identity markers and descriptors for narratives and for identity constructions. Results thus support arguments for using a broader theoretical and analytical framework of Otherness to further insights into the norms and identities of the medieval Icelandic society described in the tales and sagas of Icelanders. 

This article examines the adjective ódæll in the Íslendingasögur and Íslendingaþættir, utilising the cognitive linguistic frameworks of Prototype Theory and Radial Networks to map its semantic range and its role in expressing social Otherness. Based on 54 occurrences, this study identifies maleness and higher social status as the most prototypical attributes, with ódæll functioning as a behavioural rather than inherent trait. More peripheral attributes include violent behaviour, physical strength, issues communicating and lack of communication. This article demonstrates the function of the adjective to mark individuals as challenging different social norms, highlighting how everyday life social Otherness is conceptualised in the Íslendingasögur and Íslendingaþættir.

Questo articolo esplora l’aggettivo ódæll nei testi Íslendingasögur e Íslendingaþættir, utilizzando i modelli linguistici cognitivi della Teoria dei Prototipi e delle Reti Radiali per mapparne il significato semantico e il ruolo nell’esprimere l’alterità sociale. Sulla base di 54 occorrenze, questo studio identifica la mascolinità e l’elevato status sociale come gli attributi più prototipici, con ódæll usato come tratto comportamentale piuttosto che intrinseco. Attributi più periferici includono comportamento violento, forza fisica, problemi comunicativi e mancanza di comunicazione. Questo articolo dimostra la funzione dell’aggettivo nel contrassegnare gli individui che sfidano le diverse norme sociali, evidenziando come l’alterità sociale nella vita quotidiana sia concettualizzata nelle Íslendingasögur e nelle Íslendingaþættir.

This article explores the personal names given to Icelandic and Norwegian individuals in 23 of the Old Norse literary íslendingaflættir. The aim is to establish if differences between Norway and Iceland, and innovations and archaisms in personal names from the different time periods accessible through the íslendingaflættir, are visible in literary sources. The findings of the analysis of the personal names in the íslendingaflættir are supplemented with results of previous research and non-literary sources. Despite the limited source material, the personal names of Icelandic and Norwegian individuals found in 23 íslendingaflættir exhibit noticeable differences such as preferences for specific names or name components.

The sagas of Icelanders and their descriptions of magic and practitioners of magic have since long been a subject of interest for laymen and scholars alike. This article seeks to (re-)evaluate the perception and reception of magic and practitioners of magic by the Christian writers in Old Norse literature by using Þórhalls þáttr knapps and the lens of Otherness as a starting point for this evaluation. The assumption is that Otherness is fluid, susceptible to change, and potentially arbitrary and anachronistic. The results of this re-evaluation clearly showcase the need for not only generalised research on magic across a large corpus of Old Norse literature but also the necessity to closely analyse the circumstances surrounding the practitioner of magic within the narrative to not superimpose modern assumptions about how the Christians viewed magic and its practitioners.

Les sagas des Islandais et leurs descriptions de la magie et des agents de la magie sont depuis longtemps un sujet d'intérêt pour les profanes comme pour les érudits. Cet article cherche à (ré)évaluer la perception et la réception de la magie et des praticiens de la magie par les écrivains chrétiens dans la littérature norroise en utilisant Þórhalls þáttr knapps et la notion d'altérité comme point de départ de notre étude. Notre hypothèse est que l'altérité est fluide, susceptible de changer et potentiellement arbitraire et anachronique. Les résultats de cette étude montrent clairement la nécessité non seulement de mener à bien une recherche généralisée sur la magie dans l’entièreté du corpus norrois. En outre, elle met en lumière mais la nécessité d'analyser de près le contexte lié aux représentations d’agents de la magie dans le récit, afin de ne pas superposer des hypothèses modernes sur la façon dont les chrétiens médiévaux considéraient la magie et ses praticiens.

The sagas of Icelanders contain a great wealth of personal names both of historical and fictional nature. Personal names function both as identifiers for individuals but also evoke associations that supersede the name’s lexical or identifying meaning, for example, cultural or social associations such as age, ethnicity, and ideology. This article examines personal names as a source within a source and appraises the use of literary and socio-onomastics in the context of the Íslendingasögur using the example of the elusive difference between “Icelanders” and “Norwegians” in the sagas. The onomastic analysis is based on seven shorter tales and explores the differences in personal names in Icelandic and Norwegian individuals. Based on the onomastic data gathered, this article concludes that there are certain regional differences in name-giving visible in the sagas and that saga authors either had authentic onomastic material at hand or tried to emulate realistic personal names.

Islänningasagorna innehåller en stor mängd personnamn av både historisk och fiktiv karaktär. Personnamn fungerar både som identifierare för individer men väcker också associationer som överskuggar namnets lexikala eller identifierande betydelse, såsom kulturella eller sociala associationer som ålder, etnicitet och ideologi. I den här artikeln behandlas personnamn som en källa inom en källa. Även användningen av litterär onomastik och socioonomastik på Islänningasagorna evalueras genom att analysera den svårfångade skillnaden mellan ”islänningar” och ”norrmän” i sagorna. Den onomastiska analysen baseras på sju tåtar och utforskar skillnaderna i personnamn hos isländska och norska individer. Utifrån den onomastiska datan som samlats in drar artikeln slutsatsen att det finns vissa regionala skillnader i namngivning som är synliga i Islänningasagorna och att sagaförfattarna antingen hade autentiskt onomastiskt material till hands eller att de försökte efterlikna autentiska personnamn.

The Íslendingasögur provide a great wealth of personal names, both of historical and possibly fictional nature, which allows for an examination of historical and literary name-giving practices before and during the saga-writing age. Prosoponyms – personal names – in Old Norse sources have only been studied to a limited extent and very rarely in the context of the Íslendingasögur, which is surprising given the sheer amount of personal names mentioned in the Sagas.

Personal names do not only function as identifiers for individuals but also serve as mirrors of the society and culture using them. Personal names are reflections of the community that gives these names to individuals. As such, these personal names can express family ties and affiliations to a certain group of people, and both individual and communal identity. It is therefore worth examining the personal names in the Íslendingasögur from the perspective of socio-onomastics to explore the social, cultural and identity related implications of name-giving traditions and practices, especially in the context of Icelandic identity. 

The Íslendingasögur often denote an elusive difference in Scandinavian/Norwegian and Icelandic identity and naming traditions are not to be forgotten as a contributing factor of these differences in perceived identity. 

A socio-onomastic analysis of the personal names mentioned in the Íslendingasögur has not only the potential for further insight into the sense of community and Icelandic identity during the saga-writing age but also furthers the advancement of historical and literary socio-onomastics in the field of Old Norse Studies. 

This article examines the adjective ódæll in the Íslendingasögur and Íslendingaþættir, utilising the cognitive linguistic frameworks of Prototype Theory and Radial Networks to map its semantic range and its role in expressing social Otherness. Based on 54 occurrences, this study identifies maleness and higher social status as the most prototypical attributes, with ódæll functioning as a behavioural rather than inherent trait. More peripheral attributes include violent behaviour, physical strength, issues communicating and lack of communication. This article demonstrates the function of the adjective to mark individuals as challenging different social norms, highlighting how everyday life social Otherness is conceptualised in in the Íslendingasögur and Íslendingaþættir.