Attention Medievalists: Employment Opportunity

I am absolutely drowning in work at the moment, severely impacting my ability to be active on here. Which is unfortunate considering I have a bounty of ideas for blog-posts but never see them through to completion. Again, this is because I am seeing other projects through to completion - and those have hardcore deadlines.

There is an employment opportunity which I have come across (which does not pertain to me since I am on a mission to obtain a PhD and do not hold one) but I figured I would post it in case anyone out there can benefit:

The History Department at Boston College is looking for a High or Late European Medievalist:

High or Late Medieval Europe
The Department of History at Boston College invites applications for a historian working on post-1100 continental Europe.  The appointment will be tenure-track and at the rank of assistant professor.  The successful candidate will be expected to offer broad and specialized courses in European history at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to participate in the History Core Program.  Ph.D required by August 2012.  Please submit a letter of application, CV, article-length writing sample, and at least three letters of reference.  Applications should be submitted electronically to: MedEu.Search@bc.edu. They can also be sent to the Chair, Medieval Europe Search Committee, Dept. of History, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.  Deadline: November 1, 2011.  Boston College is an AA/EO employer and welcomes applications from women and minority candidates.

For good measure I will add the link: Medievalists, Click here!

Ójafnaðarmenn, Advocacy & Power

Brennu-Njáls saga

I have not written in here honestly since I was hired at my job, which has most unfortunately taken up considerable time for reading, writing and thinking generally. Regardless, I had a surge of thoughts and ideas recently while rereading Feud in the Icelandic Saga by Jesse Byock (I name-drop Byock a lot on here. It is mainly because he has great influence in Old Norse studies, but also because his scholarship is interdisciplinary, varied and fresh). I started rereading Feud again because I had just finished rereading Brennu-Njáls saga (The Saga of Burnt-Njal; hereafter referenced as "Njal's Saga") and wanted a refresh on the specifics of Medieval Icelandic feuding. The first time I had read Njal's Saga I was deeply upset about the death of Hoskuld Hvitanes-Goði. I decided to reread Njal's Saga because I wanted to take a fresh approach to understanding his murder. Naturally, I am going to flesh out some background so my objectives seem comprehensive here.

Many scholars believe that Njal's Saga is really comprised of two separate sagas since the first half of the story is markedly different from the second half. I disagree completely. The first half of Njal's Saga outlines specific events which set up long-term feuds that inevitably influence the second half of the saga. In 1983, William Ian Miller put forth an unprecedented and refreshing article which challenged this idea without even discussing it. (See: Miller, Willian Ian. "Justifying Skarpheðinn: Of Pretext and Politics in the Icelandic Bloodfeud." Scandinavian Studies 55 (1983): 316-344.) The issue Miller dealt with was the murder of Hoskuld Hvitanes-Goði by Skarpheðin Njalsson. Because the saga is centered around Njal and his family (for the most-part), the audience is guided to feel solidarity with the Njalssons, and their actions and words become symbols of greatness. The killing then of Hoskuld Hvitanes-Goði is on the surface, an atrocious act which cannot be justified. Because of a feud between the Sigfussons and the Njalssons; which started in the earlier stages of the text between Gunnar of Hlidarendi's wife Hallgerð and Njal's wife Bergþora - Hoskuld Hvitanes-Goði becomes a viable target of vengeance for Skarpheðin. (Because the feud structure in Njal's Saga is so extensive, I will limit the discussion here. Although, if bloodfeud, vengeance and law are themes of intrigue, Njal's Saga is the "go-to" text for that). To jump back to William Ian Miller's article, Justifying Skarpheðin, the first and second halves of the saga are bridged through Miller's consideration of the specific feud steps from the very early stages until the end; identifying that each social exchange has a political action attached.

