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"...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jørgensen, Michael Riber
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Novus forlag 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ojs.novus.no/index.php/CM/article/view/123
Description
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.