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Pseudo‐Procreation Myths in Old Norse: an Anthropological Perspective 1

1990; Wiley; Volume: 1; Issue: 2-3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1757-6547.1990.tb00379.x

1835-9310

Margaret Clunies Ross,

Linguistics and language evolution

The Australian Journal of AnthropologyVolume 1, Issue 2-3 p. 147-158 Pseudo-Procreation Myths in Old Norse: an Anthropological Perspective† Margaret Clunies Ross, Margaret Clunies Ross English, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this author Margaret Clunies Ross, Margaret Clunies Ross English, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this author First published: August‐December 1990 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-6547.1990.tb00379.x † 1. The term ‘Old Norse’, as used here, refers to the language and culture of early medieval Iceland and Norway, the latter being the country from which a majority of Icelandic settlers came. ‘Icelandic’ refers to the language and culture that evolved in Iceland during the centuries after the Norse settlement of that North Atlantic island, a process which began about 870. It is a pleasure to dedicate this paper to John Barnes, acknowledging not only his contribution to theoretical debate on ideologies of conception but also his long-standing ethnographic interest in Norwegian culture. The texts upon which this analysis is based were written down in manuscript form in the Icelandic language at various times during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This was a considerable time after the Icelanders' conversion to Christianity (c.1000 AD). Though Christians shaped these texts, it is usually thought that they incorporate material and implicit beliefs that had been orally transmitted from the period before the conversion. The major Icelandic mythological texts mentioned here are: 1) poems belonging to a manuscript collection of alliterative verse, commonly referred to as the Elder Edda. Those discussed are Voluspá (‘The Sibyl's Prophecy’), Hávamál (‘Speech of the High One’), Vaftúthismál (‘Speech of Vafthúthir’), Grímnismal (‘Speech of Grímnir’) and Hyndluljoth (‘Hyndla's Chant’), the last-named poem being found in a different manuscript, Flateyjarbók. 2) works by the Icelander Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241), especially his Edda of c.1225, a treatise on pre-Christian Scandinavian myth and poetry in four parts: Prologue, Gylfaginning (‘Gylfi's Deception’), Skáldskaparmál (‘Poetic Diction’) and Háttatal (‘List of Verse-forms’). I also make brief mention of his Ynglinga Saga, the first part of Heimskringla, a history of the kings of Norway. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume1, Issue2-3August‐December 1990Pages 147-158 RelatedInformation