Journal Articles by Philip Lavender
Exemplaria, 2023
This article seeks to understand how medieval Icelandic authors may have considered the possibili... more This article seeks to understand how medieval Icelandic authors may have considered the possibility of speaking to the future. In the absence of explicit statements to this effect, it does this by looking at representations of time travel — or chronodisplacement — within medieval Icelandic sagas. When something from the past abruptly appears in the narrative, the past is seen as communicating with its future. The examples looked at include undead mound-dwellers, long-lived wanderers and the Icelandic version of the Seven Sleepers. The frequent association of voices emerging from the past with the underland is considered, particularly in relation to Iceland’s geology. This is also linked to the possibility for medieval Icelanders to engage with deep time. The analysis reveals that Icelandic authors were interested in the dynamic of the past speaking to its future, but chose always to represent it within a past setting. Moreover, authors seem to have been aware that speaking to a future inevitably involves changes in media and the materiality of communication.
Gripla, 2022
“Grobianus et Grobiana” was an influential sixteenth-century German work by Friedrich Dedekind wh... more “Grobianus et Grobiana” was an influential sixteenth-century German work by Friedrich Dedekind which presented advice on how to behave badly, supposedly as an inverse way of encouraging people to behave well. This article looks at an Icelandic work from the seventeenth century, “Grobbians rímur”, which drew on the figure of Grobianus and his female counterpart Grobiana (who becomes his wife, Gribba, in the Icelandic text) but is no mere translation. “Grobbians rímur” is little studied and has a complex transmission history, with several authors contributing additional fitts over a period of many decades. The focus here is the earliest four fitts (what I call the “core Grobbians rímur”), usually attributed to a single author, either Jón Magnússon í Laufási or Guðmundur Erlendsson. Through a consideration of the three extant seventeenth-century manuscripts, two early versions come to light, one consisting of only three fitts as well as another consisting of the more familiar four fitts. A hypothesis is developed that these two versions could be the result of two authors working together and expanding on each other’s compositions, thus both Jón Magnússon and Guðmundur Erlendsson could equally be considered the authors. Other poems by these poets suggest that they responded to each other’s works. Thus arguments are presented that the three-fitt version is most likely the earlier form of the poem, probably composed principally by Jón Magnússon, while the four-fitt version came after and Guðmundur Erlendsson was probably involved in its composition. This study will hopefully pave the way for future research which will consider the literary and cultural value of this intriguing work.
Saga-Book, 2021
This article presents a challenge to the potentially misleading use of the term “indigenous” in s... more This article presents a challenge to the potentially misleading use of the term “indigenous” in scholarship on Old Norse-Icelandic literature. It locates the origin of the term's usage within published scholarship in the 1980s and then traces the separate development of the concept of indigeneity within human rights and activist discourse and through into work in the social sciences and humanities. Finally, it asks the question to what extent certain medieval Icelandic genres deserve to be considered indigenous and what problems might arise through this use of language.
Variaciones Borges, 2021
This article presents new research on a notebook which contains notes by Jorge Luis Borges and hi... more This article presents new research on a notebook which contains notes by Jorge Luis Borges and his mother Leonor, written in 1950, at a significant moment in Borges' intellectual development. The notebook contains outlines for a series of lectures on Old English and Old Norse literature and bears a strong resemblance to Borges' first book-length publication on Germanic literature, “Antiguas literaturas germánicas”, which appeared just a year later in 1951. By comparing the notebook with the published work, a great deal is revealed about Borges' working method. For one thing, the notebook contains more detailed citations of Borges's sources, which allow us to see which texts he made use of in places where no reference is provided in “Antiguas literatures germánicas”. Moreover, we can compare certain scenes from saga literature, such as the famous slap from “Njáls saga” (“La bofetada”), which Borges had printed separately previously, then jotted down in the notebook and finally published in “Antiguas literatures gérmanicas”. The small differences in the three versions of the anecdote tell us about how Borges's relation to saga literature was changing over the years when he was going blind and developing his passion for Nordic literature.
