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
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