{"title":"Initiation by White Snake and the Acquisition of Supernatural Knowledge","authors":"Tommy Kuusela","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132097","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: This paper explores narratives about eating the flesh of a dragon or whiteserpent. It is argued that these narratives can be interpreted as examples of initiation. The snake’s association with wisdom is a common motif in Scandinavian folklore,stretching back at least to the Middle Ages. The author argues that folklore accounts of eating a white snake correspond symbolically to initiation. Different texts explain and legitimise how certain persons gain abilities such as wisdom, second sight, and the ability to understand the language of birds or other animals. This motif shows continuity over time and space and does not have to have taken place as an actual ritual for theinterpretation to be valid, particularly as, in the 19th century, such stories legitimised such people’s position in society as ‘cunning folk’. \u0000RESUME: Denne artikel udforsker fortællinger om at spise kødet af en drage eller hvid slange. Den foreslår, at de kan tolkes som eksempler på initiering. Slangens tilknytning til visdom er et almindeligt motiv i skandinavisk folklore, der strækker sig tilbage til middelalderen, hvis ikke længere. Forfatteren hævder, at folkloreberetninger om at spise en hvid slange symbolsk svarer til initiering. Forskellige tekster forklarer og legitimerer, hvordan visse personer opnår evner som visdom, synskhed og evnen til at forstå fugles eller andre dyrs sprog. Dette motiv udviser kontinuitet gennem tid og rum og fortolkningens gyldighed afhænger ikke af, at de handlinger reelt har fundet sted som et egentligt ritual, især eftersom sådanne historier i det 19. århundrede legitimerede disse menneskers position i samfundet som ‘kloge folk’.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83477723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘The flowing-haired friend of the fire of altars’","authors":"Margaret Clunies Ross","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132115","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: There are very few sources, other than material remains and spatial arrangements revealed by archaeological excavation, that can give modern researchers access to the thought-world of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. Some skaldic poetry presumed to have been composed before the Conversion may offer a window onto this thought-world. This article investigates how a single kenning from a stanza composed by the tenth-century Icelander Egill Skallagrímsson conceptualised the relationship between the dominant Viking-Age deity Óðinn and the conduct of religious ritual. \u0000RESUME: Der findes meget få kilder, bortset fra materiel kultur og spatiale organiseringer afdækket gennem arkæologiske udgravning, der kan give moderne forskere adgang til førkristen nordisk religions tankeverden. Nogle skjaldedigte, som antages at være komponeret før konverteringen til Kristendom, kan give et indblik i denne tankeverden. Denne artikel undersøger hvordan en enkelt kenning fra en strofe komponeret af islændingen Egill Skallagrímsson i det tiende århundrede konceptualiserer forholdet mellem den dominerende vikingetidsguddom, Óðinn, og udførelsen af religiøse ritualer","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75134602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Arkaisk religion, komparation, norrøn og mesopotamisk","authors":"Hans J. Lundager Jensen","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132128","url":null,"abstract":"SUMMARY: The contribution departs from the conceptual dilemma between ‘primary religions’ and ‘archaic religions’ relative to the trifunctional paradigm of Dumézil. Jens Peter Schjødt has shown that in the Scandivian triad of deities in Uppsala, the paradigm can be seen as abstract relations, but not through the individual gods. The trifunctional paradigm is present as an implicit inspiration, realized in an independent and original constellation. Similarly it is attempted to demonstrate the existence of the trifunctional paradigm in Mesopotamian religion, where the functions are even actually represented by deities. \u0000RESUME: Bidraget tager udgangspunkt i det begrebslige dilemma imellem ‘primære religioner’ og ‘arkaiske religioner’ i forhold til Dumézils trefunktionelle skema. Jens Peter Schjødt har vist, at i den norrøne gudetriade i Uppsala foreligger skemaet som abstrakte relationer, men ikke gennem de enkelte gude-skikkelser. Trefunktionsskemaet er til stede som en bagvedliggende inspiration, der realiseres som en selvstændig og original konstellation. På tilsvarende vis forsøges forekomsten af det trefunktionelle skema påvist i mesopotamisk religion hvor funktionerne endda faktisk repræsenteres af gudeskikkelser.