Abstract
Orkneyinga saga is a long saga with a varied and fascinating content that ranges from the north of Norway to Jerusalem, and from mythical prehistory to the deadly political shenanigans of the late twelfth century. Prominent in the latter part of the saga is Earl Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, a good poet but not a very good politician, a dandy and a far-travelling adventurer. Chapter 85 recounts, in both poetry and prose, some of his experiences when he is shipwrecked in Shetland on the way to Orkney from Norway.
As in Shakespeare, the tribulations of the elite take place in a context peopled by various low-life characters, the mode veers between tragic and comic, and the narrative and poetic styles similarly range from high to low. The lecture will take a deep dive into this chapter, exploring these styles, the particularly tricky manuscript preservation of the chapter, the attitudes of previous editors and translators to its contents, and how it all comes together in the saga that we read.
Biography
Judith Jesch is Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham, where she has worked since 1985, and she has served as Director of its Centre for the Study of the Viking Age. Professor Jesch has published three monographs which have all been field-changing contributions to the interdisciplinary study of the Viking Age and Old Norse texts:
- Women in the Viking Age (1991)
- Ships and Men: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse (2001)
- The Viking Diaspora (2015)
She is currently working on a new translation of the text usually known as Orkneyinga saga, in which she will radically rethink how best to present this saga’s complex transmission, as well as providing full historical and archaeological annotation.
Sophus Bugge exhibit
On the occasion of the lecture, an exhibit on the life, scholarship and legacy of Sophus Bugge is displayed in the vestibule of Niels Treschows hus
About the Sophus Bugge Lectures
The Sophus Bugge Lecture series presents the most renowned and distinguished international scholars within the multidisciplinary study of the Scandinavian Middle Ages in the tradition of Sophus Bugge.
Sophus Bugge (1833-1907) was a foundational humanities professor at the University of Oslo. He was a pioneer in the study of Scandinavian medieval culture, society, and language.
The series is a collaboration of the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies (ILN), the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History (IAKH), the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas (IFIKK), and the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages (ILOS).