Paranormal Activity in the Medieval North

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Ármann Jakobsson

Organizer Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Presider Name

Ásdís Egilsdóttir

Presider Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Paper Title 1

The Head on the Post and Other Grisly Deeds in Old Norse Gulaþing Law

Presenter 1 Name

Sean Lawing

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Paper Title 2

Mimicking the Other in the Outlaw Sagas: From Practical to Paranormal Behavior

Presenter 2 Name

Marion Poilvez

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Paper Title 3

The Other as Monster: A Study of Blámenn in Medieval Icelandic Sources

Presenter 3 Name

Arngrímur Vídalín

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Paper Title 4

Materiality of Dwarfs? Towards an Ecology of Crafted Objects in Fornaldarsögur

Presenter 4 Name

Miriam Mayburd

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Start Date

8-5-2014 3:30 PM

Session Location

Fetzer 1010

Description

The session is a part of the Encounters with the paranormal project currently under way at the University of Iceland. The project is dedicated to investigating how the paranormal (supernatural, occult, etc.) appears in medieval Iceland. The main focus is on one hand how the paranormal is defined and categorised, specifically relating to the concepts which are used and their meaning. On the other hand the focus is on the experiences of individuals and their claims of access to the uncanny and the otherworld. This years' sessions would focus on the figure of the outcast and the outlaw, thus addressing the marginal state of the paranormal on one hand, and on the other on the potential physical and psychological ramifications of the paranormal in the every day life of medieval Icelanders.

Ármann Jakobsson