Constructing History: The Use of the Past as a Model for the Present in the Icelandic Sagas
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"...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English Norwegian Swedish |
| Published: |
Novus
2010
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| Online Access: | https://doaj.org/article/bff2d21aa4f049af89e69ef1e5f247e5 |
| 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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