We would like to express our appreciation to Abigail Lloyd, Askil Rolvsjord, Beth Rogers, Brooklyn Arnot, Caeli Athina Díaz Lluberes, Carolina Mariani, Edward McCarthy, Ellie Wilson, Erika Dell’Aquila, Essi Harbord, Francesca Squitieri, Freya Alethe Schlaefer, Hannah S. Evans, Isabelle Maria Soares, Jennifer Laura Stewart, Joanne Machin, Kayta Herring, Maria Andreevna Zenkova, Markus Aasen Heide, Michele Roncarati, Miles Lourenco, Muriël de Kroon, Nick Nuttall, Pauline Pralle, and Sophie Kamhi for their presence at the 2024 Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North. We appreciated everyone sharing their research and are very happy at how the conference turned out!
Special thanks to the members of our selection committee: Colin Fisher, Ela Sefcikova, Essi Nuutinen, Giulia Zorzan, Lea Debora Pokorny, Miguel Andrade, Miriam Conti, and Piergiorgio Consagra.
And another thank you to our organizing committee: Alan Searles, Andrea Guttormsen Wetzler, Caitríona Spratt, Chris Latham, Colin Fisher, Fran Ota, and Miguel Andrade.
This year’s conference was supported by Rimmugýgur, the Saga Museum, Hið Íslenzk Bókmenntafélagið, and the National Museum of Iceland.
We will be disseminating information on our conference proceedings volume within the next month and hope to have an ebook published sometime this summer.
Well done to everyone, and see you again next year!
Beth Rogers is a sessional instructor and PhD student at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík, Iceland, studying topics of food history and medieval Icelandic culture for her thesis, “On with the Butter: The Cultural Significance of Dairy Products in Medieval Iceland.” The project is hosted by the Institute of History at the Centre for Research in the Humanities.
She has also completed an MA in Medieval Icelandic Studies with a thesis on literary psychology and Arthuriana. In addition, she has an M.Ed. in secondary education and has taught students of all ages in Taiwan, the United States, and Iceland. Her favorite course to teach was the first MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) for the University of Iceland on the edX platform, called Medieval Icelandic Sagas. More than 5,000 students took part worldwide!
Beth will be presenting her keynote on Saturday morning on the topic of “Dairy, Destiny, and Disasters: Calamity and Community in Medieval Iceland.” We are glad to have her!
We at the Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North are happy to publish the initial schedule for the conference. The conference will take place in-person at the auditorium in the Edda building at Háskóli Íslands. The conference will be broadcast live on Zoom; links will be posted on our social media pages the day of the conference.
This schedule was updated March 27 to include a PDF of the conference schedule.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11TH
Edda Auditorium, Háskóli Íslands, 15:00-18:00
15:00-15:05 Welcome Remarks
Session 1: Beasts and Bodies
15:05-15:35Freya Alethe Schlaefer, Háskóli Íslands (she/they)
Mouthing Off: Egill’s Aberrant Mouth in Egils saga.
15:35-16:05 Michele Roncarati, University of Nottingham (he/him)
Wolves, Dogs, and Outlaws: Physical and Metaphorical Boundaries in Old Norse Law
16:05-16:35Kayta Herring, University of Aberdeen (she/her)
In The Murky Depths: the History of Sea Monsters in Olaus Magnus’ Carta Marina
16:35-16:50 Coffee break
Session 2: Material Culture
16:50-17:20Hannah S. Evans, University of Liverpool (she/her)
Comparing textiles in Irish and Icelandic literature.
17:20-17:50Pauline Pralle, Háskóli Íslands (she/her)
Fortified bridges or the Lack Thereof: A Regional Comparison.
17:50-18:00Additional question period
FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH
Edda Auditorium, Háskóli Íslands, 15:00-18:00
15:00-15:05 Welcome Remarks
Session 3: Words and Books
15:05-15:35Nick Nuttall, University of Manchester (she/her)
A frozen fate? Recontextualizing medieval manuscript collections and their early modern collectors
15:35-16:05 Abigail Lloyd, University of Nottingham(she/her)
Life goes on? Landscape and language use following a linguistic “invasion” as revealed through place-names.
