Abstracts Category : Other

Mythic Slaves and Mundane Gods: A Study of Class Systems in the Poetic and Snorra Eddas

by Jacquelyn 1989- Ward

Servants and slaves have been overlooked all too frequently in critical readings of the Norse myths. Yet, lower ranking characters have not always been invisible to the tellers of tales. In the Eddic poems and the slendingasgur, people of lower status are not only present, but are active participants. In both the Poetic Edda and Snorra Edda, the well recognized sir and Jtnar often share, or entirely hand over, the narrative spotlight with characters of lower rank. Yet, despite their persistent presence these slaves, servants, and helpers remain unrecognized. This essay seeks to answer the question: what can be gained in taking the time to witness and recognize these characters? Through the lens of class it is possible to see how the Eddas describe a fully functioning mythic world; a world which is just as alive and complex as that of the sagas. Comparative readings between the genres have much to teach both about the subjects of the myths, and about their audiences. By bringing attention to the presence of servants and slaves, one can understand more deeply mythic and mundane notions of power, the values and limitations of social rank, and the society of the mythic world. Frimenn sem huga hafa a norrnum gosgnum hafa allt of oft liti framhj jnustuflki og rlum sem ar er sagt fr. hafa eir sem sgu essar sgur ekki veri blindir fyrir persnum af lgri stigum. eddukvum og slendingasgum eru lgra settar persnur ekki bara snilegar heldur oft virkir gerendur atburarsinni. Eins m finna, bi eddukvum og Snorra Eddu, dmi um a persnur af lgri stigum deili sviinu me hrra settum persnum og jafnvel taki a yfir. rtt fyrir etta er oft liti framhj rlum, jnustuflki og astoarflki essum textum. ritgerinni er leitast vi a svara v hvort einhver vinningur geti veri a v a gefa essum persnum meiri gaum. Me v a beita hugtakinu sttt kemur ljs a eddurnar lsa gosagnaheimi sem starfar samkvmt innri lgmlum og er jafn lifandi og flkinn og s heimur sem birtist fornsgunum. Samanburur lkum bkmenntategundum geta sagt miki um bi umfjllunarefni gosagnanna og um vitakendur eirra. Me v a beina sjnum a jnustuflki og rlum er unnt a skilja betur gosgulegar og hversdaglegar hliar valdi, gildi og takmarkanir flagslegrar stu og samflag hins gosgulega heims.