From oral prosimetrum to Viking metal

Journal article

The present study examines the longue durée of a medieval literary work through the lens of its transmission, adaptation, and reception, deeply anchored in these processes’ historical contexts. It focuses on three stages in the transmission history of a single Old Norse saga, Hrómundur saga Gripssonar, and examines them in their historical, socio-political contexts. First, the article discusses the seventeenth-century prose adaptation of the story in the context of antiquarian interest in Old Norse narratives. Then it turns to the nineteenth-century prose adaptation of the story and analyses it from the perspective of the formation of Icelandic identity. Finally, it closes with the interpretation of the most recent performance of the story by the Faroese metal band Týr, and views it in the context of contemporary developments within the Faroese independence movement.

Authors: Kapitan, KA

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy
• Journal: Arv. Nordic Yearbook of Folklore
• Volume: 77
• Pages: 33-56
• Place of publication: Uppsala, Sweden
• Publication date: 2024-03-18
• Acceptance date: 2021-11-30
• EISSN: 2002-4185
• ISSN: 0066-8176
• Language: English
• Keywords: Old Norse literature; medievalism; adaptation history; Viking metal; reception history