Old English Newsletter, 2021
As Miguel A. Gomes Gargamala says in the introduction to the special issue, “A Pandemonium of Bor... more As Miguel A. Gomes Gargamala says in the introduction to the special issue, “A Pandemonium of Borges”: “Further references to Góngora are found in Philip Lavender's ‘Ludic skalds, Odinic visitors and the Origins of Jorge Luis Borges' Antiguas literaturas germánicas,ʼ an exploration of the genesis and the circumstances under which Borges' first extended study of medieval matters was published in 1951. Lavender builds on research by Vladimir Brljak and Jane Toswell, and entertains the possibility that Ímaz Echeverría's Spanish translation (1943) of Johan Huizinga's Homo ludens (1938) could have acted as a catalyst for Borges' Ancient Germanic literatures. Lavender, who rightly places Borges' early interest in the sagas within the context of the translations by William Morris and Eiríkur Magnússon he accessed as a young man, identifies Huizinga's understanding of the potential of playful poetic language to preserve old myths as of clear interest to Borges. The second half of Lavender's contribution examines with insight Borges' idiosyncratic use of his unacknowledged sources in his tale of Odin's visit to the court of Olaf Tryggvason, a favourite since he published his version several times.”
Gripla, 2020
Timur was a renowned Central Asian conqueror who fascinated Early Modern writers, and this articl... more Timur was a renowned Central Asian conqueror who fascinated Early Modern writers, and this article takes up the question of the source of the description of him found in Oddverjaannáll. Robert Cook, in an article from 1985, suggested several possible candidates. These are analysed and a new candidate is proposed, that being Sebastian Franck’s Chronica, Zeitbuch und Geschichtsbibell (1531). Following this, an example is given of how such historiographical material came to be used in saga- and rímur-literature of the seventeenth century, namely in Ambáles saga and Ambáles rímur. These works adapt the well-known story of Hamlet, but have him sent to Timur (Tamerláus) instead of to the King of Britain. An analysis is made of how the representation of Timur in these works (in particular in the witness AM 521 c 4to) functions as a kind of vindication of the earlier gruesome accounts of Timur the tyrant. Moreover, an attempt is made to explain how such a vindication would have been welcome in an Iceland reeling from the recent Tyrkjarán.
The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 2015
Carl Christian Rafn is generally stated to be the founder of the generic designation “fornaldarsö... more Carl Christian Rafn is generally stated to be the founder of the generic designation “fornaldarsögur” (legendary sagas, sagas of ancient times), having collected together the known corpus in his 1829–30 edition “Fornaldar sögur Nordrlanda”. In this article I argue that scholars have generally overlooked the influence of Peter Erasmus Müller on Rafn's edition: a decade earlier Müller had published “Sagabibliothek” (3 vols), the second volume of which presents summaries of all the sagas which Rafn included in his edition and, for the most part, in the same order. Thus Rafn's corpus was laid out in advance by Müller, who in turn was influenced by Erik Julius Biörner's collected edition of sagas from 1737.
Scandinavian Studies, 2018
This article looks at the sources of one of the most entertaining legendary sagas, namely “Göngu-... more This article looks at the sources of one of the most entertaining legendary sagas, namely “Göngu-Hrólfs saga”. In the past a great deal of effort was expended on identifying the sources, folkloristic or otherwise, of legendary sagas. Here I correct some errors made by previous scholars and use my observations of three particular sources to arrive at some wider conclusions on the nature of saga composition and the ways in which source material could be integrated.
Studier i Nordisk, 2021
In this article the earliest scholarly reception of Beowulf, namely that produced in Denmark in t... more In this article the earliest scholarly reception of Beowulf, namely that produced in Denmark in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, is considered. Humfrey Wanley’s catalogue entry is used as a starting point to then consider how Jakob Langebek and Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin, the first editor, conceived of the poem. In particular, Thorkelin’s claim that the poem is a version of the story of Boe who died in AD 340 is taken up. While many have criticised and rejected this claim (as does this author too), nobody has investigated the full extent of what Thorkelin was proposing by making it or tried to understand how he might have arrived at the date and identification. Thorkelin’s source, Peter Friderich Suhm’s Historie af Danmark, based on Saxo and translated into German by Friedrich David Gräter, tells the story of Boe, son of Odin, born to avenge his brother Baldr’s death at the hands of Höðr. Thorkelin may have been influenced by Langebek’s genealogical linking of Odin and Beav (i.e. Beowulf) and thus accepted Suhm/Gräter’s version of their narrative, assuming that Beowulf represented a garbled version of the same: wishful thinking, misreadings and perhaps conscious obfuscation seem to have played a role in Thorkelin’s being able to see (or at least claim to see) a link between the two texts.
Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, 2020
This introduction to “Jarlmanns saga og Hermanns” seeks to provide the reader of the translation ... more This introduction to “Jarlmanns saga og Hermanns” seeks to provide the reader of the translation with sufficient context to be able to appreciate to a greater extent the nuances of the work. Background information about the manuscript preservation and how the shorter version fits into the tradition as a whole is provided. Next some of the main topics of literary and interpretative debate are looked at, namely motifs shared with other sagas and gender representation within the saga. The introduction ends with a discussion of the later reception of the saga, principally in Johan G. Liljegrenʼs early nineteenth-century Swedish translation.
Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, 2020
Agnete Lothʼs edition of the longer version of Jarlmanns saga og Hermanns included an accompanyin... more Agnete Lothʼs edition of the longer version of Jarlmanns saga og Hermanns included an accompanying English paraphrase (by Gillian Fellows Jensen), but there has never been a full translation into English, much less of the shorter version as edited by Hugo Rydberg. We rectify that omission here, providing a normalized text of Rydbergʼs edition with an English translation alongside in the hopes of making this entertaining saga more accessible to a wider audience.
Opuscula, 2018
This article presents the first edition and translation of a short text (in 2 versions) which cir... more This article presents the first edition and translation of a short text (in 2 versions) which circulated in Iceland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and was based on a section of Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. The tale tells of how the seemingly unpromising son of a ruler in Denmark rises to the occasions when belligerent Saxons threaten his father's kingdom. The sources of Vermundar þáttur og Upsa are considered in an attempt to better understand the ways in which material from the Gesta Danorum was available to Icelandic audiences in the post-medieval period.
Gripla, 2015
In this article a text and translation of Björn jónsson á skarðsá’s (1574–1655) commentary to the... more In this article a text and translation of Björn jónsson á skarðsá’s (1574–1655) commentary to the riddles from Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is presented. Björn was one of the most respected scholars of his day, and his works were commissioned by leading scholars and churchmen. Such may also be the case with his idiosyncratic commentary on the ‘gátur gestumblinda’, which soon after its completion in 1641 was sent to Ole Worm in Copenhagen. In the introduction to the text an analysis of their various witnesses is presented, resulting in a stemma (filling out certain ambiguities left over from Jón Helgason’s work on Hervarar saga). A discussion of the circumstances of production is then given, followed by an assessment of the techniques adopted within the commentary. Of particular interest is Björn’s penchant for locating etymological connections and identifying sound symbolism in the choice of lexis used, an interpretative approach to medieval Icelandic poetry which remains for the most part unconsidered today.
Opuscula, 2016
Scholars have estimated that a large proportion of medieval Icelandic manuscripts have been lost,... more Scholars have estimated that a large proportion of medieval Icelandic manuscripts have been lost, and with them some medieval narratives have been consigned to oblivion. A brief reference to a “Hrings saga ok Hermanns” in “Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra” has previously been assumed to be either pure fiction or a reference to one such no longer extant saga. It turns out that the story referred to does exist, however, and although not extant from the sixteenth century or earlier, is transmitted in more than one form in seventeenth and eighteenth century manuscripts. In this article, the witnesses of this supposedly lost saga are described and a transcription of the earliest form, a summary produced by Árni Magnússon in AM 601 d 4to, is provided.
Leed Studies in English, 2015
A translation of Þjalar-Jóns saga, a neglected but highly entertaining late-medieval Icelandic ro... more A translation of Þjalar-Jóns saga, a neglected but highly entertaining late-medieval Icelandic romance (or Russia-oriented fornaldarsaga). Here the translation is accompanied by a short introduction which discusses some of the intertextual influences upon the text as well as taking up questions of genre and manuscript transmission.