16:05-16:35 Essi Harbord, University of Cambridge (she/her)
Vikings, dialects, and dictionaries: an investigation into the lasting linguistic impact of medieval Anglo-Norse contact on English dialects
16:35-16:50 Coffee break
Session 4: Love and Hate
16:50-17:20Sophie Kamhi, University of Oxford (she/her)
‘Bleeding Makes a Wound’: Female Violence in Laxdæla saga and Grágás
17:20-17:50Caeli Athina Díaz Lluberes, Háskóli Íslands (she/her)
The disease of loving: lovesickness in Skírnismál
17:50-18:00Additional question period
SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH
Edda Auditorium, Háskóli Íslands, 9:00-18:00
9:00-10:00 Keynote speech: Beth Rogers, Háskóli Íslands
Dairy, Destiny, and Disasters: Calamity and Community in Medieval Iceland
Session 5: Archaeology and Ecocriticism
10:00-10:30Isabelle Maria Soares, Federal University of Paraná (she/her)
The Barnstokkr tree in William Morris and J.R.R Tolkien’s Rewritings of the Old Norse Volsung Legend: An Ecocritical Approach
10:30-11:00Anton Larsson, Stockholm University (he/him)
Konungahella and the Landslide of 1249 AD: Reassessing the archaeological implications of a geological disaster (ONLINE)
11:00-11:15Coffee break
Session 6: Encounters in Latin and Norse
11:15-11:45Edward McCarthy, University of Oxford (he/him)
Letter writing in Trójumanna saga and Breta sögur: the merging of the Scandinavian and Latin literary traditions
11:45-12:15Markus Heide, University of Oslo (he/him)
Lost in translation, or gained? Barlaam ok Josaphats saga between the Old Norse and Latin textual cultures.
12:15-13:15 Lunch break
13:15-13:40 Poster Session
Brooklyn Arnot, Háskóli Íslands (she/her)
The Fate of Female Honour: A Case Study of Signý in Vǫlsunga Saga
Ellie Wilson, University of Cambridge (she/her)
Textile Creation in Viking Age Scandinavia
Sesson 7: Saints and Sinners
13:40-14:10Askil Rolvsjord, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (he/him)
The reformation of a saint: A Quantitative Analysis of the Typological Connections for St. Olaf
14:10-14:40Zenkova Maria Andreevna, National Research University Higher School of Economy
““at eigi taki kristnir men at gofga hann sem goþ””: The cult of saints and sainthood in the Old Norse Clemens Saga. (ONLINE).
14:40-15:10Joanne Machin, University of the Highlands and Islands
In the hands of God: avoiding calamity and embracing fate from a maritime pilgrimage perspective.
15:10-15:40Jennifer Laura Stewart, Háskóli Íslands (she/her)
Antisemitic Imagery in the Vatnsfjörður Psalter.
15:50-15:55 Coffee break
Session 8: Fate in Old Norse literature
15:55-16:25Miles Lourenco, University of Aberdeen (he/him)
Fate and Conversion in the deaths of Þiðrandi Siðu-Hallsson
and Gestr Bárðarson.
16:25-16:55Francesca Squitieri, University of Nottingham
The weaving of threads: towards a collectivist understanding of fate in Germanic heroic literature (ONLINE).
16:55-17:25 Erika Dell’Aquila and Carolina Mariani, University of Milano
Divine Parallels: Exploring Physical Similarity and Shared Destiny in Translated Medieval Scandinavian Literature. (ONLINE).
17:25-17:55Muriël de Kroon, University of York (she/they)
A crisis of fate: Paganism and Christianity in Eiríkssmál and Hákonarmál
This schedule will be updated as needed. If you are a presenter and need to have your time slot rearranged, please contact us at histudentconference@gmail.com. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.
