Encounters with the Paranormal in Medieval Iceland II: Being and Becoming

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Miriam Mayburd

Organizer Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Presider Name

Ryder Patzuk-Russell

Presider Affiliation

Independent Scholar

Paper Title 1

Apocalyptic Reflections in Medieval Icelandic Literature

Presenter 1 Name

Kolfinna Jónatansdóttir

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Háskóli Íslands

Paper Title 2

Outrageous Violence in Old Norse Laws and Sagas

Presenter 2 Name

Sean B. Lawing

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Bryn Athyn College

Paper Title 3

Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm: Sturlungaöld and the Emergency of History

Presenter 3 Name

Miriam Mayburd

Start Date

13-5-2018 10:30 AM

Session Location

Bernhard 212

Description

Encounters with the Paranormal in Medieval Iceland II: Being and Becoming

These sessions will question the discursive boundaries of what has conventionally been delineated as the 'supernatural' in saga scholarship (with its emphasis on classifying and categorizing otherworldly beings), suggesting that paranormal encounters in pre-modern cognitive experience rather hinge upon obscurity and lack of such delineations. Paranormal (with its broader definition of 'unexplainable') may include phenomena that need not be “supernatural” while still being uncanny and unsettlingly other. Consequentially, this opens up even the “realistic” sagas for such analyses. After introducing the main issues in the current discourse on the subject, the aim is to draw attention to several theoretical tools being used in adjacent fields of anthropology and folklore (as well as cognitive science) in the study of pre-modern mentalities and demonstrate their relevance of application to medieval Norse textual sources.

Miriam Mayburd

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May 13th, 10:30 AM

Encounters with the Paranormal in Medieval Iceland II: Being and Becoming

Bernhard 212

Encounters with the Paranormal in Medieval Iceland II: Being and Becoming

These sessions will question the discursive boundaries of what has conventionally been delineated as the 'supernatural' in saga scholarship (with its emphasis on classifying and categorizing otherworldly beings), suggesting that paranormal encounters in pre-modern cognitive experience rather hinge upon obscurity and lack of such delineations. Paranormal (with its broader definition of 'unexplainable') may include phenomena that need not be “supernatural” while still being uncanny and unsettlingly other. Consequentially, this opens up even the “realistic” sagas for such analyses. After introducing the main issues in the current discourse on the subject, the aim is to draw attention to several theoretical tools being used in adjacent fields of anthropology and folklore (as well as cognitive science) in the study of pre-modern mentalities and demonstrate their relevance of application to medieval Norse textual sources.

Miriam Mayburd