Tag: Gantt Gurley

Gender Diversity and Deviation in Medieval Scandinavia

Presenter: Miles Berry − Anthropology

Faculty Mentor(s): Gantt Gurley

(In-Person) Oral Panel—HURF

There is a trope in the medieval Scandinavian literary tradition that bends the gendered actions and presentations of its characters in a way that changes their social standing within their stories. Unfortunately, homophobia and transphobia within academia have been precedent for decades and have caused the overlook of queer characters in such medieval literature. In my research, I attempt to contradict the notions that queer people did not exist in medieval Scandinavia and posit that some queer medieval individuals even held high places in society because of their identities. This paper finds evidence of what moderns consider gender diversity and deviation within medieval Scandinavian life, using both literature and archaeology. I inspect the Poetic and Prose Eddas, selected Icelandic Family Sagas, and archaeological burials that were deemed exceptional or diversionary from gendered expectations. These findings are based on both modern queer theory and a scale created by Carol Clover to analyze societal standing in Icelandic Family Sagas.

“Then Brynhild Laughed”: Female Heroism and Changing Tradition in Volsunga Saga

Presenter: Basil Price

Faculty Mentor: Gantt Gurley, Michael Peixoto

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Art, Medieval Studies

The legend of Sigurd the Dragonslayer is one of the most long-lived heroic tales in the European imagination, and the characters of Sigurd Fafnisbane, Gudrun, and Brynhild are legendary. Nonetheless, the character of Brynhild, described by Theodore Andersson as “the most complete psychological portrait, male or female in Icelandic literature” saw constant evolution and change. Her place within the legend is dependent upon missing sources, such as the hypothetical Lay of Brynhild, and the lost Meiri text. Her role is further complicated by changes in the narrative due to Christianization and regional variation between Icelandic and Germanic versions. The Icelandic narrative emphasizes her heroic traits, her self-determination, and her magical properties. But the Germanic variations are not nearly as positive, reducing her character to an eroticized prize for Sigurd to win. Although there are incongruities between Icelandic The Saga of the Volsungs and The Poetic Edda, by analyzing specific, shared motifs in conjunction with the Germanic Thidrek’s saga, it is possible to evaluate Brynhild’s role in the lost Meiri manuscript. Her virginity, her reaction to Sigurd’s death, and her relationship with Gudrun throughout the texts indicate that, just as Andersson claimed, Brynhild’s role in the Meiri is one of complex psychology, heroic self-agency, and laughter.

A Toast From the High Seat-The Feast in the Viking Age

Presenter(s): James Andersen

Faculty Mentor(s): Gantt Gurley

Oral Session 2 S

The purpose of this project is to examine feasting’s place in Viking Age Scandinavia as the primary cultural event, around which the entire society revolved. The feast has not been addressed properly in past scholarship, which has overlooked its’ significance as a mutable event used to commemorate a vast array of cultural and political events throughout Viking Age society. There has not yet been a proper study of feasting and its’ importance in the Viking Age; such a work is of vital importance to understanding this period and its cultures. Via reexamination of the historical sources (primarily the Icelandic sagas), and archaeological evidence, the practices and purposes of feasts in this culture will be explored. The feast in this period was integral to the proper functioning of society, and fits into a longer chronology of feasting practices (both before and after) which must be considered to provide a full context and understand how the Viking Age feast was unique. Research thus far has provided substantial support for this hypothesis, and hopefully will encourage further research and cooperation among scholars of the period.