Feud in the Icelandic Saga

Miller's article put my upset with Hoskuld Hvitanes-Goði's death to rest. Skarpheðin Njalsson is one of my favorite Medieval Icelanders, and his character descriptions in the text are fascinating. (See: Low Soon Ai, "The Mirthless Content of Skarpheðinn's Grin," Medium Ævum 65 (1996): 101-107.) In order to reinterpret and fully understand Skarpheðin's actions, I needed to familiarize myself with the feud structure present in Njal's Saga. So..this brings me back to my original point. I cracked open Byock's Feud in Icelandic Society for this purpose. I am still going to write a paper giving my perspectives on Njal's Saga, both Hoskuld's (I did not talk about Hoskuld Njalsson), and Skarpheðin; but my mind wandered a bit while reading Feud. Byock addresses the concept of advocacy in his "Feudeme" structure (i.e. the thesis of his book). A main component of advocacy is what Byock terms "brokerage". Brokerage is essentially the acquisition of support in order to create a stronger case in a feud. Individuals would seek out strong, powerful goðar to support their cases, bringing prestige and public approval to their actions. To quote Byock:

Brokers were identifiable, not by office or by training, but by prestige, power and wealth. A broker who took on a case often served in the capacity of a lawyer. He decided whether to settle the case in or out of court and what the compensation should be. Brokers ranged from middlemen who simply transacted business, representing a disputant and effecting a resolution without becoming more deeply involved, to active advocates who risked life and wealth to bring about a desired resolution (75).

Brokerage then is a system of created obligations, and sociopolitical ties of bondage, where dependence is mutual and weighted.  The individual who sought out the 'brokerage' relationship acquires support, while the "broker" - the individual giving support, can gain in future support, wealth, or the maintenance of political ties (quid pro quo). Through the political action of brokerage then, the "broker" always is in a better situation. By lending their support to the individual in need, they are increasing their power and prestige, but also solidifying future support and potential wealth from the individual in need.

This led me to the infamous Snorri Goði (Snorri Þorgrímsson). Snorri Goði was a prominent Icelandic chieftain from Western Iceland. He figures in many sagas, including Njal's Saga, Laxdæla saga, Gísla saga Súrssonar and Eyrbyggja saga. He was the nephew of Gísli Sursson, the Icelandic outlaw-hero of Gísla saga Súrssonar. Gísli killed Snorri Goði's father, Þorgrím, while Snorri was still an infant. Because Gísli is Snorri's uncle, that tie of kinship was difficult to take any sort of vengeance against. Throughout many of the sagas, Snorri is consistently reminded that he never took vengeance for his father Þorgrím against his uncle Gísli; and his usual response is that he is aware of it and the slanders don't bother him. I was thinking of a new consideration for the avoidance of vengeance on Snorri's part. By looking at Byock's outline of brokerage, and considering that Snorri Goði is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and wealthy chieftains in Iceland, the idea that he would acquire support and need advocates to take vengeance for his father's death would drop Snorri from his current seat of power. Staying consistent with Byock's detailing; Snorri would then owe another man (most likely another goði) an agreement of vinfengi, some form of a kinship through marriage/fosterage/gift exchange or friendship generally. This would additionally require Snorri to potentially part with his wealth, generally dropping in prestige and power. Since Snorri Goði is such a well-known name of Medieval Iceland, and his background is quite shadowy - I hope to dive in a bit deeper and consider the implications of Snorri's lack of vengeance in association with his political position.

More to come.

Ber er hver að baki nema sér bróður eigi.

Land of Fire & Ice

Major Volcanoes in Iceland

Iceland is clearly an odd place for settlement considering the entire island is more or less a series of active volcanoes. And what is not fire, is mostly ice. Since the settlement of Iceland in 874 C.E., about eighteen of the one-hundred and thirty volcanoes have erupted. The most active volcano on the island is Grímsvötn. The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull caused major delays in travel between Europe and North America, but what was funnier still was the differences in the news-casts. Icelanders hilariously watched the news coverage of the eruption: meteorologists in England would attempt to pronounce the name "Eyjafjallajökull" to no avail, while new-casters in the U.S. would just refer to it as "The volcano in Iceland".

Iceland Volcanic Landscape

The volcanism of Iceland is one of the major features which people associate with the country in the modern era. Many people travel to Iceland to see the severe dichotomy of the land of "fire and ice". National Geographic & other major sources of photography of the natural world revel in the beauty of Iceland's environmental contradictions. Geologists and natural scientists are fascinated with the continual separation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and volcanic activity around the entire island. In Reykjavík alone, a fabulously Icelandic pastime is enjoying time in the natural hot-springs - of which many attest to the beautiful complexion of Icelanders...

