Overview
Icelanders venerated numerous saints, both indigenous and from overseas, in the Middle Ages. However, although its literary elite was well acquainted with contemporary Continental currents in hagiographic compositions, theological discussions, and worship practices, much of the history of the learned European networks through which the Icelandic cult of the saints developed and partially survived the Lutheran Reformation remains obscure. The essays collected in this volume address this lacuna by exploring the legacies of the cult of some of the most prominent saints and holy men in medieval Iceland (the Virgin Mary along with SS Agnes of Rome, Benedict of Nursia, Catherine of Alexandria, Dominic of Caleruega, Michael the Archangel, Jon of Holar, THorlakr of Skalholt, Larentius of Holar, and Gudmundr the Good), using evidence drawn from Old Norse-Icelandic and Latin hagiographic literature, homilies, prayers, diplomas, sacred art, place-names, and church dedications. By placing the medieval Icelandic cult of the saints within its wider European context, the contributions trace new historical routes of cultural transmission and define the creative processes of the accommodation and adaptation of foreign hagiographic sources and models in medieval and early modern Iceland. They provide a clear picture of an Icelandic hagiographic literature and culture that celebrates the splendour of the saints; they also show how an engaging literary genre, which became immensely popular on the island throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, was created.
Full Product Details
Author: Kirsten Wolf (Author) ,
Kirsten Wolf (Author) ,
Dario Bullitta ,
Dario Bullitta
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Imprint: D.S. Brewer
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.80cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.669kg
ISBN: 9781843846116
ISBN 10: 184384611
Pages: 402
Publication Date: 16 July 2021
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Language: Old Norse
Reviews
This collection, though, certainly counts as fine work: it is a wonderful testimony to the vibrancy of recent research on the cults of saints in Iceland and its potential for giving us new insights into literary culture both in the early twelfth century and into the Reformation and beyond. -- Siân Grønlie * Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies *
Author Information
KIRSTEN WOLF is the Birgit Baldwin Professor in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. KIRSTEN WOLF is the Birgit Baldwin Professor in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. DARIO BULLITTA is Assistant Professor in Germanic Philology in the Department of Humanities at the University of Turin. DARIO BULLITTA is Assistant Professor in Germanic Philology in the Department of Humanities at the University of Turin.
