Articles by Bjørn Bandlien
Tracing the Jerusalem Code Volume 1: The Holy City Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia (ca. 1100–1536), ed. Kristin B. Aavitsland & Line Bonde, 2021
The Christianization of Norway spanned over centuries and covered much of what is now known as th... more The Christianization of Norway spanned over centuries and covered much of what is now known as the Viking Age (late eighth to early eleventh centuries). At the turn of the first millennium, this process was in the phase of institutionalization: churches were built, and church laws were introduced. People who failed to meet basic regulations concerning food and fasting, baptism of children, exogamous marriages, etc., were sanctioned with outlawry. This punishment was also found before Christianization, banishing those who violated the balance in the farming society based on notions of honour. In spatial terms, the new church legislation challenged the farm as the focal point in society and world view, but at the same time used established terminology and conceptions. Bjørn Bandlien, Professor of Medieval History, University of South-Eastern Norway 1 De eldste østlandske kristenrettene, ed. Eyvind Fjeld Halvorsen and Magnus Rindal, Norrøne tekster, 7, Oslo: Riksarkivet, 2008,122: Þet er uphaf lagha uarra. at austr skulum luta oc gevaz Kristi røkia kirkiur oc kenne men. (My translation.)
Approaches to the Medieval Self Representations and Conceptualizations of the Self in the Textual and Material Culture of Western Scandinavia, c. 800-1500, 2020
This article discusses the ways King Sverrir Sigurðarson of Norway (r. 1177-1202) perceived and r... more This article discusses the ways King Sverrir Sigurðarson of Norway (r. 1177-1202) perceived and represented himself. It seeks to move beyond the debate on whether he was mainly a leader of warriors who sought recognition for martial honor and success at the battlefield, or whether he consciously used Biblical and hagiographic references to imitate King David and St. Óláfr, the patron saint of Norway. Instead, by taking departure from the concepts of social spaces (Bourdieu) and cultural hybridity (Bakhtin and Young), it is argued that King Sverrir moved between various discourses of the self. This is mostly based on the main sources to Sverrir's life, Sverris saga, but also the seal of Sverrir is analysed. The seal is seen as a multivocal expression of the royal self, speaking to several audiences.
Approaches to the Medieval Self, 2020
In this article the editors of the book account for the book's main aims, namely to discuss vario... more In this article the editors of the book account for the book's main aims, namely to discuss various modes of studying and defining the self and to investigate the various processes and practices that selves in Viking and medieval Scandinavia engaged with. In the book, these two research questions are discussed based on various representations and conceptualizations of the self in textual, historical, art-historical, and archaeological sources from western Scandinavia. Thus, the book aims to contribute to (1) studies of the self in Viking and medieval Scandinavia; (2) studies of the medieval self in general; and (3) theoretical discussions on the interconnections between cognition, materiality of cultural expressions, discourses and practices. This introductory article accounts for the historiographies of these fields and the structure of the book.
In this article, the editors summarize how the different starting points for studying the self in... more In this article, the editors summarize how the different starting points for studying the self in the articles of this book, lead to different conclusions with regard to the nature of the self and the distribution of agency: cultural / social / practice theorists give priority to the context, the discourse, the practice when defining the self, while cognitive theorists give agency to various human agents behind cultural expressions. Based on this synthesis of the articles' approaches and results, the article, and the book as a whole, conclude that every given expression or conceptualization of the self is certainly conditioned by its specific historical and socio-cultural context. However, the emergence of the self in itself appears as a constant cognitive process of traveling and unfolding, wayfinding and choice-making, that happens continuously in all historical and social contexts and in all individuals, known and unknown.
Eufemia: Oslos middelalderdronning, 2012
This article discusses a fragment of the German romance Wigalois by Wirnt von Grafenberg in the N... more This article discusses a fragment of the German romance Wigalois by Wirnt von Grafenberg in the National Archives, Norway. This is the only fragment of a German romance not translated into Old Norse, and it is suggested that it may have come to Norway with Eufemia of Rügen, who married King Håkon V in 1299. A reference to Wigalois in the Swedish Erikskrönikan suggests that this romance was familiar to a Scandinavian élite audience in the early fourteenth century.
