A Land of Ice and Fire: An Ecocritical Reading of the Landscapes of the Islendingasogur

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This research will result in the first comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the various landscapes, seascapes, and settings of the Islendingasogur, and provide a vital contribution towards modern perceptions of environmental preservation and conservation.In 2011, Emily Lethbridge set out on a solo project to read each of the Islendingasogur in its local settings, creating a Saga Map which reflects the landscape in which the events of the texts take place. Despite this, and the promise of new critical readings aided by the project, very little scholarship has continued along these lines of enquiry. Moretti writes: "Placing a literary phenomenon in its specific place- mapping it - is not the conclusion of geographical work; it's the beginning. After which begins in fact the most challenging part of the whole enterprise: one looks at the map, and thinks" (1998: 7). This thesis will seek to bridge this gap between the scholarly apparatus supplied by Lethbridge and the lack new critical thought stemming from it, examining the various landscapes, seascapes, and placesintertwined in medieval Icelandic literature, and offering new readings regarding the uniqueness of the relationship between the Icelandic landscape and the saga narratives of those people who inhabited it.There are still noticeable gaps in the study of landscape, especially regarding Old Norse literature. Although there have been some valuable environmentally-based research articles (Barraclough, 2010; Kinniburgh, 2018) and a highly influential study on the foreshadowing of our current ecological crisis through Ragnarok (Abram, 2019), Abram largely focuses on the poetry and mythology of Old Norse, while Barraclough and Kinniburgh focus the outlaw sagas alone. Unlike these previous works, this research will cover the full range of sagas of Icelanders, rather than just the most popular ones. It will build on these previous works of ecological analysis in Old Norse texts, but also expand upon them toproduce the first book-length ecocritical study of the landscapes of the Islendingasogur.This thesis will examine the following key questions to understanding the importance of landscape in the family sagas: How do the depictions of migrations and settlements reflect the importance of landscape? Does Iceland's unique position create a closer link between settlers and place? What power dynamics and social hierarchies can be observed through interactions with the landscape? How do we deal with spaces beyond our ownership? What is the link between place and nationality in modern culture? And finally, what is ecocriticism and why does it matter to us?These questions are vital to exploring past interactions with and interpretations of the natural landscape with the aim of reflecting on and contextualising our own modern engagement and actions. This thesis will benefit Old Norse and Medieval studies, but also the wider fields of textual geography, migration studies, climate engagement, and socio-political understanding of collective human identities. Through interdisciplinary study and understanding of different views and representations of the natural world there is hope that a more respectful or simply stable attitude towards the natural world can be attained again in the future.