The Northern Scholars Lectures: Professor Terry Gunnell In brief Date - 8 April 2024 Venue - Screening Room G.04, 50 George Square Speakers - Professor Terry Gunnell (University of Iceland) Titles - 'Through the Eyes of the Mask: The Man-God in the Hall' Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the event by Professor Terry Gunnell The main theme of this conference, “As above, so below”, refers directly to a key feature of many religious rituals in which performative power is gained from the invocation of what Mircea Eliade referred to as “sacred time”, in which two worlds (those of the mythical world and the present) temporarily blend into one, something that has the potential of simultaneously creating a “sacred space” in which both words and actions gain greater meaning (cf. recent work by Neil Price, Emily Lyle and Simon Nygaard). This lecture will build on a number of earlier lectures and papers in which I have considered various aspects of the rituals that may have taken place in the halls and cult houses of the Nordic rulers in the pre-Christian world. Focus will be placed on the role of the mask-helmet, such as that found in Sutton Hoo, and the potential that it would have had to transform the wearer into a hybrid man-god, simultaneously temporarily transforming the nature of the immediate surroundings and the audience situated within them. This aspect of multiple hybridity will be placed initially in the context of not only other local traditions involving features of hybridity such as those relating to the animal fylgja, hamskipti, the berserkir and the ulfheðnir. However, it will go on to consider the ways in which the new Nordic national rulers had learnt from how both the Roman emperors and new Christian rulers of the Frankish empire had effectively extended their power by personally adopting semi-godlike hybridity, something that naturally continues amongst many rulers up to this day. Examples will be also given of the ways in which extant Old Nordic poetic works such as Grímnismál, Vafþrúðnismál, Eiríksmál, Hákonarmál, and even Vǫluspá seem to preserve memories of such temporary transformations of the hall into a mythic space as part of rituals relating to rites of passage of one kind or another. About the speaker Terry Gunnell is Professor of Folkloristics at the University of Iceland. He is the author of The Origins of Drama in Scandinavia (1995) and the editor of Masks and Mumming in the Nordic Area (2007), Legends and Landscape (2008), and Grimm Ripples: The Legacy of the Grimms’ Deutsche Sagen in Northern Europe (2022). He is also the co-editor of The Nordic Apocalypse: Approaches to Völuspá and Nordic Days of Judgement (2013) and Málarinn og menningarsköpun: Sigurður Guðmundsson og Kvöldfélagið 1858–1874 which was nominated for the Icelandic Literature Award in 2017. How to attend This event is free and open to all. Spaces are limited, so you can reserve your spot via Eventbrite. Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the Northern Scholars The Northern Scholars Scheme was established at the University of Edinburgh in 1956. Its role is to foster co-operation between scholars of Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and colleagues in the University of Edinburgh. Mutual areas of interest include aspects of linguistics, and historical and other cultural studies which are common to these countries and to Scotland. Each year, the Northern Scholars Scheme Committee sponsors visits by scholars of the member countries to Edinburgh, during which time they give departmental seminars and public lectures. Find out more about the Northern Scholars Are you interested in Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh? We are the only university in Scotland, and one of only two in the UK, to offer undergraduate honours programmes in Scandinavian Studies, enabling you to learn modern Danish, Swedish or Norwegian in the context of Scandinavian culture, past and present. We also welcome candidates for postgraduate research degrees (MSc by Research and PhD) in various aspects of Nordic languages, literature, history, culture and society. Find out more about Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh Apr 08 2024 09.00 - 10.20 The Northern Scholars Lectures: Professor Terry Gunnell Join us for an in-person lecture from Professor Terry Gunnell (University of Iceland) entitled 'Through the Eyes of the Mask: The Man-God in the Hall' as part of the Northern Scholars Lectures series. Screening Room G.04 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