Din, 2001
This article discusses the Old Norse identity category 'ragr' or 'argr'. Often translated as 'pas... more This article discusses the Old Norse identity category 'ragr' or 'argr'. Often translated as 'passive homosexual', it is argued here that the meaning of 'being ragr' was not merely related to sexuality but various spatial categories, social structures and negotiations of identity. One-gender and third gender models are discussed, but it is suggested that a liminal gender makes more sense for our understanding of 'being ragr' in Norse culture .
Fighting for the Faith – The Many Crusades, edited by Kurt Villads Jensen, Carsten Selch Jensen, Janus Møller Jensen (Stockholm: Runica et mediaevalia), 2018
Intellectual culture in medieval Scandinavia, c. 1100-1350, ed. Stefka Georgieva Eriksen
In the Vatican Library, there is a manuscript of the Old French translation of William of Tyre's ... more In the Vatican Library, there is a manuscript of the Old French translation of William of Tyre's chronicle of Outremer (Estoire d'Eracles) known to have been in the possession of Queen Isabella Bruce of Norway (c. 1280-1358). The manuscript was produced in the Eastern Mediterranean in the mid-thirteenth century, possibly in Antioch in the 1260s. This study both discusses how this manuscript travelled from the crusader states to Norway, and relates it to crusading ideology and policies at the turn of the fourteenth century.
Broderliste, Broderskab, Korstog: Bidrag til opklaringen af en gåde fra dansk højmiddelalder, edited by Janus Møller Jensen
En aktivist for Middelalderbyen Oslo. Festskrift til Petter B. Molaug (Oslo: Novus, 2015)
Institutt for historie, sosiologi og innovasjon Høgskolen i Buskerud og Vestfold 31. august 1314 ... more Institutt for historie, sosiologi og innovasjon Høgskolen i Buskerud og Vestfold 31. august 1314 slo kong Håkon V Magnusson fast at prosten ved Mariakirken i Oslo skulle vaere rikets kansler til evig tid. 700 år senere kom debatten om dette gjorde Oslo til en Norges hovedstad eller ikke. Mange påpekte Bergens fortsatte størrelse og betydning, andre mente at det moderne hovedstadsbegrepet ikke kan anvendes. Uansett hvordan vi definerer en hovedstad, var likevel Håkon Vs bestemmelse om kansleren i 1314 en milepael i norsk byråkrati, politisk organisasjon og diplo mati. Alle de som driver med politisk strategi, økonomisk tautrekking, forhandlinger med utenlandske aktører, hadde derfor god grunn til å markere kanslerembetets etablering i Oslo, hovedstad eller ikke. Om ikke annet, så fortjener Håkon Vs kansler -og hans viktigste byråkrat, diplomat og strateg, økt oppmerksomhet. Petter Molaug har i mange år understreket Åke kanslers betydning. I denne artikkelen ønsker jeg å rette søkelyset på et neglisjert tema ved hans virke, nemlig hans reise til Poitiers i 1307-1308. Åke kansler var sentral i koblingen av Mariakirken og kanslerembetet. Han døde kort tid før 1314, da Ivar Olavsson hadde tatt over som kansler og prost ved Mariakirken. Åke hadde imidlertid vaert Håkon Vs kanskje meste sentrale rådgiver siden tidlig på 1290-tallet, og senest fra 1306 hadde Åke fått underhold av en prebende ved Mariakirken i Oslo. Saerlig viktig var hans innsats for å skaffe kong Håkon V pavelige privilegier for den kongelige kapellgeistligheten. Disse privilegiene fikk Åke i februar 1308 under sitt opphold hos pave Klemens V (1305-1314) i Poitiers, men forhandlingene rundt anskaffelsen av dem har vaert lite diskutert i forskningen. Selv om det er få kilder som forteller konkret hva Åke kansler bedrev under sitt ett år lange opphold ved pavens kurie i Poitiers, fikk det som skjedde her i tiden fra sommeren 1307 til sommeren 1308 ringvirkninger av stor betydning for hele Europa, fra
The Eufemiavisor and Courtly Culture. Time, Texts and Cultural Transfer, ed. by Olle Ferm et al., 2015
Fear and Loathing in the North: Jews and Muslims in Medieval Scandinavia and the Baltic Region, ed. by Cordelia Hess and Jonathan Adams, 2015
Journal of the International Arthurian Society, 2013
