Strategies of Passion: Love and Marriage in Medieval Iceland and Norway (Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe)

Translated by Betsy van der Hoek. This book is concerned with the social and gendered meanings of love in medieval Norway and Iceland. In the Viking Age, to love would most often imply a submissive social position, while being loved by a woman could elevate a man above the status of her family. Women were supposed to love upwards in the social hierarchy, but could also use their desire to negotiate the social position of men. A close reading of the skaldic poetry shows the dilemma men faced when longing for women's love and approval. These ideas of love relations shaped Norse interpretations of courtly love and marriage formation by consent in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. However, new ideas of sexuality, gender and aristocratic culture changed several aspects of love and marital affection in the later Middle Ages. Men became the loving subject, but in a way that did not challenge the social order. For women, ideal love was attached to humility and submission to parents and husband. But even though the new ideology of love and marriage to some extent neutralized the tensions between consent and parental control, the sources show that both men and women could use the new conceptions of love to serve their own marital and social strategies. This book is concerned with the social and gendered meanings of love in medieval Norway and Iceland. In the Viking Age, to love would most often imply a submissive social position, while being loved by a woman could elevate a man above the status of her family. Women were supposed to love upwards in the social hierarchy, but could also use their desire to negotiate the social position of men. A close reading of the skaldic poetry shows the dilemma men faced when longing for women's love and approval. These ideas of love relations shaped Norse interpretations of courtly love and marriage formation by consent in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. However, new ideas of sexuality, gender and society affected the understanding of love and marital affection in the later Middle Ages. Men became the loving subject, but in a way that did not challenge the social order. For women, ideal love was attached to humility and submission to parents and husband. But even though the new ideology of love and marriage to some extent neutralized the tensions between consent and parental control, the sources show that both men and women could use the new conceptions of love to serve their own marital and social strategies. Preface ix List of Abbreviations xi Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Divine Love and Heroic Consent 19 Chapter 3. The Female Gaze on the Norwegian 'hirð' 43 Chapter 4. Dangerous Liaisons 63 Chapter 5. The Poetic Discourse of Love 93 Chapter 6. A New Scenery for Love 109 Chapter 7. The Introduction and Early Reception of Consensual Marriage, c. 1160–1230 151 Chapter 8. Courtly Love and Holy Matrimony 189 Chapter 9. Bridal Quest in Iceland 241 Chapter 10. Conclusion 295 Bibliography 303 Index 337 By Bjørn Bandlien ; Trans. Betsy Van Der Hoek. This Translation Originally Published: Oslo: Norwegian Historical Association, 2001. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Translated From The Norwegian.