The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources
In this article I discuss the political themes attached to the eusocial creatures, specifically ants and bees, in Old Norse sources. I consider the situation of Old Norse as a transnational literature, encompassing one country that lacked ants and bees (Iceland) and one that did not (Norway). Althou...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b87c830935ed40c08842044a52960e12 2023-05-15T16:47:23+02:00 The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources Richard Cole 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/b87c830935ed40c08842044a52960e12 EN NO SV eng nor swe Novus http://ojs.novus.no/index.php/CM/article/view/1871 https://doaj.org/toc/0801-9282 https://doaj.org/toc/2387-6700 0801-9282 2387-6700 https://doaj.org/article/b87c830935ed40c08842044a52960e12 Collegium Medievale, Vol 33, Pp 42-42 (2020) Modern history 1453- D204-475 Medieval history D111-203 article 2020 ftdoajarticles 2022-12-31T03:38:25Z In this article I discuss the political themes attached to the eusocial creatures, specifically ants and bees, in Old Norse sources. I consider the situation of Old Norse as a transnational literature, encompassing one country that lacked ants and bees (Iceland) and one that did not (Norway). Although the behavioural ecology of eusociality, or indeed the classification of ants and bees as taxonomically related, is a relatively recent development in human knowledge, I argue that the fundamental qualities of swarming and mutual aid were clearly recognisable long before modern science. The differing environments and differing political systems between Iceland and Norway are examined as factors shaping the depiction of eusocial insects. However, the Old Norse sources are also integrated into their European context in order to explore the abstract - even universal - ideological questions that are prompted when humans compare their own societies to those of ants and bees. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English Norwegian Swedish |
topic |
Modern history 1453- D204-475 Medieval history D111-203 |
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Modern history 1453- D204-475 Medieval history D111-203 Richard Cole The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources |
topic_facet |
Modern history 1453- D204-475 Medieval history D111-203 |
description |
In this article I discuss the political themes attached to the eusocial creatures, specifically ants and bees, in Old Norse sources. I consider the situation of Old Norse as a transnational literature, encompassing one country that lacked ants and bees (Iceland) and one that did not (Norway). Although the behavioural ecology of eusociality, or indeed the classification of ants and bees as taxonomically related, is a relatively recent development in human knowledge, I argue that the fundamental qualities of swarming and mutual aid were clearly recognisable long before modern science. The differing environments and differing political systems between Iceland and Norway are examined as factors shaping the depiction of eusocial insects. However, the Old Norse sources are also integrated into their European context in order to explore the abstract - even universal - ideological questions that are prompted when humans compare their own societies to those of ants and bees. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Richard Cole |
author_facet |
Richard Cole |
author_sort |
Richard Cole |
title |
The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources |
title_short |
The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources |
title_full |
The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources |
title_fullStr |
The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources |
title_sort |
political symbolism of ants and bees in old norse sources |
publisher |
Novus |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/b87c830935ed40c08842044a52960e12 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Collegium Medievale, Vol 33, Pp 42-42 (2020) |
op_relation |
http://ojs.novus.no/index.php/CM/article/view/1871 https://doaj.org/toc/0801-9282 https://doaj.org/toc/2387-6700 0801-9282 2387-6700 https://doaj.org/article/b87c830935ed40c08842044a52960e12 |
_version_ |
1766037473407795200 |