This article focuses on the cultural context of a late medieval manuscript of Herr Ivan, the Old ... more This article focuses on the cultural context of a late medieval manuscript of Herr Ivan, the Old Swedish translation of Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain. This manuscript (Stockholm, Riksarkivet, E 8822 fol.) is unique in several respects. First, its language shows that it was adapted for a Norwegian, rather than Swedish, audience. Second, it is the only manuscript of Herr Ivan that contains almost exclusively devotional poems. Third, according to a note in the manuscript, it was compiled by Friar Johannes of Nidaros, a Franciscan living in Trondheim in the third quarter of the fifteenth century. Thus, while the most recent studies of the Swedish work indicate that the translator skilfully adapted Chrétien’s romance for a Swedish court audience in the early fourteenth century, E 8822 suggests that Norwegian Franciscans found Herr Ivan proper in a devotional context as well. To understand Friar Johannes’s purpose in compiling the manuscript, the uses of romances and poetry by medieval Franciscans are discussed. Saint Francis of Assisi himself used Arthurian imagery in his preaching, and especially in Italy and England the medieval Franciscans have been connected to the development of the religious lyric in the vernacular and the increase in the use of popular narratives in preaching. Still, very few Franciscan manuscripts of Arthurian romances survive in medieval Europe. Many friars perceived these romances as challenging. In the case of Friar Johannes, it is argued here that the potential in the hero’s encounter with the hermit was used to show the laity how important it was to turn to the Franciscans for spiritual guidance. From being a romance meant for the knightly élite, E 8822 was later reoriented to address a wider audience, especially the wealthy farmers in the parishes, perhaps in order to attract gifts from the pious. In return for donations the Franciscans offered donors a part of the good deeds of the friars. The article suggests that Herr Ivan was performed at local gatherings, such as weddings or guild feasts. On such occasions, the friars could use both Herr Ivan as well as the devotional poems in the manuscript to generate emotional responses in the audience, although this audience was much wider and different to the one in the mind of the Swedish translator in the early fourteenth century.
Riddarasögur: The Translation of European Court Culture in Medieval Scandinavia, ed. by Else Mundal & Karl G. Johansson, 2014
Arthuriana, 2013
The earliest known Icelandic manuscript containing translations of Chrétien de Troyes’ romances w... more The earliest known Icelandic manuscript containing translations of Chrétien de Troyes’ romances was commissioned by the rich landowner Ormur Snorrason. In this version the Arthurian knights defend the kingdom while maintaining a problematic relationship to the court. Ormur Snorrason experienced similar challenges during his career as a royal official in Iceland.
Scandinavian Studies, 2013
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Articles by Bjørn Bandlien
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The last fifty years have seen a significant change in the focus of saga studies, from a preoccupation with origins and development to a renewed interest in other topics, such as the nature of the sagas and their value as sources to medieval ideologies and mentalities.
The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas presents a detailed interdisciplinary examination of saga scholarship over the last fifty years, sometimes juxtaposing it with earlier views and examining the sagas both as works of art and as source materials.
This volume will be of interest to Old Norse and medieval Scandinavian scholars and accessible to medievalists in general.
THE BOOK IS OPEN ACCESS, AVAILABLE through JSTOR services.
Those interested in astronomy in medieval Iceland (and Scandinavia) should consult the works of Christian Etheridge. Also relevant for the background of the ms. are the books of Dale Kedwards "Mappae Mundi of Medieval Iceland" (D.S. Brewer, 2020), and Aavitsland and Bonde (eds.), "Tracing the Jerusalem Code, Vol. 1: The Holy City Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia" (de Gruyter, 2020)
Images of the manuscript can be found at handrit.is
https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/da/AM04-0736-I