At konstruere historien:Brugen af fortiden som forbillede for samtiden i de islandske sagaer
The Icelandic sagas can be read and interpreted in many ways. This article examines the sagas both as literary expressions of a longstanding oral tradition and as part of a collective and cultural memory. The focus in the first part is on people and places in the sagas as ‘realms of memory’: things...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2010
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Online Access: | https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/56fbdb05-8f62-42de-a686-16b80c8cf6f7 https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/files/209149763/Constructing_History_Collegium_Medievale_23_2010.pdf |
Summary: | The Icelandic sagas can be read and interpreted in many ways. This article examines the sagas both as literary expressions of a longstanding oral tradition and as part of a collective and cultural memory. The focus in the first part is on people and places in the sagas as ‘realms of memory’: things that help construct a common past and a common identity. The second part of the article explores the role of the sagas in medieval Iceland as ‘key myths’ that explain the origin and uniqueness of a society, and as moral and legal role models legitimizing the current social order. |
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