The one-eyed Odin with his ravens Hugin and Munin: detail from the Icelandic Manuscript SÁM 66. Courtesy Arni Magnusson Institute, Reykjavik/Wikipedia
The one-eyed Odin with his ravens Hugin and Munin: detail from the Icelandic Manuscript SÁM 66. Courtesy Arni Magnusson Institute, Reykjavik/Wikipedia
Myths from Earth’s edge – what the Icelandic sagas reveal about Norse morality
The collection of stories known as the Icelandic sagas are foundational works of Icelandic culture that are still widely read in the country today. Predating the Christianisation of Iceland in 1000 CE, these tales intermingle history, Norse paganism, and a morality steeped in warrior traditions and the northerly island’s rugged, barren terrain. In this performance and lecture, Kári Gíslason, a professor of creative writing and literary studies at Queensland University of Technology, evokes the sagas’ roots in oral storytelling as he melds his own story with that of the saga character Disa, whose tale of exile, love, murder and loyalty captivated Gíslason’s imagination as a young student and, in doing so, altered the trajectory of his life.
Video by the State Library of Queensland
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