We are pleased to open our Call for Papers for the 2024 Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North. The conference will be held as a hybrid event on April 11-13th online and at the Háskóli Íslands Edda auditorium in Reykjavík, Iceland.
The conference is an interdisciplinary forum for postgraduate students (masters and doctoral level) and early career researchers working in the broad field of medieval northern studies. Students who have not given papers at an academic conference before are especially encouraged to submit.
We especially invite proposals on the theme of Calamity and Fate. From blood feuds to Ragnarǫk, Lindisfarne to the Great Copenhagen Fire, the study of the medieval north is rife with violent change and monumental disasters. We encourage scholars to explore this broad theme. Papers on other topics will also be accepted.
Topics of interest include but are not limited to: art history, archaeology, digital humanities, folklore, gender, literature, linguistics, musicology, and reception of the medieval period
Thanks to the generosity of Miðaldastofa Háskóla Íslands, presenters will have the opportunity to submit their papers for a conference proceedings volume, to be published as an e-book.
Interested student scholars should email an abstract of 250-300 words, along with a brief biography containing name, pronouns, institution, and program of study to histudentconference@gmail.com by December 4th, 2023. Please state whether you intend to attend the conference online or in person. The Committee reserves the right to make selections based on quality of written abstracts, adherence to submission guidelines, and timely submission.
The languages of the conference are English and Icelandic. Papers may be submitted in either language. Individual paper presentations will be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for discussion. There is also a Poster Session for students to present their material in poster form. Students may apply for either a paper or a poster. The Conference Committee may offer a poster presentation to some paper applicants.
Note that from 2023 onward, no speaker may present more than twice at the Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North. Applying for a third year, even with an excellent proposal, will likely result in a rejection in favour of graduate students who have never presented at a conference.
Please download the attached Call for Papers to share with fellow student researchers. We look forward to reading this year’s submissions. The Committee welcomes any questions at histudentconference@gmail.com.
We suggest you follow our social media for updates and reminders.
We are happy to announce that the thirteenth edition of the Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North will be held April 11-13, 2024, online and in-person in Reykjavík, Iceland.
We will confirm times later in the planning process. We will of course let it be known immediately if dates must change.
The Board of the Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North is looking for volunteers for the 2024 conference!
Email Administrator: The Email Administrator’s primary duties are to respond to and catalogue submissions to the Conference so that the Selection Committee can proceed with a double-blind selection process, as well as answering any inquiries. The Email Administrator is not involved in the abstract selection process.
Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for all financial matters, financial statements, and reports. The Treasurer may be involved in the selection process.
Committee Member At Large: The duties of a Committee Member At Large are to assist members of the Board in typical administrative duties and to give general assistance in organizational matters. The Committee Member At Large may be involved in the selection process.
Selection Committee Member: The Selection Committee Member evaluates double-blinded abstracts for inclusion in the conference. The ideal Selection Committee minimally consists of specialists in archaeology, history, linguistics and manuscripts, literature, and religion. Specialists in other subfields are of course welcome to join in.
Applicants for the positions of Email Administrator, Treasurer, and Committee Members at Large may be current MA/PhD students or MA/PhD graduates in Viking/Old Norse studies or a related field. Volunteers are expected to be present in Iceland for the conference in April 2024 (tentative dates April 11th, 12th, and 13th).
Applicants for the position of Selection Committee Member require a completed MA or PhD in Viking/Old Norse studies or a related field. Applicants may be enrolled in a PhD program. Selection Committee Members are not expected to be present for the conference, though they are of course welcome to attend!
All positions are remote until the date of the conference. The Committee typically operates on the UTC (Reykjavík) timezone.
Duties for the Email Administrator, Treasurer, and Committee Members At Large are expected to take up 1-4 hours a month and last until late April. The primary obligations of the Selection Committee Members are expected to be limited to the month of December.
This is a conference for and organized by postgraduate students. We kindly ask more established researchers to pass this post on to their students.
Committee members cannot submit abstracts for the conference.
Please send inquiries to histudentconference@gmail.com by September 8th 2024. Short interviews will be conducted the following week. We repeat: current MA students are encouraged to apply!
