The Shadow-walkers: Jacob Grimm's Mythology Of The Monstrous (arizona Studies In The Middle Ages And Renaissance)

This volume began its protracted gestation as a series of papers delivered at the 1997 Medieval Institute Conference in Kalamazoo, MI, and subsequently at the International Medieval Conference in Leeds the same summer. Elves and dwarves, trolls and giants, talking dragons, valkyries and werewolves: all these are familiar in modern movies and commercial fantasy. But where did the concepts come from? Who invented them? Almost two centuries ago, Jacob Grimm assembled what was known about such creatures in his work on 'Teutonic Mythology', which brought together ancient texts such as 'Beowulf' and the 'Elder Edda' with the material found in Grimm's own famous collection of fairy-tales. This collection of essays now updates Grimm, adding much material not known in his time, and also challenges his monolithic interpretations, pointing out the diversity of cultural traditions as well as the continuity of ancient myth. Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations ix Note on Texts, Translations, and Names xi A Revolution Reconsidered: Mythography and Mythology in the Nineteenth Century / Tom Shippey 1 Dwarfs in Germanic Literature: 'Deutsche Mythologie' or Grimm's Myths? / Paul Battles 29 Less than Kind: Giants in Germanic Tradition / Randi Eldevik 83 'Hvat er tröll nema þat?': The Cultural History of the Troll / Martin Arnold 111 'Alias Oves Habeo': The Elves as a Category Problem / Tom Shippey 157 Grendel: Bordering the Human / Philip Cardew 189 “As Rare As They Are Dire”: Old Norse Dragons, 'Beowulf', and the 'Deutsche Mythologie' / Jonathan Evans 207 Dísir, Valkyries, Völur, and Norns: The 'Weise Frauen' of the 'Deutsche Mythologie' / Joyce Tally Lionarons 271 Theriomorphism: Jacob Grimm, Old Norse Mythology, German Fairy Tales, and English Folklore Peter Orton 299 Finding the Man Under the Skin: Identity, Monstrosity, Expulsion, and the Werewolf / Sarah L. Higley 335 Afterword: A Chair, A Sock, and Language / Tom Shippey 379 Bibliography 389 Index of Primary Texts 425 Index of Scholars 431