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Gro Steinsland
Gro Steinsland (born 1945) is a Norwegian scholar of medieval studies and history of religion and since August 2009 has been the Scientific Director of the Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Steinsland has most recently been a professor in the Institute for Linguistic and Nordic Studies at the University of Oslo, where she was also a member of the international interdepartmental Centre for Studies in the Viking Age and Nordic Middle Agesprofile at forskning.no Aslaug Veum "Gro Steinsland: Veit ho nok, eller kva?" , Portrait, ''Apollon'', University of Oslo research magazine, 1 April 1998. Retrieved 17 January 2011. from its founding in 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Studies
Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages. A historian who studies medieval studies is called a medievalist. Institutional development The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening decades of the twentieth century, initially in the titles of books like G. G. Coulton's ''Ten Medieval Studies'' (1906), to emphasize a more interdisciplinary approach to a historical subject. A major step in institutionalising this field was the foundation of the Mediaeval (now Medieval) Academy of America in 1925. In American and European universities the term ''medieval studies'' provided a coherent identity to centres composed of academics from a variety of disciplines including archaeology, art history, architecture, history, literature and linguistics. The Institute of Mediaeval Studies at St. Michael's College of the University of Toronto became the first centre of this type in 1929; it is now the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skírnismál
''Skírnismál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Skírnir', but in the Codex Regius known as ''Fǫr Skírnis'' ‘Skírnir’s journey’) is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the 13th-century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to but may have been originally composed in the early 10th century. Many scholars believe that the poem was acted out, perhaps in a sort of '' hiéros gamos''. Synopsis The prose prologue to the poem says that the god Freyr, the son of Njörðr, sits in Odin's throne, Hliðskjálf and looked over all the worlds. On looking to Jötunheimr, the land of the giants, Freyr sees a beautiful girl, Gerðr, and is immediately seized by desire. Fearing that the object of his heart's desire is unattainable, gloom settles upon him. The poem itself starts with the wife of Njörðr, Skaði, bidding Skírnir to ask Freyr why he is so sad. Freyr's response is sullen, yet he does confess his feelings and asks Skírnir to undertake a journey to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ''Prose Edda'', which is a major source for what is today known about Norse mythology and alliterative verse, and , a history of the Norsemen, Norse kings that begins with legendary material in ''Ynglinga saga'' and moves through to early medieval History of Scandinavia, Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of ''Egil's Saga''. He was assassinated in 1241 by men claiming to be agents of the King of Norway. Biography Early life Snorri Sturluson was born in (commonly transliterated as Hvamm or Hvammr) as a member of the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family clan, Sturlungar clan of the Icelandic Commonwealth, in AD 1179. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson the Elder o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia (country), Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city. The territory of what is now Azerbaijan was ruled first by Caucasian Albania and later by various Persian empires. Until the 19th century, it remained part of Qajar Iran, but the Russo-Persian wars of Russo-Persian War (1804–1813), 1804–1813 and Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), 1826–1828 forced the Qajar Empire to cede its Caucasian territories to the Russian Empire; the treaties of Treaty of Gulistan, Gulistan in 1813 and Treaty of Turkmenchay, Turkmenchay in 1828 defined the border between Russia and Iran. The region north o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Empire's partial occupation of Germania ( BCE), the Migration Period (4th–6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th–11th centuries CE). Consequently, Odin has hundreds of names and titles. Several of these stem from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic theonym ''Wōðanaz'', meaning "lord of frenzy" or "leader of the possessed", which may relate to the god's strong association with poetry. Most mythological stories about Odin survive from the 13th-century ''Prose Edda'' and an earlier collection of Old Norse poems, the ''Poetic Edda'', along with other Old Norse items like '' Ynglinga saga''. The ''Prose Edda'' and other sources depict Odin as the head of the pantheon, sometimes called the Æsir, and bearing a spear and a ring. Wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he drifted 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a primitive hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotus, Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was supposed to demonstrate that the legendary sun-worshiping red-haired, bearded, and white-skinned "Tiki people" from South America drifted and colonized Polynesia first, before actual Polynesian peoples. His hyperdiffusionist ideas on ancient cultures had been widely rejected by the scientific community, even before the expedition. Heyerdahl made other voyages to demonstrate the possibility of contact between widely separated ancient peoples, notably the ''Ra II'' expedition of 1970, when he sailed from the West Africa, west coas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted audience. Typically ranging from 500 to 700 words, op-eds are distinct from articles written by the publication's editorial board and often feature the opinions of outside contributors. Op-eds allow authors, not part of the publication's editorial team, to express opinions, perspectives, and arguments on various issues of public interest. Unlike traditional editorials, which reflect the opinion of the publication itself, op-eds offer independent voices a foundation to influence public discourse. ''The New York Times'' is widely credited with popularizing the modern op-ed format. Origin The "Page Op.", created in 1921 by Herbert Bayard Swope of '' The New York Evening World,'' is a possible precursor to the modern op-ed. When Swope took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rán
In Norse mythology, Rán (Old Norse: ) is a goddess and a personification of the sea. Rán and her husband Ægir, a jötunn who also personifies the sea, have nine daughters, who personify waves. The goddess is frequently associated with a net, which she uses to capture sea-goers. According to the prose introduction to a poem in the ''Poetic Edda'' and in ''Völsunga saga'', Rán once loaned her net to the god Loki. Rán is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled during the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Edda'', written during the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; in both ''Völsunga saga'' and '' Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna''; and in the poetry of skalds, such as '' Sonatorrek'', a 10th-century poem by Icelandic skald Egill Skallagrímsson. Etymology The Old Norse common noun ''rán'' means 'plundering' or 'theft, robbery'.Faulkes (1998: 250) and discussion in Simek (2007 993 260). In turn, scholars view the theonym ''Rán'' as meaning, for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eros (concept)
Eros (, ; ) is a concept in ancient Greek philosophy referring to sensual or passionate love, from which the term ''eroticism, erotic'' is derived. ''Eros'' has also been used in philosophy and psychology in a much wider sense, almost as an equivalent to "life energy". Psychoanalysis uses the term to describe the ''universal desire'' that drives all innate needs (of the ''Id, ego and superego, id''), which according to Freud is identical to Plato's conception. The Protestant philosopher C. S. Lewis posits it as one of the four Greek words for love, ancient Greek words for love in Christianity, alongside ''storge'', ''philia'', and ''agape''. In literature Classical Greek tradition In the classical world, erotic love was generally described as a kind of madness or ''theia mania'' ("madness from the gods"). This erotic love was described through an elaborate metaphoric and mythological schema (psychology), schema involving "love's arrows" or "love darts", the source of which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, archaeological site, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. The discipline involves Survey (archaeology), surveying, Archaeological excavation, excavation, and eventually Post excavation, analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myth
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the veracity of a myth is not a defining criterion. Myths are often endorsed by religious (when they are closely linked to religion or spirituality) and secular authorities. Many societies group their myths, legends, and history together, considering myths and legends to be factual accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Origin myths explain how a society's Norm (social), customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. National myths are narratives about a nation's past that symbolize the nation's values. There is a complex relationship between Myth and ritual, recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. Etymology The w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jötunn
A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other non-human figures, such as dwarf (mythology), dwarfs and elf, elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities included in the category are referred to by several other terms, including , (or ) and if male and or if female. The typically dwell across boundaries from the gods and humans in lands such as . The are frequently attested throughout the Old Norse records, with also featuring in the Old English epic poem ''Beowulf''. The usage of the terms is dynamic, with an overall trend that the beings become portrayed as less impressive and more negative as Christianity becomes more influential over time. Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "" and its apparent synonyms in some transl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