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Declan Taggart as our keynote speaker for the twelfth annual Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North. Declan received his MA in Medieval Studies from the University of York and his PhD from the University of Aberdeen’s School of Scandinavian studies. Declan is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Háskóli Íslands, working on moral norms, religion and social structure in pre-Christian Iceland and Scandinavia. He has published a monograph on change in representations of the god Þórr called How Thor Lost His Thunder, has previously worked on omniscience-like beliefs in Old Norse religion, and has written two choose-your-own-adventure games for non-academic audiences related to his research (Choose Your Own End to the Viking World and Choice of the Viking). Declan will be speaking on Saturday morning at 9am in Auðarsalar in Veröld. We are so excited to have him as our keynote speaker and encourage all attendees to come by!
We would like to thank all of our attendees again for submitting and congratulate them for being accepted to present at the conference! We are looking forward to a wonderful conference in April. This blog post is intended to shed light on some of the logistics of the conference and travelling to Iceland.
Conference details and schedule
The conference will take place in the auditorium (Auðarsalur, VHV 023) in the Veröld builing, north of Háskólatorg and across Suðurgata as shown on the campus map here:
Nametags and refreshments will be provided.
We are in the process of finalizing the conference schedule and will distribute it in the second circular. At the moment the schedule is as follows, but is subject to change upon request: please contact us as soon as possible if you need the time of your presentation moved. We will notify all attendees of changes when they are made.
Thursday 3pm-6pm – Language and þáttr – Fran Ota, Chair
3.15 – opening address
3.15-3.45 – Jasmin Higgs – A Pragmatic Approach to the Runic Bracteates from Britain
3.45-4.15 – Aleksander Juszczyński – A few words about Slavic loanwords in Old West Norse
4.15-4.45 – Katrin Lísa van der Linde – Unafraid and not as glad as before: Negative markers and semantic opposition as emotion amplifiers
Break
5-5.30 – Anne Elise Crafton – A Topsy-Turvy Court; Forbidden Speech in Sneglu-Halla Þáttr (ONLINE)
5.30 – Connor Bradley – Lost in Translation? An Interdisciplinary Investigation of Mutual Intelligibility Between Old Norse and Old English Speech Communities
Friday 3pm-6pm – Language, þáttr, poetry and law – Bridget Leary, Chair
3.15 – opening address
3.15-3.45 – Ekaterina Vybornova – Dróttkvætt in autosegmental-metrical prosodic structures
3.45-4.15 – Natasha Bradley – Inciting Eve: Adam, Eve, and the Devil in the Fall Story of Stjórn I
4.15-4.45 – Miriam Conti – Þá kømr inn ríki at regindómi: A semantic and stylistic analysis of Vǫluspá H58
Break
5-5.30 – Piergiorgio Consagra – Between two Worlds – The literary sources and place on parchment of Helga þáttr Þórissonar
5.30-6 – Giulia Zorzan – A Study in Colour: AM 334 fol. in a codicological perspective
Saturday – Sagas, poetry and myths, 9am – 1pm – Sam Cone and Dain Swenson, chairs
9-10 – Keynote speech from Declan Taggart
10-10.30 – Miguel Diogo Andrade – Where be dragons? Draconic environments in the Old Norse-Icelandic sagas
10.30-11 – Michelle Andor – „Þar kømr in dimmi dreki fliúgandi“– Searching for the origin of Niðhǫggr
Break – 11 – 11.15
11.15-11.45 – Konstantinos Georgakopoulos – Rewriting the Magical Past as a Form of Conversion in Old Norse Literature (ONLINE)
11.45-12.15 – Ashley Castelino – Hunting Trolls and Taking Names: The Human/Dog Hybrids of Hrólfs saga kraka
Lejia Zhang –Actions in Progress: Uncertainties and Emotions in Two Historiated Initials in Skarðsbók (AM 350 fol.)