Arkiv för nordisk filologi, 2014
This article discusses the reception of a fornaldarsaga in mainland Scandinavia in the 17th and 1... more This article discusses the reception of a fornaldarsaga in mainland Scandinavia in the 17th and 18th centuries. That period was a significant one in the process which led from medieval saga production to modern saga studies, with its canon of texts and generic divisions. Illuga saga is nowadays deemed a peripheral text, closer to being a fairy-tale than a historical (legendary) saga. The main question answered here is why scholars in Sweden, trying to bolster the case for national superiority, deemed it worthwhile to publish an edition of such a saga and refer to it in their national histories. The answer can be found in their scholarly method, which uses a different paradigm of textual critique to that used at other times and in other places.
Variaciones Borges, 2014
This article considers Borges' interest in the thirteenth-century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturlus... more This article considers Borges' interest in the thirteenth-century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, in particular as regards their mutual interest in kennings (poetic periphrases). Borges' final work was a translation of part of Snorri's Prose Edda, and Borges' textual source and translation approach are elucidated.
Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, 2006
This article discusses the Old Norse poem Merlínusspá, attributed to the monk Gunnlaugur Leifsson... more This article discusses the Old Norse poem Merlínusspá, attributed to the monk Gunnlaugur Leifsson and thus probably written in Iceland in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. The question of whether the poem was written together with or separate from “Bretasögur”, the Icelandic translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's “Historia regime Britanniae”, is taken up, and it is concluded that it was written as a standalone piece before the saga. Subsequently, I argue, it was inserted into “Bretasögur”. The article also looks at the later reception of Merlínusspá, and how in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was included, separated from the prose of “Breta sögur”, in manuscript collections of ancient poetry, due to its connection to “Völuspá” and ancient nordic prophetic traditions.
by Jeffrey Turco, Richard L Harris, Russell Poole, Fjodor Uspenskij, Carla Del Zotto, Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir, Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide, Egilsdóttir Ásdís, Alison Finlay, Shaun F. D. Hughes, Jonathan Hui, Philip Lavender, Christine Schott, Dirk H Steinforth, and Paul Acker NNS, 2020
Submissions received by September 1, 2019, will be considered for publication in NNS 2 (2020). Ne... more Submissions received by September 1, 2019, will be considered for publication in NNS 2 (2020). New Norse Studies: A Journal on the Literature and Culture of Medieval Scandinavia is the annual of Islandica, a series in Icelandic and Norse studies, founded in 1908 and published in print and online by the Fiske Icelandic Collection, Cornell University Library. Devoted to all facets of the written tradition of medieval Iceland and Scandinavia, NNS seeks to bring the insights of multiple disciplines to bear upon Norse texts.
NNS welcomes contributions to scholarship relating to all aspects of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, including but not limited to: literary and textual culture; mythology, folklore, and history of religions; archaeology and material culture; language, linguistics, philology, and runology; medieval history; and comparative literary studies.
NNS does not solicit or publish reviews of individual books. Review essays concerning larger trends, topics, and bodies of scholarship are welcome.
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Journal Articles by Philip Lavender
NNS welcomes contributions to scholarship relating to all aspects of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, including but not limited to: literary and textual culture; mythology, folklore, and history of religions; archaeology and material culture; language, linguistics, philology, and runology; medieval history; and comparative literary studies.
NNS does not solicit or publish reviews of individual books. Review essays concerning larger trends, topics, and bodies of scholarship are welcome.
NNS welcomes contributions to scholarship relating to all aspects of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, including but not limited to: literary and textual culture; mythology, folklore, and history of religions; archaeology and material culture; language, linguistics, philology, and runology; medieval history; and comparative literary studies.
NNS does not solicit or publish reviews of individual books. Review essays concerning larger trends, topics, and bodies of scholarship are welcome.
Como afirma Patricia Pires Boulhosa en el prólogo, "[e]l esfuerzo de los académicos aquí reunidos ciertamente facilitará la investigación de muchos estudiantes que se interesan por el tema, y ojalá estimule el interés de muchos otros."
El libro puede leerse y bajarse gratuitamente del sitio web de Saemed:http://saemed.org/pdf/ElMundoNordico1.pdf