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Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why
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Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why

A special issue of Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 13238

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jan Alexander van Nahl

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Iceland, Sæmundargata 2, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
Interests: medieval literature; Old Norse literature; history of mentality; history of scholarship

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

(Medieval) Scandinavian studies have been subject to significant cutbacks in recent years. The abandonment of branches of study and even institutes has entailed a decrease in students, as well as a lack of both adequate positions for highly qualified specialists and funding for research projects. This current state could be seen as part of a general development within the field of Humanities, but it also asks for individual assessment within different contexts. Old Norse literature, for example, is a favorite among laypeople, including adaptations in comics and movies, yet the employment of experts who make these sources available to a broad audience is more precarious than ever. Even more troublesome is the fact that Old Norse lore is regularly used as a source for allegedly age-old pagan customs, and populist groups as well as social media and news agencies are quick to exploit connotations far from any scholarly state of knowledge. Clearly enough, specialists in Scandinavian studies face the challenge to counteract the misinterpretation and even misuse of their objects of study. At the same time, they have to deal with the apparent disinterest of (university) politics to maintain this expertise in times of sociopolitical challenges. The present Special Issue seeks to bring together current opinions on this complex status quo, including but not limited to recent developments of Scandinavian studies at certain universities or in certain countries, the role of individuals in shaping the field, the (mis)use of Old Norse sources in politics and society, the adaption of such sources in modern media, as well as general ideas of the North in public perception.

Please submit a 300-word abstract and short bio to [email protected] by 31 October 2021. Full papers for the special issue of Humanities are due by31 January 2022. Length of the article: 6000-12000 words.

Dr. Jan Alexander van Nahl
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Scandinavian studies
  • medieval studies
  • Old Norse
  • reception history
  • populism
  • university politics
  • academia
  • societal challenges

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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16 pages, 322 KiB  
Editorial
Medieval Scandinavian Studies—Whence, Whereto, Why
by Jan Alexander van Nahl
Humanities 2022, 11(3), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/h11030070 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2291
Abstract
Medieval Scandinavian Studies started emerging as a discipline in the 19th century, at a time when Old Norse literature had become an important source both for the reconstruction of an alleged Germanic worldview, and the substantiation of national political claims. Scholars in the [...] Read more.
Medieval Scandinavian Studies started emerging as a discipline in the 19th century, at a time when Old Norse literature had become an important source both for the reconstruction of an alleged Germanic worldview, and the substantiation of national political claims. Scholars in the early 20th century consolidated this view, and thereby even coined public ideas of a Germanic past that became influential in the reception of the Middle Ages in general. To the present day, the popular fascination with these Middle Ages thus is strongly informed by Old Norse sources, and a wealth of recent adaptations seem to perpetuate this view. However, the same sources, as well as earlier scholarship, are used by extremist groups to substantiate populist and racist claims. Scholars in Medieval Scandinavian Studies find themselves at the intersection of these conflicting and yet connected spheres of appropriation. Their task to take a stance in this situation is all the more challenging as the international field struggles with cutbacks of budgets, study programs, and institutes. The present special issue seeks to bring together current opinions on this ambivalent state. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

