1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910467393803321

Autore

Künzler Sarah

Titolo

Flesh and word : reading bodies in Old Norse-Icelandic and early Irish literature / / Sarah Künzler

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berlin, [Germany] ; ; Boston, Massachusetts : , : De Gruyter, , 2016

©2016

ISBN

3-11-045542-0

3-11-045587-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (460 p.)

Collana

Trends in Medieval Philology, , 1612-443X ; ; Volume 31

Disciplina

839.609

Soggetti

Old Norse literature - History and criticism

Literature, Medieval - Themes, motives

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Speak for Yourself! Expressive Mediality and the Self -- 3. I am the Other - Who are You? Expressive Mediality and the Other -- 4. Scratching the Surface: Reading Bodies in Transmissive Mediality -- 5. The Need to Need: Natural Bodily Matters in Mediality Discourse -- 6. Concluding Matters -- 7. List of Abbreviations -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Bodies and their role in cultural discourse have been a constant focus in the humanities and social sciences in recent years, but comparatively few studies exist about Old Norse-Icelandic or early Irish literature. This study aims to redress this imbalance and presents carefully contextualised close readings of medieval texts. The chapters focus on the role of bodies in mediality discourse in various contexts: that of identity in relation to ideas about self and other, of inscribed and marked skin and of natural bodily matters such as defecation, urination and menstruation. By carefully discussing the sources in their cultural contexts, it becomes apparent that medieval Scandinavian and early Irish texts present their very own ideas about bodies and their role in structuring the narrated worlds of the texts. The study presents one of the first systematic examinations of bodies in these two literary



traditions in terms of body criticism and emphasises the ingenuity and complexity of medieval texts.