The Northern Scholars Lectures: Professor Terry Gunnell In brief Date - 8 April 2024 Venue - Screening Room G.04, 50 George Square Speakers - Professor Terry Gunnell (University of Iceland) Titles - 'Through the Eyes of the Mask: The Man-God in the Hall' Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the event by Professor Terry Gunnell The main theme of this conference, “As above, so below”, refers directly to a key feature of many religious rituals in which performative power is gained from the invocation of what Mircea Eliade referred to as “sacred time”, in which two worlds (those of the mythical world and the present) temporarily blend into one, something that has the potential of simultaneously creating a “sacred space” in which both words and actions gain greater meaning (cf. recent work by Neil Price, Emily Lyle and Simon Nygaard). This lecture will build on a number of earlier lectures and papers in which I have considered various aspects of the rituals that may have taken place in the halls and cult houses of the Nordic rulers in the pre-Christian world. Focus will be placed on the role of the mask-helmet, such as that found in Sutton Hoo, and the potential that it would have had to transform the wearer into a hybrid man-god, simultaneously temporarily transforming the nature of the immediate surroundings and the audience situated within them. This aspect of multiple hybridity will be placed initially in the context of not only other local traditions involving features of hybridity such as those relating to the animal fylgja, hamskipti, the berserkir and the ulfheðnir. However, it will go on to consider the ways in which the new Nordic national rulers had learnt from how both the Roman emperors and new Christian rulers of the Frankish empire had effectively extended their power by personally adopting semi-godlike hybridity, something that naturally continues amongst many rulers up to this day. Examples will be also given of the ways in which extant Old Nordic poetic works such as Grímnismál, Vafþrúðnismál, Eiríksmál, Hákonarmál, and even Vǫluspá seem to preserve memories of such temporary transformations of the hall into a mythic space as part of rituals relating to rites of passage of one kind or another. About the speaker Terry Gunnell is Professor of Folkloristics at the University of Iceland. He is the author of The Origins of Drama in Scandinavia (1995) and the editor of Masks and Mumming in the Nordic Area (2007), Legends and Landscape (2008), and Grimm Ripples: The Legacy of the Grimms’ Deutsche Sagen in Northern Europe (2022). He is also the co-editor of The Nordic Apocalypse: Approaches to Völuspá and Nordic Days of Judgement (2013) and Málarinn og menningarsköpun: Sigurður Guðmundsson og Kvöldfélagið 1858–1874 which was nominated for the Icelandic Literature Award in 2017. How to attend This event is free and open to all. Spaces are limited, so you can reserve your spot via Eventbrite. Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the Northern Scholars The Northern Scholars Scheme was established at the University of Edinburgh in 1956. Its role is to foster co-operation between scholars of Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and colleagues in the University of Edinburgh. Mutual areas of interest include aspects of linguistics, and historical and other cultural studies which are common to these countries and to Scotland. Each year, the Northern Scholars Scheme Committee sponsors visits by scholars of the member countries to Edinburgh, during which time they give departmental seminars and public lectures. Find out more about the Northern Scholars Are you interested in Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh? We are the only university in Scotland, and one of only two in the UK, to offer undergraduate honours programmes in Scandinavian Studies, enabling you to learn modern Danish, Swedish or Norwegian in the context of Scandinavian culture, past and present. We also welcome candidates for postgraduate research degrees (MSc by Research and PhD) in various aspects of Nordic languages, literature, history, culture and society. Find out more about Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh Apr 08 2024 09.00 - 10.20 The Northern Scholars Lectures: Professor Terry Gunnell Join us for an in-person lecture from Professor Terry Gunnell (University of Iceland) entitled 'Through the Eyes of the Mask: The Man-God in the Hall' as part of the Northern Scholars Lectures series. Screening Room G.04 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
Apr 08 2024 09.00 - 10.20 The Northern Scholars Lectures: Professor Terry Gunnell Join us for an in-person lecture from Professor Terry Gunnell (University of Iceland) entitled 'Through the Eyes of the Mask: The Man-God in the Hall' as part of the Northern Scholars Lectures series.
