Remembering Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)uðga Ketilsdóttir: construction of cultural memory and female religious identity
- Author
- Sofie Vanherpen (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- Medieval Icelandic literature recounts stories of both pagans and Christians settling in Iceland. Most of these stories focus on a male protagonist. However one of these tales centres around a female settler, namely Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)úðga Ketilsdóttir. Her story is unique in two senses: firstly, she is one of the few female protagonists among the many male ones in these accounts; secondly, the question of Auðr’s religion is an interesting one and a puzzle at that as two religious traditions exist parallel to one another. According to the first, she converts to Christianity. In the other, she remains true to the pagan faith of her Norwegian ancestors. These alternative traditions form a good example of how cultural memory and representations of a ninth century female Viking and her religious identity are transmitted in literary form. This article will investigate how these religious identities were created focusing on religious and funerary practices. I will briefly mention what effect these changes have on the depiction of Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)úðga Ketilsdóttir and how she is remembered from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century.
- Keywords
- folk legend, religion, settlers., Christianity, burials, women, gender, Laxdæla saga, Landnámabók
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-4142019
- MLA
- Vanherpen, Sofie. “Remembering Auðr/Unnr Djúp(a)Uðga Ketilsdóttir: Construction of Cultural Memory and Female Religious Identity.” MIRATOR, edited by Kirsi Kanerva and Elina Räsänen, vol. 14, no. 2, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2013, pp. 61–78.
- APA
- Vanherpen, S. (2013). Remembering Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)uðga Ketilsdóttir: construction of cultural memory and female religious identity. MIRATOR, 14(2), 61–78.
- Chicago author-date
- Vanherpen, Sofie. 2013. “Remembering Auðr/Unnr Djúp(a)Uðga Ketilsdóttir: Construction of Cultural Memory and Female Religious Identity.” Edited by Kirsi Kanerva and Elina Räsänen. MIRATOR 14 (2): 61–78.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Vanherpen, Sofie. 2013. “Remembering Auðr/Unnr Djúp(a)Uðga Ketilsdóttir: Construction of Cultural Memory and Female Religious Identity.” Ed by. Kirsi Kanerva and Elina Räsänen. MIRATOR 14 (2): 61–78.
- Vancouver
- 1.Vanherpen S. Remembering Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)uðga Ketilsdóttir: construction of cultural memory and female religious identity. Kanerva K, Räsänen E, editors. MIRATOR. 2013;14(2):61–78.
- IEEE
- [1]S. Vanherpen, “Remembering Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)uðga Ketilsdóttir: construction of cultural memory and female religious identity,” MIRATOR, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 61–78, 2013.
@article{4142019, abstract = {{Medieval Icelandic literature recounts stories of both pagans and Christians settling in Iceland. Most of these stories focus on a male protagonist. However one of these tales centres around a female settler, namely Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)úðga Ketilsdóttir. Her story is unique in two senses: firstly, she is one of the few female protagonists among the many male ones in these accounts; secondly, the question of Auðr’s religion is an interesting one and a puzzle at that as two religious traditions exist parallel to one another. According to the first, she converts to Christianity. In the other, she remains true to the pagan faith of her Norwegian ancestors. These alternative traditions form a good example of how cultural memory and representations of a ninth century female Viking and her religious identity are transmitted in literary form. This article will investigate how these religious identities were created focusing on religious and funerary practices. I will briefly mention what effect these changes have on the depiction of Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)úðga Ketilsdóttir and how she is remembered from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century.}}, author = {{Vanherpen, Sofie}}, editor = {{Kanerva, Kirsi and Räsänen, Elina}}, issn = {{1457-2362}}, journal = {{MIRATOR}}, keywords = {{folk legend,religion,settlers.,Christianity,burials,women,gender,Laxdæla saga,Landnámabók}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{2}}, pages = {{61--78}}, publisher = {{Jyväskylän yliopisto}}, title = {{Remembering Auðr/Unnr djúp(a)uðga Ketilsdóttir: construction of cultural memory and female religious identity}}, volume = {{14}}, year = {{2013}}, }