Then why is there little to no reference to volcanic activity in the Icelandic sagas? I highly admire the scholarship of Oren Falk, a fantastic scholar of Old Norse & Viking Age studies generally, and constantly pushes the boundaries of scholarship in the area. I was desperately searching for an article he wrote (but because I have graduated & maintain no access to the academic world - my anxieties are unusually high. Academic journals really should be open to the public. For example, "Open Journal Systems (OJS) is a journal management and publishing system that has been developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally funded efforts to expand and improve access to research." - when academic journals are open to the public it facilitates and expands education and research, and does not confine that privilege to an erudite few...)

So I finally got my hands on it - "The Vanishing Volcanoes: Fragments of Fourteenth-century Icelandic Folklore."  In this article, Falk addresses a question which really has not been properly dealt with. As stated above, why and how, in a country so consumed by its volcanic identity could there be an absence of volcanic mention in the entire corpus of Medieval Icelandic literature. Oren Falk does not attempt to answer this question, but merely proposes thoughts and ideas as to why this is the case. He states that the lack of discussion of volcanoes in the sagas began as a footnote in his PhD dissertation; a question which he continually goes back to. Falk shows through a variety of sources that it was very much known across the Medieval world that Iceland was volcanic; the Chronicum Scottorum contains an Irish annal entry for the year 938, shortly after the land-take (landnám) period in Iceland, stating that "the sun was of the colour of blood...for a day and a half." Landnámabók [The Book of Settlements] c. 1100, also contains small traces of volcanic discussion. Additionally, an entry for Hrafn Hafanarlykill suggests that he removed his farmstead at Lágey because of a foretold "volcanic eruption" (eldsuppkváma).

Small instances of this kind only hint at an awareness of geologic activity which had the ability to affect living conditions, but what Oren Falk is intrigued by is the absence of a folkloric tradition. Oftentimes the natural environment is the foundation for folklore, stories and traditions which the Icelanders were highly keen on creating. Even in Norse Mythology, reference to lands of fire and destruction are highly commonplace. As Falk notes, the oddity really is because the Icelandic sagas are noted and revered by many scholars for their realism, (See Jakobsson, Ármann. "Beast and Man: Realism and the Occult in Egils Saga," Scandinavian Studies 83.1 (2011): 29-44) yet the absence of a very real occurrence in Iceland, is just missing.

Falk underlines a very small bit of literary evidence from Grettis Saga. Grettir is in Norway (a non-volcanic land) when he sees in the distance a burning fire. He inquires to a fellow Norwegian what he has witnessed, Grettir states,

"It would be declared," said Grettir, "if such a thing were to be seen in our country [Iceland], that it's treasure [that] is burning there," ("Þat myndi mælt," sagði Grettir, "ef slíkt sæisk á váru landi, at þar brynni af fé;" Grettis saga Ch18).

 The intriguing point is that Grettir claims that fire coming out of the ground indicates buried treasure. There are many motifs which fill the sagas of buried treasure in either hard-to-find, or fire-ridden locations. Egils saga is a great example. An older Egil toward the end of the saga tosses the box of gold which King Æthelstan of England had given him in friendship into what many translations of the text is either in an fire-ridden location. No one could ever locate the treasure again.

As stated, Oren Falk does not actually have a theory for this. The total absence of a folkloric tradition surrounding volcanic activity in the Icelandic literary corpus is too convoluted to explain. Yet, this is certainly a place for further research. I'm in.

The Saga of Biorn

Although not historically or literately accurate, this video The Saga of Biorn, is undoubtedly quite funny & worth taking a look at. The video shows a Viking warrior who is desperately attempting to reach Valhalla (Old Norse: Valhöll or "Hall of the Slain"), the Norse destination for heroic warriors who die in battle. In Valhalla these fallen warriors join Oðin, drinking and training for the approaching apocalypse, Ragnarǫk. Yet for Biorn - reaching Valhalla is much more difficult than previously thought.

Íslendingasögur, Þættir & Nasty Old Men

I just finished reading an article by Ármann Jakobsson, "The Specter of Old Age: Nasty Old Men in the Sagas of Icelanders."Jakobsson argues that the depiction of old age, especially that of men, is predominately negative in the Middle Ages. The scholarship written on old age specific to Medieval Icelandic, or Scandinavian texts is highly limited, and Jakobsson's contribution is widely useful.

