Jóna Guðbjörg Torfadóttir. Gunnhildur and the Male Whores
- Author: Jóna Guðbjörg Torfadóttir
- Title: Gunnhildur and the Male Whores
- Published in: Sagas & Societies. Section 2: History of Mentality and Cultural Contact. Conference Paper, 16. pages.
- Place, Publisher: Tübingen: Universität Tübingen
- Year: 2002
- Pages: 16 pages
- E-text: TOBIAS-lib
- Reference: Jóna Guðbjörg Torfadóttir. "Gunnhildur and the Male Whores." Sagas & Societies. Section 2: History of Mentality and Cultural Contact. Conference Paper, 16. pages. Tübingen: Universität Tübingen, 2002.
- Key words: gender studies, characterization, intertextuality (persónusköpun, kynjafræði, textatengsl)
Annotation
An examination of Gunnhild as she appears in medival texts, comparing her portrayal in saga literature (including Jómsvíkinga saga, Laxdæla saga, Njáls saga, Flóamanna saga and Egils saga) with descriptions of her in Norwegian histories (Ágrip, Noregs konunga tal and Historia Norwegiae). Jóna Torfadóttir defends Gunnhild, arguing that her negative depiction as a witch/seductress is a (male) reaction to her position as a strong and powerful woman and that her sexual relationships with Icelandic farmers in Sagas of Icelanders reflect writers’ sexual fantasies. She also compares Gunnhild with Thorgerd Brak as the other woman skilled in magical arts to figure in Egils saga, making reference to Helga Kress.
Lýsing
Rannsókn á ímynd Gunnhildar Össurardóttur í miðaldatextum, þar sem borin er saman vitnisburður norskra sagnarita ( Ágrips, Noregs konunga tals og Historia Norwegiae) annars vegar og íslenskra fornsagna (Jómsvíkinga sögu, Laxdæla sögu, Njáls sögu, Flóamanna sögu og Egils sögu) hins vegar. Jóna mælir Gunnhildi bót, á þeirri forsendu að neikvæðar lýsingar á henni, sem norn og tálkvendi, markist af því að (karl)mönnum hafi staðið ógn af henni sem konu í valdastöðu. Þá beri lýsingar íslensku fornsagnanna á nánu sambandi hennar við íslenska bændur vott um kynferðislegar fantasíur söguhöfunda. Jóna ber Gunnhildi saman við Þorgerði brák, en þar er um að ræða aðra kvenpersónu í sögunni sem sé innvígð í galdur (sbr. skrif Helgu Kress).
See also
References
Egils saga
Chapter 37: Gunnhildur var allra kvenna vænst og vitrust og fjölkunnig mjög: „In most sources about Gunnhildur she is given an exotic and far-northern ancestry from which she draws a seductive strength, sexual liaison and magic … she seduces young men to have sexual relationships with her although she is old enough to be the mother of at least some of them. Jómsvíkinga saga describes Gunnhildur as promiscuous, and various sources imply her sexual behavior with young men. Egils saga hints at her sexual relationship with Þórólfur and even more blunt is the description of her sex life in Njáls saga: There can be no doubt of what Gunnhildur has in mind when she gives Hrútr orders“ (s. 3)
Njáls saga
Chapter 3: Þú skalt liggja í lofti hjá mér í nótt og við tvö saman: „In most sources about Gunnhildur she is given an exotic and far-northern ancestry from which she draws a seductive strength, sexual liaison and magic … she seduces young men to have sexual relationships with her although she is old enough to be the mother of at least some of them. Jómsvíkinga saga describes Gunnhildur as promiscuous, and various sources imply her sexual behavior with young men. Egils saga hints at her sexual relationship with Þórólfur and even more blunt is the description of her sex life in Njáls saga: There can be no doubt of what Gunnhildur has in mind when she gives Hrútr orders“ (s. 3)
Links
- Written by: Katelin Parsons
- Icelandic translation: Jón Karl Helgason
