“Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny””
ABSTRACT: This introduction describes the volume’s organization, surveys its contributions, and explains how they fit together in the context of medievalism. It considers Halldór Laxness’s medievalism in the novel Gerpla (1952), but observes not a “hero’s journey” but rather the strange journey of a...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English French |
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University of Alberta Library
2019
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan161 https://doaj.org/article/8c1f2aaeb97440108ab21ffc2bb77a3c |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8c1f2aaeb97440108ab21ffc2bb77a3c 2023-07-02T03:32:26+02:00 “Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” Dustin Geeraert 2019-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan161 https://doaj.org/article/8c1f2aaeb97440108ab21ffc2bb77a3c EN FR eng fre University of Alberta Library https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/161 https://doaj.org/toc/0823-1796 https://doaj.org/toc/2816-5187 doi:10.29173/scancan161 0823-1796 2816-5187 https://doaj.org/article/8c1f2aaeb97440108ab21ffc2bb77a3c Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, Vol 26 (2019) History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan161 2023-06-11T00:34:57Z ABSTRACT: This introduction describes the volume’s organization, surveys its contributions, and explains how they fit together in the context of medievalism. It considers Halldór Laxness’s medievalism in the novel Gerpla (1952), but observes not a “hero’s journey” but rather the strange journey of a hero’s severed head. This “Head of Destiny” shapes many events, as the dead hero’s sworn brother pursues his killers to the edge of the known world in the remote ivory colonies of medieval Greenland. While some of this plot is drawn from sources such as Fóstbræðra saga, Halldór’s version of the story questions this mission. Two “Dream-Women” interpret the head’s ominous significance with prophecies of light and darkness, thus revealing the fate of this would-be avenger as he passes from life to the abyss. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Scandinavian-Canadian Studies 26 26 42 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P |
spellingShingle |
History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P Dustin Geeraert “Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” |
topic_facet |
History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P |
description |
ABSTRACT: This introduction describes the volume’s organization, surveys its contributions, and explains how they fit together in the context of medievalism. It considers Halldór Laxness’s medievalism in the novel Gerpla (1952), but observes not a “hero’s journey” but rather the strange journey of a hero’s severed head. This “Head of Destiny” shapes many events, as the dead hero’s sworn brother pursues his killers to the edge of the known world in the remote ivory colonies of medieval Greenland. While some of this plot is drawn from sources such as Fóstbræðra saga, Halldór’s version of the story questions this mission. Two “Dream-Women” interpret the head’s ominous significance with prophecies of light and darkness, thus revealing the fate of this would-be avenger as he passes from life to the abyss. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dustin Geeraert |
author_facet |
Dustin Geeraert |
author_sort |
Dustin Geeraert |
title |
“Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” |
title_short |
“Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” |
title_full |
“Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” |
title_fullStr |
“Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” |
title_full_unstemmed |
“Introduction: Dialogues with a “Head of Destiny”” |
title_sort |
“introduction: dialogues with a “head of destiny”” |
publisher |
University of Alberta Library |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan161 https://doaj.org/article/8c1f2aaeb97440108ab21ffc2bb77a3c |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, Vol 26 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/161 https://doaj.org/toc/0823-1796 https://doaj.org/toc/2816-5187 doi:10.29173/scancan161 0823-1796 2816-5187 https://doaj.org/article/8c1f2aaeb97440108ab21ffc2bb77a3c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan161 |
container_title |
Scandinavian-Canadian Studies |
container_volume |
26 |
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26 |
op_container_end_page |
42 |
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1770272008716681216 |