Mother of Kings I - The Threshold
- 1 minMother of Kings I - The Threshold
In this episode, we set off on a new mini-series exploring the life and legend of Gunnhild konungamóðir - Mother of Kings - and other powerful women in Old Norse Literature.
This first installment doesn’t touch too much on Gunnhild herself, but instead sets up some background information. Specifically, today we focus on the way gender is described and depicted in Sagas and Law codes, exploring some fascinating prose and poetry along the way.
I hope you enjoy.
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.
Njal’s Saga translated by Robert Cook.
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.
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.
How Thor lost his Thunder by Declan Taggart.
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