Essi Harbord – Lexical borrowing in Medieval England: A study of the nature and distribution of Norse, French, and Latin loanwords in twelfth-century English
1.30 – 2 – Tom Fairfax – ‘Vér hǫfum frændafla mikinn ok marga tengðamenn’: Building family networks in Orkneyinga saga
2 -2.30 – Camila Zagnoni – The Queen in the Anglo-Saxon context: historical truth and literary imagination
2.30 – 3 – Paweł Gliźniewicz – Crime, cruelty and brutality during the years 1130-1177 of the Norwegian Civil War in Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla – content warning for violence (ONLINE)
3 – 3.30 – Emma Horne – The Function(s) of Landscape and Place within the Íslendingasögur
Break – 3.30 – 3.45
Saturday – Dain Swenson, Session Chair
4pm – 6pm
3.45-4.15 – Katherine Beard – Skínn af sverði: Shedding New Light on Sword Imagery
4.15-4.45 – Ellora Rich – The Soma of Óðinn: Vedic and Norse Parallels
4.45-5.15 – Grace O’Duffy – Red of cheek, fair of cheek: Beauty, enslavement, sexual violence and Svarfdæla saga’s Yngvildr – content warning for sexual violence
5.15-5.45 – Clare Mulley – Becoming the Völva: a study of Völuspá as a continuum
5.45-6 – Ending remarks
At approximately 7pm on Saturday, all attendees are invited to a restaurant in downtown Reykjavík for a celebratory meal. We will announce the name, location, and price point of the restaurant as soon as possible; it should be within 20 minutes’ walking distance of the university. We will ensure that vegan and vegetarian options will be available. Please contact us if you have any other dietary restrictions.
Transportation from Keflavík Airport and around Reykjavík
Keflavík Airport is located approximately 50 minutes drive from Háskóli Íslands. The Flybus leaves from Keflavík Airport in conjunction with flight arrivals. Tickets are 3699 krónur. Tickets can be purchased at the airport or at https://www.re.is/tour/flybus/. The bus ends at BSÍ bus terminal downtown, which has access to the city bus lines through the BSÍ/Gamla Hringbraut stops, a short walk from the terminal up the hill. Cabs are available at the bus terminal. There is no Uber or Lyft in Iceland.
A less frequent and longer but cheaper option is the Strætó bus 55 from the airport. Tickets are 1960 krónur and can be purchased on the bus using cards, cash, or the Klapp app (klapp.is). Tickets cannot be booked in advance. Schedules can be found here https://straeto.is/en/route-planner/timetables/landsbyggdin/route-55/. The bus line ends at the BSÍ/Gamla Hringbraut public transportation stops and occasionaly at Fjörður in Hafnarfjörður. Tickets to transfer onto Strætó buses can be purchased for 550 krónur in cash or on the Klapp app.
Car rentals at or around the airport include Hertz, Bluecar, Firefly, Sadcars, Enterprise, Gocarrental, Avis, Budget, and Europcar. Please keep in mind that renting a car in Iceland can be very pricey and gas is quite expensive! It is best to book ahead of time.
Cabs: Hreyfill, 588 5522. Hreyfill app (in English) is available on Apple App Store and Google Play. There are cab stands at BSÍ bus terminal, Arnarhóll, and Ingólfstorg in front of Center Hotels Plaza.
The app for using Strætó, the public transportation system, is Klapp (klapp.is). Tickets are 550 krónur for 75 minutes.
Accommodation
Hostelling International Hostels in Reykjavík include Reykjavík Dalur Hostel and Loft HI Hostel. Other hostels include Kex Hostel, Hostel B47, Lækur Hostel, Bus Hostel Reykjavík, Igdlo Guesthouse, and Blue House B&B.
Most accommodation, including airbnbs, in Reykjavík are close enough to a bus line that it is easy to access the university. The closest bus stops to the university are Háskóli Íslands (lines 1, 3, 6), Þjóðminjasafn (12), and Þjóðarbókhlaðan (11). Bus maps and schedules are available at https://straeto.is/en.
