|
The comparison of Old Norse literature to Old English literature is now a frequent and established practice. The cultural parallels between the two are clear enough, but what about Old Norse’s connections to Middle English? Old Norse literature had a head start, but many of its most famous works were produced in the same period that gave rise to Chaucer and the first Middle English romances, between 1200 and 1400. The influences and analogues run from the broad to the specific. There are broad themes, motifs, and texts that the two literatures have in common, like the Icelandic romances (riddarasögur) that share Old French sources with Middle English romances. These riddarasögur include Bevers saga (Sir Bevis of Hampton), Saga af Tristram og Isönd (Sir Tristrem), and Flores Saga ok Blankiflur (Floris and Blancheflour). Then there are more specific influences, as is evident from the Norse diction (and the giant's ax) in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is time to put these two literatures in closer critical conversation. Possible topics could include:
-nationalism
-gender roles
-the representation of history
-the riddarasögur and romances
-vengeance and reconciliation
-Norse words and place names
-exile
-travel and exploration
-the heroic
-pagan gods
-objects and material culture
-translation
-the Old French connection
Please submit abstracts of around 250 words and the congress Participant Information Form (http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#PIF) to 6mbs@queensu.ca by September 15th 2011. Papers are to be no longer than twenty minutes, please.
Thank you very much,
Matthew Scribner
|