Eyrbyggja Saga

Ármann Jakobsson is an excellent scholar; I have followed his work since I became interested in Medieval Iceland and it has always proved insightful and eloquent. Yet, this is one of the funnier articles I have read - largely due to his concentration on Þórólfr Twist-Foot (Jakobsson uses the nickname "Lame-Foot"; but I remain using "Twist-Foot" because that is how I first read it so it is more or less ingrained in my mind). Þórólfr Twist-Foot is the "nasty old man" who figures in Eyrbyggja saga, a short but highly complex saga loosely translated as "The Saga of the People of Eyrr". Eyrbyggja saga belongs to the group of sagas known as Íslendingasögur, unlike the Fornaldarsögur previously discussed. Íslendingasögur are the "Sagas of the Icelanders" or "Family Sagas" which most people are familiar with, and Eyrbyggja saga is one of the greatest family sagas written. It also features the prolific chieftan Snorri Goði (Snorri Þorgrímsson by birth - his father was murdered by his uncle and prominent Icelandic hero Gisli in Gísla saga, of which Snorri Goði is constantly mocked for not avenging his fathers death against his uncle). Eyrbyggja saga was most likely written in the mid thirteenth century, but recounts events which took place at the time of Iceland's settlement. This is the main dating technique used when discussing sagas - there is the "Saga-Age" and the "Age of Saga Writing". The "Saga-Age" is the dating applied to the time of action within the story; while the "Age of Saga Written" is the dating referring to the time of writing in which the story was compiled.

Þórólfr Twist-Foot is not necessarily a main figure in Eyrbyggja saga, as he is only introduced in Chapter 8 through his successful landowning mother, and more or less disappears until Chapter 30 whereby he becomes angry, annoying, old and bitter. What a Medieval Icelandic audience would have known or learned about Þórólfr Twist-Foot is that he is an "ójafnaðarmaðr" - a trouble-maker, or literally an "uneven handed man". This type of personality trait was highly negative in Medieval Iceland. To be unevenly handed is unfair, unjust, and unheroic (See: Andersson, Theodore. "The Displacement of the Heroic Ideal in the Family Sagas," Speculum 45.4 (1970): 575-593.) The discussion which Jakobsson outlines is a continual decay and degeneration as Þórólfr Twist-Foot ages:

Hann tók nú at eldask fast ok gerðisk illr ok æfr við ellina ok mjǫk ójafnaðarfullr... [He began to age quickly, growing more ill-natured, violent, and unjust with the years...] (Jakobsson 298)

The decline in his years parallels the decline in his persona. Jakobsson points out that when Þórólfr Twist-Foot begins to haunt Fróðá (a farmstead), it is a reflection of himself in old age during life, instead of a reinvention of himself in death.

Jakobsson identifies another nasty old man, this time in the eponymous Þáttur (short-story) "Þorsteins Þáttur stangarhǫggs" or "Þorstein Staff-Struck". The idea which Jakobsson portrays here is that the Þórarinn, the nasty old father to Þorstein Staff-Struck, represents an 'ancient' decaying ideal - the heroic-warrior ideal most notable and admired in the Viking-Age. His son, Þorstein Staff-Struck is less quick to take up arms against people who do him wrong, he is much more level-headed than his father Þórarinn. This naturally makes Þórarinn incredibly angry and annoyed with his son, and resorts to using verbal abuse to instigate emotion from Þorstein. He states that he would rather his son Þorstein die, than for him to live without honor and the heroic ideal. The differences between father and son in Þorsteins Þáttur stangarhǫggs point to a growing tension with the warrior-code old Icelanders used to live by. In this way nasty old Þórarinn has been called a "fossilized relic of the viking past."

There are numerous instances in the sagas where old men, aging, anger and bitterness play subtle but fundamental roles. Yet these two men, Þórólfr Twist-Foot and Þórarinn are perhaps paragons of the "nasty old man" which Jakobsson seeks to illuminate. They certainly represent a feature of Icelandic society which too is dying, and perhaps their reactions and responses within a new societal framework are the reflective feelings of a tradition lost.