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79807068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Det Andet, Det Samme og Den Historiske tekst","authors":"Lars Albinus","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132134","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Which interpretive possibilities are associated with the study of historical texts? What is it that we hope to understand, and what is the real purpose of studying a dead religion? This includes a diachronic and a synchronous aspect: How do the historical and the comparative interact? Do we seek, without necessarily being aware of it, what we already know, in the historical text, or do we open ourselves up to the encounter with something foreign? The question also implies whether perception and language can be said to reflect each other, and not least which conditions the present sets for understanding the past. I take my point of departure in Foucault's understanding of history, involving related views of de Certeau, and set the archaeological and genealogical point of view against Gadamer's hermeneutic textual approach and Habermas' concept of rational reconstruction. The intention is to suggest a perspective that, firstly, acknowledges the necessity of interpretation and, secondly, allows the text's own Otherness to come to the fore. \u0000RESUME: Hvilke fortolkningsmuligheder knytter sig til studiet af historiske tekster? Hvad er det, vi håber på at forstå, og hvad er det egentlige formål med at studere en død religion? Dette omfatter et diakront og et synkront aspekt: Hvordan spiller det historiske og det komparative sammen? Søger vi, uden nødvendigvis at være bevidste om det, det, vi allerede kender, i den historiske tekst, eller stiller vi os åbne for mødet med noget fremmed? Spørgsmålet implicerer, hvorvidt forestilling og sprog kan siges at afspejle hinanden, og ikke mindst hvilke betingelser nutiden sætter for en forståelse af fortiden. Jeg tager udgangspunktet i Foucaults historieforståelse, under inddragelse af beslægtede synspunkter hos de Certeau, og stiller den arkæologiske og genealogiske synsvinkel op over for Gadamers hermeneutiske tekst-tilgang og Habermas’ begreb om rationel rekonstruktion. Hensigten er at åbne for et perspektiv, der på den ene side vedkender sig fortolkningens nødvendighed og på den anden side tillader tekstens egen Andethed at komme til orde.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85258443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Distinguishing Discourses of the Dísir","authors":"L. Murphy","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132109","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Previous studies of the dísir have tended to focus on either their links with fertility or use of the term to designate a wide range of supranatural female figures. This study reassesses the textual evidence for the nature of these beings, applying Jens Peter Schjødt’s notion of “discourse” to argue that we should not be searching for a single coherent category of beings. Rather, it argues, our sources depict three semidistinct “dísir” discourses: a group of prosperity-focused female figures with strong links to local landscapes worshipped during the late pagan Iron Age; the use of the signifier “dís” as a poetic synonym for a range of female figures in verse; and a medieval textual discourse of “martial dísir” construed on the basis of poetic texts, but which has no basis in pre-Christian religion. \u0000RESUME: Tidligere studier af diserne har haft en tendens til at fokusere enten på deres forbindelse til frugtbarhed eller på brugen af termen til at beskrive en bred vifte af overnaturlige kvindeskikkelser. Dette studier revurderer tekstgrundlaget for disse væseners natur og benytter Jens Peter Schjødts begreb ”diskurs” til at argumentere for, at der ikke er tale om én standardiseret kategori af væsener. I stedet argumenteres der for, at kilderne afslører tre mere eller mindre særskilte diskurser om ”dísir”: En gruppe kvindefigurer med fokus på velstand med stærke bånd til lokale landskaber, som blev dyrket i den sene jernalder; brugen af termen ”dís” som et poetisk synonym for diverse kvindeskikkelser i digte; og en middelalderlig tekstdiskurs omkring ”krigeriske dísir” konstrueret ud fra poetiske tekster, men uden understøttelse in førkristen religion.