Emergency medical services
The emergency number in Iceland is 112. The number for non-emergency medical advice is 1770. The closest pharmacies to the university are Lyfja, Hafnarstræti 19, and Lyfja, Fiskislóð 3.
For non-emergencies: the closest walk-in clinic to the university is Heilsugæslan Miðbæ, Vesturgata 7. Walk-in hours are M-F 8-12, 13-15. Ask for an appointment with a nurse at the desk. The after-hours walk-in clinic, Læknavaktin, is located at Háaleitisbraut 68 and is open on weekdays 17-22 and on weekends 9-22.
The weather in Reykjavík in April can be snowy or summery, but tends towards cool and rainy and can be intensely windy. It is a good idea to dress in layers and to bring a good waterproof outer layer. Heavy storms are common in the spring and can make walking even short distances a hassle. The university generally does not close its buildings for bad weather. Detailed weather information and forecasts can be found on https://en.vedur.is/.
(A quick note: It is rare, but still possible, to see northern lights in April!)
Committee
Last but not least, we would like to introduce ourselves as members of the conference committee.
Sam Cone has just completed her MA in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies at the University of Iceland, where her thesis looked at horses in the Family Sagas. Prior to this, she completed an MSt in Archaeological Science (with her thesis on comparing isotopic composition between different tissues in mutton), and a BA in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Oxford (for her final dissertation she discussed Roman bronze animal figurines). Her research interests include the uses and depictions of animals throughout history.
Colin Fisher received a bachelor’s degree in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Binghamton University in New York, then moved to Iceland to study Icelandic and folkloristics before receiving their master’s degree in Medieval Icelandic Studies in 2023. Their interests include oral theory, the processes of syncretization in Old Nordic religious systems, and the influence of medievalism in nationalist discourses. Colin has worked as a teacher and has published poetry and short stories. They are planning to begin a PhD in 2023.
Bridget Catherine Leary recently completed the Viking and Medieval Norse Studies MA at Háskóli Íslands. Her thesis focused on emotionality and worked with thirteenth-century literature to consider dating using emotive scripting. She also holds a BA in Classics from University College London. She has worked professionally as a teacher, editor and ELT writer.
Fran Ota holds a Bachelor of Music Performance from University of Manitoba, and a Master of Divinity from University of Toronto. She was ordained at 50 and was in active ministry for 25 years. She has also studied Ethnomusicology, focusing on medieval Japanese Noh drama. In 2020 she began the VMNS coursework at Háskóli Islands, and Universitetet í Oslo. Her focus in the VMNS degree has been medieval church law in Norway, Sweden and Iceland, and she intends to continue with this research.she is married to Prof. Norio Ota of York University Toronto. She is a mother of four, grandmother of five, currently studying Japanese cooking, painting and is an avid gardener.
Dain Swenson is currently studying a masters in archaeology theory and methods at Lund University, where he is creating 3D ground penetrating radar models of a Viking Age burial field in Scania. He completed a MA in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies at the University of Iceland in 2019, conducting a study on diet in Denmark through isotope analysis for his thesis. Prior to that he received a BA at Arizona State University in Anthropology in 2017. Dain has worked professionally both in Europe and the United States as a field archaeologist and in museums. His research interests include geophysical archaeology and changes in old Nordic religion in the Iron Age.
Thias Gomes Trindade is a current MA student in Medieval Icelandic Studies at the University of Iceland. She completed an MA in Translation Studies in 2020 and holds a teaching degree and BA in Language and Literature (English and Portuguese) from the University of São Paulo. As an exchance student at the University of New Mexico, she had her first contact to the Eddas and got interested in Viking gods and myths, and Old Icelandic. She has worked professionally as a translator and a teacher, and has published articles on translation studies, analyzing the translations of the Prose Edda into Portuguese in the most recent of them. Her research interests include linguistics, literature, and translation studies.
We have all been working busily on this conference and want to make sure it is a pleasant and productive experience for everyone. Please feel free to contact us at histudentconference@gmail.com with any questions or concerns. We will do our best to help out.
The Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North 