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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.