23 pages, 397 KiB  
Article
“Almost Like Family. Or Were They?” Vikings, Frisian Identity, and the Nordification of the Past
by Simon Halink
Humanities 2022, 11(5), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/h11050125 - 09 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3544
Abstract
In the course of the twentieth century, the glorified image of Viking Age Scandinavia exerted an increasing attraction on intellectuals and nation builders in remote parts of Europe, especially those which self-identified as peripheral, marginalized, and ‘northern’. In the Dutch province of Friesland, [...] Read more.
In the course of the twentieth century, the glorified image of Viking Age Scandinavia exerted an increasing attraction on intellectuals and nation builders in remote parts of Europe, especially those which self-identified as peripheral, marginalized, and ‘northern’. In the Dutch province of Friesland, the cultivation of a Frisian national identity went hand in hand with an antagonizing process of self-contrastation vis-à-vis the urbanized heartland in the west of the country. Fueled by these anti-Holland sentiments, the adoption of Nordic identity models could serve to create alternative narrative molds in which to cast the Frisian past. In this article, I will chart this process of cultural “nordification” from its initial phase in the writings of Frisian Scandinavophiles to contemporary remediations of Frisian history in popular culture and public discourses. In this context, special attention will be paid to the reception history of the pagan King Redbad (d. 719) and his modern transformation from ‘God’s enemy’ to beloved national icon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why)
14 pages, 335 KiB  
Article
The Emergence of Rationality in the Icelandic Sagas: The Colossal Misunderstanding of the Viking Lore in Contemporary Popular Culture
by Albrecht Classen
Humanities 2022, 11(5), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/h11050110 - 01 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2973
Abstract
For a long time now, Old Norse literature has often been colonized and misappropriated by modern right-wing political groups for their own ideology, symbolism, and public appearance. A critical reading of Icelandic sagas, however, easily demonstrates that those public strategies are very short-sighted, [...] Read more.
For a long time now, Old Norse literature has often been colonized and misappropriated by modern right-wing political groups for their own ideology, symbolism, and public appearance. A critical reading of Icelandic sagas, however, easily demonstrates that those public strategies are very short-sighted, misleading, and outright dangerous for our democratic society. To stem the flood of misinformation regarding the Viking world and its literature, this article joins a small but forceful chorus of recent scholars who are hard at work deconstructing this politicization of saga literature by way of offering new readings of those texts in which the very Viking ideology is actually exposed by the poets, rejected, and supplanted by new forms of social interactions predicated on a legal system and an operation with rationality in the public sphere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why)
11 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
Scandinavian Studies in Germany with a Special Focus on the Position of Old and Modern Icelandic
by Irene Kupferschmied and Magnús Hauksson
Humanities 2022, 11(5), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/h11050107 - 29 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1549
Abstract
Scandinavian Studies today are divided into (at least) three areas, which should ideally also be represented by their own chairs at the universities, if one wants to cover the subject as broadly as possible. Likewise, the four languages, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, [...] Read more.
Scandinavian Studies today are divided into (at least) three areas, which should ideally also be represented by their own chairs at the universities, if one wants to cover the subject as broadly as possible. Likewise, the four languages, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, should be offered to a certain extent. Scandinavian Studies, however, belong to the so-called “small subjects”, and financial and personnel resources are often limited. In addition, the federal states (Bundesländer) have an influence on the equipment of the universities. The subject of Scandinavian Studies can therefore be structured very differently at the individual universities. It is largely undisputed that foreign language skills are an important factor in promoting international understanding. As well, language skills are an absolute foundation in all aspects of a philological subject. Nevertheless, language teaching at universities is generally under pressure, and questions arise about its justification. This is true for both modern and ancient languages. In our article, we mainly describe the positions of Old and modern Icelandic within Scandinavian Studies, which differ greatly. This is mainly due to traditions within Scandinavian Studies and the institutions at which they are taught. Considerations are made regarding the legitimacy of these areas and their connections with other parts of the subject. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why)
11 pages, 263 KiB  
Article
Scandinavian Studies in Germany
by Roland Scheel
Humanities 2022, 11(4), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/h11040084 - 01 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1718
Abstract
Scandinavian Studies in Germany are usually conceived of as comparative literary and cultural studies, encompassing the historical and current spaces where Northern Germanic languages were or are spoken. The article focuses on the current situation of Medieval Scandinavian Studies—one of the three branches [...] Read more.
Scandinavian Studies in Germany are usually conceived of as comparative literary and cultural studies, encompassing the historical and current spaces where Northern Germanic languages were or are spoken. The article focuses on the current situation of Medieval Scandinavian Studies—one of the three branches of the discipline—in the German-speaking area, explaining their comparatively strong institutional position as a result of the long and peculiar history of the research and its entanglements with political ideology. Against this background, an overview is presented of the present research projects, and current structural and political problems, as well as challenges for the future are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Scandinavian Studies Today: Whence, Whereto, Why)
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