Gender, Violence, and the Past in Edda and Saga

Gender, Violence, and the Past in Edda and Saga is the first book to investigate both the relation between gender and violence in the Old Norse Poetic Edda and key family and contemporary sagas, and the interrelated nature of these genres. Beginning with an analysis of eddaic attitudes to heroic violence and its gendered nature through the figures of Gutrun and Helgi, the study broadens out to the whole poetic compilation and how the past (and particularly the mythological past) inflects the heroic present. This paves the way for a consideration of the comparable relationship between the heroic poems themselves and later reworkings of them or allusions to them in the family and contemporary sagas. The book's thematic concentration on gender/sexuality and violence, and its generic concentration on Poetic Edda and later texts which rework or allude to it, enable a diverse but coherent exploration of both key and neglected Norse texts and the way in which their authors display a dual fascination with and rejection of heroic vengeance. Gender, Violence, and the Past in Edda and Saga is the first book to investigate both the relation between gender and violence in the Old Norse Poetic Edda and key family and contemporary sagas, and the interrelated nature of these genres. Beginning with an analysis of eddaic attitudes to heroic violence and its gendered nature through the figures of Guðrún and Helgi, the study broadens out to the whole poetic compilation and how the past (and particularly the mythological past) inflects the heroic present. This paves the way for a consideration of the comparable relationship between the heroic poems themselves and later reworkings of them or allusions to them in the family and contemporary sagas. The book's thematic concentration on gender/sexuality and violence, and its generic concentration on Poetic Edda and later texts which rework or allude to it, enable a diverse but coherent exploration of both key and neglected Norse texts and the way in which their authors display a dual fascination with and rejection of heroic vengeance. Through Thematic Concentration On Gender/sexuality And Violence And Generic Concentration On Poetic Edda And Later Texts Which Rework Or Allude To It, David Clark Provides A Diverse But Coherent Exploration Of Both Key And Neglected Norse Texts. 1 Undermining Vengeance: Distancing And Anti-feminism In The Guðrún Poems 17 -- 2 Heroic Homosociality And Homophobia In The Helgi Poems 46 -- 3 Kin-slaying In The Poetic Edda: The End Of The World? 67 -- 4 Sexual Themes And The Heroic Past In Gísla Saga 89 -- 5 Violence In Moderation: The Church And Vengeance In The Sagas 117 -- 6 Manslaughter And Misogyny: Women And Revenge In Sturlunga Saga 142. David Clark. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [167]-179) And Index. Cover 1 Contents 8 Abbreviations 9 Introduction 10 1. Undermining Vengeance: Distancing and Anti-feminism in the Guðrún Poems 26 2. Heroic Homosociality and Homophobia in the Helgi Poems 55 3. Kin-slaying in the Poetic Edda: The End of the World? 76 4. Sexual Themes and the Heroic Past in Gísla saga 98 5. Violence in Moderation: The Church and Vengeance in the Sagas 126 6. Manslaughter and Misogyny: Women and Revenge in Sturlunga saga 151 Epilogue 173 Bibliography 176 Index 190 A 190 B 190 C 190 D 190 E 190 F 190 G 190 H 190 I 191 J 191 K 191 L 191 M 191 N 191 O 191 P 191 R 191 S 191 T 191 U 191 V 191 W 191 Through thematic concentration on gender/sexuality and violence, and generic concentration on Poetic Edda and later texts which rework or allude to it, David Clark provides a diverse but coherent exploration of both key and neglected Norse texts and the way in which their authors display a dual fascination with and rejection of heroic vengeance.