Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Sprach- und literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät - Nordeuropa-Institut

Timothy Bourns
University of Oxford

"Between Nature and Culture. Animals and Humands in Old Norse Literature"

In this paper I will explore the interconnections between animals and humans in Old Norse literature. Through emotional relationships, communication via language, physical and psychological transformations, and the metaphorical and metaphysical link between animals and humans in dreams, medieval Icelandic prose and poetry challenges the humananimal dichotomy. My research exposes how different animal species were lived with and thought about in the Scandinavian Middle Ages and reveals the unique environmental values and beliefs of the medieval North.