essay

The theft of blood, the birth of men: cultural constructions of gender in medieval Iceland

from sagas to society : comparative approaches to early icelandEnfield Lock, Middlesex, Uk • Published In 1992 • Pages: 265-288

By: Linke, Uli.

Abstract
In this article Linke examines the cultural conceptions of gender in Icelandic mythology, as represented in the Edda -- a thirteenth century collection of mythological, heroic, and aphoristic poems in alliterative verse. The author then goes on to explore medieval ideas about manhood or maleness in relation to femaleness, with special emphasis on the underlying ideologies of reproduction. Further discussion is then centered on '…how Icelandic models of social order are embedded in mythological images of sex, birth, and creation', and how '…competing concepts of creative power (equated with chaos and order, good and evil) are expressed through mythic representaiton of female eroticism or motherhood and the antithetical images of male androgyny and male creativity' (p. 265). These concepts are frequently masked in the mythology and it is necessary to interpret narrative detail in these myths in order to reveal certain social themes in the society relevant to incest, murder, procreation and male sexual domination.
Subjects
Verbal arts
Mythology
Spirits and gods
Sexuality
Reproduction
culture
Early Icelanders
HRAF PubDate
2004
Region
Europe
Sub Region
Scandinavia
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2002
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
ninth-thirteenth centuries
Coverage Place
general Iceland
Notes
Uli Linke
For bibliographical references see document 10: [Gísli Pálsson]
LCCN
93150093
LCSH
Icelanders