„Nie należy do mężczyzny, by wtrącał się do jadła”. Rzecz o ucztowaniu i tabu pokarmowym w średniowiecznej Islandii

• Published in: Studia Europaea Gnesnensia
• Main Author: Jakubczyk, Radosław
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Polish
• Published: Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan 2018
• Subjects: feasting; food taboo; horse meat; medieval Iceland; Icelandic sagas; Iceland
• Online Access: http://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/seg/article/view/23633

The paper explores the culinary culture of medieval Iceland and the then food taboo. The latter question relates to horse-meat, whose consumption was forbidden by the Church after the conversion of Iceland to Christianity (in 1000 CE). Eating horse-meat has been associated with pagan beliefs and practices. Moreover, the study focuses on various types of feasts in Icelandic sagas, i.e. wedding, funeral, negotiation, sacrificial, and family feasts. The author analyses the thirteenth century sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur) and selected contemporary sagas (samtíðarsögur). In this paper, I discuss various kinds of feasts in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, such as wedding, funeral, or sacrificial feasts. I discuss feasting, an important part of the culture of medieval Iceland, much more in terms of its functions (political, social, religious) than in terms of its culinary aspect. In addition, I consider how religious traditions impacted Old Icelandic food culture and how food taboo related to horse-meat consumption (declared just after the conversion of Iceland to Christianity in 1000 CE) affected social interaction.