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88447708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Sacrificial Festival at Uppsala","authors":"Anders Hultgård","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132125","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: The source value of Adam of Bremen’s description of the pre-Christian sacrificial ritual at Uppsala is hotly debated. Some scholars emphasize that it rests on the account of an eye-witness, others that it is a compilation of Christian stereotypes of pagan cult in general. The aim of the present study is to find out what derives from genuine sacrificial cult among the Svear and what is drawn from Christian polemics. A critical analysis of Adam’s text is presented, and the sparse information from other sources on Scandinavian ritual practices is discussed. However, the essential thing is to compare with sacrificial texts, especially inscriptions, from the religions of ancient Europe and western Asia. It is shown that some details in Adam’s description may derive from oral tradition by local informants. \u0000SAMMANDRAG Trovärdigheten i Adam av Bremens notiser om offerkulten i Gamla Uppsala är omdiskuterad. Omdömena varierar alltifrån ett ögonvittnes skildring till ett sammanplock av stereotyper om hednisk kult. Föreliggande studie granskar kritiskt innehållet i Adams notiser. Syftet är att skilja ut vad som bygger på autentisk tradition om svearnas offerpraxis och vad som utgör medeltida schabloner och kristen polemik. Uppgifter i andra källor om förkristen skandinavisk offerkult lyfts fram. Det väsentliga är dock jämförelsen med rituella texter från Europas och Västasiens gamla religioner, särskilt inskrifter. Det visar sig att vissa detaljer i Adams beskrivning kan bygga på muntlig tradition från tillförlitliga informanter.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88644547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What Did King Hákon góði Do before the Battle at Fitjar and after the Battle at Avaldsnes?","authors":"Andreas Nordberg","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132100","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: The starting point for this paper is the enigmatic stanza 6 of the Norwegian skald Guthormr sindri's mid-900s poem Hákonardrápa. This stanza depicts the Norwegian king Hákon góði clashing his spears together over the heads of the fallen warriors after the battle of Avaldsnes. But why did he do it? And what did Hákon do when he \"played\" (lék) in front of his army before the Battle of Fitjar, as portrayed in Eyvindr Finnsson’s poem Hákonarmál? Roman sources, iconographic motifs from the migration period to the Viking age, as well as information in Old Norse literature, suggest that war dances, intimidating movements, as well as aggressive and incendiary gestures, cries and songs constituted an important aspect of warfare among Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. In this paper, it is suggested that Hákon's – to us – enigmatic performances in Hákonardrápa and Hákonarmál may be understandable within the framework of this martial context. \u0000RESUME: Utgångspunkten för denna artikel är en gåtfull strof (6) i den norske skalden Guthormr sindri’s dikt Hákonardrápa, från mitten av 900-talet. Strofen beskriver hur den norske kungen Hákon góði slog samman spjut över huvudena på de fallna krigare, som låg spridda över slagfältet efter slaget vid Avaldsnes. Varför gjorde han det? Och vad gjorde samme kung Hákon, när han enligt Eyvindr Finnsson’s poem Hákonarmál “lekte” (lék) framför sina krigare på slagfältet före slaget vid Fitjar? Romerska källor, ikonografiska motiv från folkvandringstid till vikingatid, liksom uppgifter i den norröna litteraturen, visar att krigsdanser, hotfulla rörelser samt aggressiva och eggande gester, utrop och sånger var viktiga inslag i krigsföringen bland de germanska och skandinaviska folken. I denna artikel föreslås att Hákon’s – för oss – gåtfulla handlingar i Hákonardrápa och Hákonarmál blir förståeliga inom ramen för denna militära kontext.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88016189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Grave Mound of a Saga Hero","authors":"M. Egeler","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132135","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: The article presents a case study within the recent renaissance of folkloristic approaches to Old Norse-Icelandic religious history and saga literature. It undertakes a comparative analysis of medieval literary and recent local traditions about the burial of Ǫnundr Wooden-Foot, who was the great-grandfather of Grettir the Strong and an important character in the introductory chapters of Grettis saga. First, the article lays out the different accounts of Ǫnundr’s burial in medieval literature. Second, it contrasts the literary accounts with a broad range of more recent local traditions. Furthermore, it brings the physical topography of Ǫnundr’s alleged burial site into the discussion. The article then uses this ensemble of data to problematise issues