The 20th Aarhus Old Norse Mythology Conference
20–21 November 2025
Nordeuropa-Institut, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
We are delighted to welcome scholars and guests to the 20th Aarhus Old Norse Mythology Conference, hosted this year at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The conference brings together leading international researchers to explore the theme of Origins in Old Norse mythology, literature, and cultural history.
Over two days, the program will feature talks and panels on the origins of myth, cosmogony and anthropogony, mythic knowledge, identity, heroes, and the gods. Speakers will come from universities and research institutions across Europe, North America, and beyond.
Highlights include a roundtable discussion reflecting on Twenty Years of the Aarhus Old Norse Mythology Conference: Origins, Present, and Future, as well as a reception hosted at the residence of the Icelandic ambassador. Program – updated 31 October 2025
The conference will conclude with a communal dinner in Berlin, celebrating two decades of scholarship, dialogue, and collaboration in the field of Old Norse studies.
Thursday, November 20th 2025
| 8.00 | Registration and Coffee |
| 9.00 | Welcome - Beate Lütke Dean of the Faculty of Language, Literature and Humanities, Berlin and Lukas Rösli Berlin lntroduction - Verena Höfig München |
| 9.30 |
Jürg Glauser Do Myths Have Origins? |
| 10.00 | Nicolas Meylan Lausanne Ymir in Chicago: Eliade, Smith, Lincoln |
| 10.30 | Coffee |
| 11.00 |
Kate Heslop Bloody Origins |
| 11.30 |
Carolyne Larrington Creation: Cosmogony and Anthropogony in a Comparative Context |
| 12.00 |
Henning Kure On the Origin of the Myth of the Origin of Humans |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 14.00 |
Stephen A. Mitchell Knowledge and the Origins of Wisdom |
| 14.30 |
Brittany Schorn 'all these, I think, stem from me alone': Locating the Origins of Ancient Myths in Old Norse Poetry |
| 15.00 |
Pierre-Brice Stahl Vafþrúðnismál: On the Origins of a Myth of Origins |
| 15.30 | Coffee |
| 17.15 | Taxi transport to lcelandic ambassador's residence |
| 18.00 | Reception at the Residence |
| 18.30 |
Roundtable Discussion Twenty Years of the Aarhus Old Norse Mythology Moderation: Lukas Rösli Participants: Margaret Clunies Ross (Sydney); Frog (Helsinki); Terry Gunnell (Reykjavík); Simon Nygaard (Aarhus); Jens Peter Schjødt (Aarhus); Rudolf Simek (Bonn); Stefanie von Schnurbein (Berlin) |
| 19.30-20.30 | Dinner Buffet |
Friday, November 21st 2025
| 10.00 |
Guðrún Nordal Making Sense of Your Own Time: Proto-National Myths in Sturlunga saga |
| 10.30 |
Ela Sefcikova Translating Origins: Ethnicity and Mythology in Mallet and his Translators |
| 11.00 | Coffee |
| 11.30 |
Declan Taggart The Myth of the Warrior |
| 12.00 |
Judy Quinn Where Do Heroes Come From? |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 14.00 |
Lars Lönnroth The Origin of Freyr and the Rällinge Statuette |
| 14.30 |
John Lindow Gefjun dró frá Gylfa: Perspectives on an Etiological Legend |
| 15.00 |
Richard Cole Óðinn and the Fairies: Some Comparisons between Late Medieval England and Sweden |
| 15.30 | Coffee |
| 16.00-16.30 | Closing Notes |
| 18.00 | Conference Dinner: Restaurant Nolle, S-Bahnbogen, Georgenstraße 203, 10117 Berlin |
Conference venue: 🔗Lichthof (Main Building)
Address: 10117 Berlin-Mitte, Unter den Linden 6
🔗 Walking route from U Unter den Linden to Lichthof
🔗 Walking route from S + U Friedrichstraße to Lichthof
HU Berlin – Nordeuropa-Institut Prof. Dr. Verena Höfig
LMU München – Institut für Nordische Philologie