essay

þógunna's testament: a myth for moral contemplation and social apathy

from sagas to society : comparative approaches to early icelandEnfield Lock, Middlesex, Uk • Published In 1992 • Pages: 125-146

By: Odner, Knut.

Abstract
Throughout this article, Odner tries to establish a connection between sagas as myths and sagas as rituals. The particular saga used as an illustration in the text is the 'Eyrbyggja saga', particularly with the part called the þórgunna story which the author considers as a myth.in the Lévi-Straussean sense (i.e.that myths have a binary structure and that their oppositions explore contradiction in social and other relations [p. 125]). As a result of a detailed analysis of the above, Odner concludes that 'traditions of orality, traditions of literacy (more than 1000 years) and the context of saga reading all indicate to me that saga writing and reading were ritual acts' (p. 146).
Subjects
Sociolinguistics
Writing
Verbal arts
Classes
Ethics
Ingroup antagonisms
Cosmology
Spirits and gods
Revelation and divination
culture
Early Icelanders
HRAF PubDate
2004
Region
Europe
Sub Region
Scandinavia
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Social Anthropologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2002
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
ninth-thirteenth centuries
Coverage Place
general Iceland
Notes
Knut Odner
For bibliographical references see document 10: [Gísli Pálsson]
LCCN
93150093
LCSH
Icelanders