Mother of Kings V - I Lay This Curse on You
- 2 minsMother of Kings V - I Lay This Curse on You
In this episode, we return to the life and legend of Gunnhild konungamóðir, exploring her time in exile in Denmark and her son’s eventual return to power in Norway. We then turn our attention to the broader topic of women, power and magic in the Sagas.
Along the way we discuss goat-illusions, magical yarn and cat-skin gloves as we explore several fantastic tales of magically-inclined Saga women.
Sources
Primary Sources
Heimskringla translated by Alison Finlay and Anthony Faulkes.
Fagrskinna translated by Alison Finlay.
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasogum translated by M.J. Driscoll.
Historia Norwegiae translated by Devra Kunin.
Egil’s Saga translated by Bernard Scudder in The Sagas of the Icelanders.
Saga of the People of Laxardal (Laxdaela Saga) translated by Keneva Kunz in The Sagas of the Icelanders.
Sagas of the People of Vatnsdal (Vatnsdaela Saga) translated by Andrew Wahn in The Sagas of the Icelanders
Njal’s Saga translated by Robert Cook.
The Saga of Hrolf Gautrekkson translated by Ben Waggoner in Six Sagas of Adventure.
The Saga of the Sworn Brothers translated by Martin S. Regal in Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
Eyrbyggja Saga translated by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards.
The Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington.
The Poetic Edda translated by Jackson Crawford.
Grágás I translated by Andrew Dennis, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins.
Grágás II translated by Andrew Dennis, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins.
Secondary Sources
Women in Old Norse Literature, Bodies, Words, and Power by Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir.
Gender by Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir in The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas.
The Paranormal by Miriam Mayburd in The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas.
Gender, Humor, and Power in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature by Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir.
Women in Old Norse Society by Jenny Jochens.
The Norns in Old Norse Mythology by Karen Bek-Pedersen.
Viking Diaspora by Judith Jesch.
The Age of the Vikings by Anders Winroth.
Women in Old Norse Poetry and Sagas by Judy Quinn in A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture.
Gunnhildur and the Male Whores by Jóna Guðbjörg Torfadóttir
Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014 by Clare Downham
The Viking-Age Rune-Stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia by Birgit Sawyer.
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