such as the relative importance of chronological vs. geographical distance between a narrative and its alleged object, throwing new light on the relevance of recent local traditions for understanding medieval saga accounts. \u0000RESUME: Denne artikel præsenterer en case study inden for den folkloristiske tilgang til studiet af oldnordisk og oldislandsk religionshistorie og sagalitteratur. Den byder på en komparativ analyse af litterære middelalderkilder samt nyere, lokale traditioner om begravelsen af Ǫnundr Træfod, som var oldefar til Grettir den Stærke og en vigtig figur i de indledende kapitler af Grettis saga. Først fremstiller artiklen forskellige beretninger om Ǫnundrs begravelse ifølge middelalderlitteraturen. Derpå kontrasteres disse beretninger med en bred vifte af nyere, lokale traditioner. I tillæg diskuteres den konkrete topografi omkring Ǫnundrs påståede gravsted. Derpå bruger artiklen denne samling af data til at problematisere aspekter såsom den kronologiske kontra den geografiske afstand mellem fortællingen og dens genstand. Herved kastes der nyt lys på lokale traditioners relevans i forhold til vores forståelse af sagaberetninger fra middelalderen.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76551461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Puruṣa: Offer, kosmos, menneske","authors":"Mikael Aktor","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132127","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Because of the problematic source situation in the pre-Christian North, it is often necessary to make us of what Jens Peter Schjødt has termed genetic comparisons, in order to better ones understanding of the religious tradition. In this article, one such historically related myth about the creation of the world through a ritual process in which an anthropomorphic being if transformed into the cosmos through an act of sacrifice, is anlalysed. This myth is known in the Old Norse material as the myth of the jǫtunn Ymir and in the Indian material as the myth of Puruṣa. It is the latter which, through the well-known hymn from the Ṛgveda, forms the basis of an analysis focussing on how this myth establishes a mode of sacrifice which connects the primeval cosmogony with the existence of gods and life of humans in a perspective which reaches into and beyond death. \u0000RESUME: Grundet den mangelfulde kildesituation til det førkristne Norden er det ofte nødvendigt at benytte sig af hvad Jens Peter Schjødt har kaldt genetiske komparationer, for at danne sig et bedre billede af den religiøse tradition. I denne artikel analyseres en sådan historisk beslægtet myte, nemlig myten om verdens skabelse gennem en rituel proces, hvor et antropomorft væsen gennem en offerhandling transformeres til kosmos. Denne myte kendes i det norrøne materiale som myten om jætten Ymir og i det indiske materiale som myten om Puruṣa. Det er sidstnævnte, der, gennem den kendte hymne i Ṛgveda, danner grundlag for en religionshistorisk analyse med fokus på, hvordan denne indiske myte indstifter en offertanke, der forbinder urtidens verdensskabelse med guders og menneskers liv og eksistens i et perspektiv, der rækker ud over og ind i døden.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73156342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Golden Words","authors":"Ingunn Ásdísardóttir","doi":"10.7146/rt.v74i.132121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7146/rt.v74i.132121","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: No one shows much surprise at the many kennings referring to poetry and the mead of poetry that are found in the Old Norse corpus of poetry. There is, however, another group of rather puzzling kennings, which seem to have been taken mainly at face value, although they are based on a rather strange notion. These are the many kennings that refer to gold as the speech and/or sound of the jǫtnar. In this article, I present the idea that these gold-kennings are strongly associated with the idea of poetry as the highest, most precious, form of speech. \u0000RESUME: Ingen viser megen overraskelse over de mange kenninger som henviser til digtning og digtermjødet som findes i det norrøne digt-korpus. Men der findes en anden gruppe ret gådefulde kenninger, som synes hovedsageligt at være blevet taget bogstaveligt, skønt de er baseret på en temmelig sær idé. Det er de mange kenninger som henviser til guld som jætternes tale og/eller lyd. I dette bidrag fremfører jeg den idé at disse guldkenninger er meget tæt forbundet med ideen om digtekunst som den højeste og mest dyrebare form for tale.","PeriodicalId":38779,"journal":{"name":"Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82871660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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