"I don't believe one grows older. I think that what happens early on in life is that at a certain age one stands still and stagnates." T.S. Eliot

Jakobsson, Ármann. "The Specter of Old Age: Nasty Old Men in the Sagas of Icelanders," Journal of English and Germanic Philology 104.3 (2005): 297-325.

A Legendary Saga: Hrólfs saga kraka

Hrólfs saga kraka

 "But now we must hold nothing back, if we are to be guests this evening in Valhalla."

Hrólfs saga kraka belongs to the group of mythic-heroic Icelandic tales known as fornaldarsögur, or "legendary sagas". These sagas are known for their distinctive use of past legend, describing events which are thought to have occurred prior to the settlement of Iceland in the ninth-century. Nonetheless, the fornaldarsögur harken back to a distinct Scandinavian past, which many Icelanders and Norsemen alike would have felt an immediate connection. In this case Hrólfs saga, as it is usually referred, discusses the adventures of King Hrólf, his clan - the Skjöldungs, and his champions. The events which take place in the saga are dated to the fifth and sixth century C.E., and the text itself is thought to have been written c. 1230-1450. King Hrólf, as stated, was a descendent of the Skjöldung Dynasty of ancient Scandinavia. The legends which came out of the Skjöldung legacy were imprinted in the minds of many in the North, who sought to claim ancestry from this prolific clan. There are remnants of the Saga of the Skjöldungs, Skjöldungasaga, which is a history of the ancient kings of Denmark.

The saga maintains heavy parallels with the Beowulf text, and in my translation by Jesse Byock, the similarities and differences are well defined in the introduction and notes. In Beowulf, the 'hero' (highly debated) faces three trials in the form of monsters: Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and the Dragon. The story outlines the strength of mind and body of Beowulf, while focusing on terrors at Heorot, Hroðgar's [Hrothgar's] hall from a Geatish perspective (geographically: Beowulf visits the Danes from Geatland and returns). In Hrólfs saga kraka, "Beowulf" is closely resembled with Böðvar Bjarki, meaning "war-like little bear". Like Beowulf, Böðvar arrives to King Hrolf from Geatland (Gautland in Old Norse). Additionally, Böðvar Bjarki's brother Thorir Hound's Foot, is named King of the Geats (Gauts) in Hrólfs saga. While many scholars reject the affinities between Böðvar and Beowulf, Jesse Byock seems to be presenting the idea convincingly.

Although many translations of Beowulf have been attempted, I share a particular fondness for Kevin Crossley-Holland's translation. He does not attempt to turn Beowulf into a Greek epic, instead Crossley-Holland stays committed to portraying Beowulf as it should be, in proper Germanic tradition. I mention this because if one is to read both Beowulf and Hrolfs saga kraka, it is most pertinent to find translations which are harmonious in their outlook and value of the culture which they are portraying.

It is not just with Beowulf that Hrólfs saga kraka shows similarities with. Both the Gesta Danorum and the Skjöldunga saga share many overlapping features. Below are probable associations:

Hrólfs saga         Skjöldunga saga      Gesta Danorum       Beowulf 

Aðils                    Adillus                       Athislus                   Eadgils

Böðvar Bjarki      Bodvarus                   Biarco                     Beowulf

Fróði                   Frodo                        Frotho                     Froda

Hálfdan                Halfdanus                  Haldanus                 Healfdene

Helgi                    Helgo                        Helgo                      Halga

Hroarr                  Roas                         Roe                         Hroðgar

Hrolfr Kraki         Rolfo Krake              Roluo Krake            Hroðulf

Skjöldr                Skioldus                    Skioldus                   Scyld Scefing

Yrsa                     Yrsa                         Vrsa                        Yrse

Hrólf Kraki spreads gold on the Fyris Plains

This is an amazing saga. Hrólfs saga kraka stands against other fornaldarsögur for its uniqueness and deep showing of human emotion. Yet, it stands equally against other great legendary sagas like Völsungasaga, the Saga of the Volsungs. King Hrólf remains one of the most admired, generous and fierce leaders in the Northern world, and this saga is a testament to both his actions in life and importance in death.

"Anyone else, except for the King himself I would have killed."  - King Hrólfs Champion: Böðvar Bjarki