Jón Viðar Sigurðsson. Becoming 'old', ageism and taking care of the elderly in Iceland

• Author: Jón Viðar Sigurðsson
• Title: Becoming 'Old', Ageism and Taking Care of the Elderly in Iceland
• Published in: Youth and Age in the Medieval North
• Editor: Shannon Lewis-Simpson
• Place, Publisher: Leiden: Brill
• Year: 2008
• Pages: 227-42
• E-text:
• Reference: Jón Viðar Sigurðsson. "Becoming 'Old', Ageism and Taking Care of the Elderly in Iceland." Youth and Age in the Medieval North, pp. 227-42. Ed. Shannon Lewis-Simpson. Leiden: Brill, 2008.

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• Key words: history, ethics (sagnfræði, siðfræði)

Annotation

The definition of 'old' in the sagas is more closely tied to a person's physical condition than his or her biological age. Old age brings with it infirmity and an inability to work; 'old women and men had few functional roles in Icelandic society and thus lost status and respect. Jón Viðar cites the description of Egill Skallagrímsson as an 'old' man as a ageist narrative representative of the prevailing attitude towards the elderly in Icelandic during the period 900-1300. The 'old' are portrayed negatively and frequently associated with the grotesque in saga narratives, although Hávamál and several religious texts do have positive things to say of old age. All members of society were required to belong to a household, and wealthier households could care for their own 'old'. Few elderly persons moved in their old age to other family members outside this household - Egill, who moved to his foster-daughter's household, is not representative in this respect. In some cases, a church or monestary would maintain 'old' individuals, but others had to rely on the commune, which became an increasingly important social institution after 1270.

Links

• Written by: Katelin Parsons
• Icelandic/English translation: