Old Norse Poetic Diction
The complex poetic diction of Old Norse is usually studied as a relatively fixed system, based on Snorri’s treatment of the topic. Closer scrutiny reveals, however, that the ‘system’ gradually evolved, and that early poetry often features a flexible and expressive use of metaphors. Scholars generally assume that kennings are of limited importance for the semantic content of Old Norse poetry, but common phenomena such as sentence metaphor appear to have played a major role in both skaldic stylistics and the development of the system of diction. In this course, students will become acquainted with the dynamics of ON poetic diction, as well as the scholarly discourse about the topic. All questions will be elucidated by reference to primary texts. The course will be taught by two specialists in skaldic diction, Bianca Patria and Mikael Males. Texts in the bibliography will be provided to participants in advance of the course.
The course gives 3 ECTS for participation, 5 ECTS for participation and a paper. To register for the course, go to the course front page and find links for registration under "Admissions".
Bibliography
Fidjestøl, Bjarne, ‘The Kenning System. An Attempt at a Linguistic Analysis’, Maal og Minne (1974), pp. 5–50
Gurevich, Elena A., ‘The System of Kennings’, Nordica Bergensia, 3 (1994), pp. 139–56
Hallberg, Peter, ‘Elements of Imagery in the Edda’, in Edda. A Collection of Essays, ed. Robert J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason (Winnipeg 1983), 47–85 (pp. 47–49, 59–74, 83–84)
Edda. Háttatal, ed. Anthony Faulkes, 2nd ed. (London: Viking Society for Northern Research, 2007), pp. 5 l. 55–7 l. 21, 8 ll. 29–31.
Edda. Skáldskaparmál, ed. Anthony Faulkes (London: Viking Society for Northern Research, 1998), pp. 1–6.
Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, 2: pp. 271–72
Lie, Hallvar, Natur og unatur i skaldekunsten, in Om sagakunst og skaldskap (1982 [1957]), pp. 238–308.
Males, The Poetic Genesis of Old Icelandic Literature (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020), pp. 39–93, 147–59
Patria, ‘Nýgerving and Skaldic Innovation. Towards an Intertextual Understanding of Skaldic Stylistics’, Saga-book/Viking Society for Northern Research 2022 ; Volum XLVI. pp. 119-154
Patria, ‘Skalds against ‘the System’. The Kennings of Þjóðolfr Arnórsson’s Harvest Metaphor’, Arkiv för nordisk filologi 2022 ;Volum 137. pp. 37-74
Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages, General Introduction, pp. lxix–xc