essay

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

from sagas to society : comparative approaches to early iceland • Enfield 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).

HRAF PubDate

2004

Region

Europe

Sub Region

Scandinavia

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Social Anthropologist-4

Analyst

John Beierle ; 2002

Coverage Date

ninth-thirteenth centuries

Coverage Place

general Iceland

Notes

Knut Odner

For bibliographical references see document 10: [Gísli Pálsson]

LCCN

93150093

LCSH

Icelanders