Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries in Studies of the Viking Age (The North Atlantic World: Land and Sea as Cultural Space, AD 400-1900, Vol. 4) (English and Italian Edition)

What happens when scholars cross outside the perceived 'boundaries' of their discipline? What problems arise when a scholar trained in one field employs materials or methodologies from an adjacent subject area, engaging with new sources, research methodologies, and traditions, and how can such issues be resolved? Taking as its starting point the increasing shift towards interdisciplinarity seen within Viking-age studies, this collection of essays aims to explore the benefits and pitfalls that can arise from crossing disciplinary borders in this area, and to gain new knowledge about how to address issues that have occurred in previous examples of interdisciplinary combinations. The volume draws together contributions from authors in different disciplines, among them philology, history, archaeology, literary studies, folklore studies and history of religion, in order to hold a constructive and multi-perspective discussion on the benefits and issues arising from interdisciplinary research in studies of the Viking Age. Together, these chapters aim to bridge the gap that often exists between scholars from adjacent fields of research, and in doing so, to stimulate the trend in interdisciplinary approaches to research that can improve our understanding of the past. Front Matter 1 Interdisciplinarity in Viking Age Studies. An Introduction. Daniel Sävborg 9 Interdisciplinary — Multidisciplinary — Transdisciplinary. Navigating the Wandering Rocks of Trending Terminology on Changeable Tides of Discipline Ideology. Frog 35 The Legend of the Invitation of Varangian Princes in the Light of Interdisciplinarity. Elena Melnikova 69 Saga Studies and Slavic-Finnish Archaeology. ‘Bilateral Cooperation’. Tatjana N. Jackson 95 Crossing Borders between Literature and Toponymy. The Narrative Landscape of Hvolsvöllur and its Implications. Matthias Egeler 111 Women and Swords in the Viking Age. An Interdisciplinary Study of an Archaeological and Textual Motif. Leszek Gardeła 127 ‘Many big ships and excellently well fitted...’. A Case Study of Norse Vessels in Hákonar Saga Hákonarsonar c. 1204–1263. William Pidzamecky 165 Interdisciplinary Research in the Study of Human Sacrifices in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Klas Wikström af Edholm 185 The Royal Erfi-Feast, Inauguration at the High-Seat, and Genealogical Knowledge in Viking Age Scandinavia. An Interdisciplinary Approach. Olof Sundqvist 217 Some Thoughts on the Category of Religion in Research of Viking Age Scandinavia. Andreas Nordberg 253 Moulding Myth and Memory. The Plasticity of Old Norse/Icelandic Traditional Tales. Annette Lassen 277 Old Norse Religion and the Troublesome Quest for an Interdisciplinary Approach. Henrik Janson 295 Index 357