Jochens, Jenny. Race and Ethnicity Among Medieval Norwegians and Icelanders.

• Author: Jochens, Jenny.
• Title: Race and Ethnicity Among Medieval Nerwegians and Icelanders.
• Published in: Sagas and the Norwegian Experience. Preprints of the 10th International Saga Conference.
• Place, Publisher: Trondheim: NTNU Noregs teknisk-naturvitskaplege universitet.
• Year: 1997
• Pages: 313-322
• E-text: Full-text
• Reference: Jochens, Jenny. "Race and Etnhicity Among Medial Norwegians and Icelanders." Sagas and the Norwegian Experience. Preprints of the 10th International Saga Conference. (1997): pp. 313-322. Trondheim: NTNU Noregs teknisk-naturvitskaplege universitet.

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• Key words: Characterization

Annotation

In the article, Jochens discusses difference in looks and other ethnic features of the medieval peoples of Norway and Iceland. She uses Egill Skalla-Grímsson and his family as an example of what she calls the black/white or blond/dark dichotomy, by which she means the difference in the looks and nature of the brothers Skalla-Grímur and Þórólfur, sons of Kveldúlfur. She then points out that their great-grandfather was Úlfur óargi and their great-uncle Hallbjörn hálftröll (or half-troll). These forefathers were, according to Jochens, the reason for Kveldúlfr´s night-time fits and the looks and nature of Skalla-Grímur and his son, Egill.

Lýsing

Greinin fjallar um mismunandi útlit og þjóðerniseinkenni í Noregi og á Íslandi á miðöldum. Jochens tekur Egil Skalla-Grímsson og fjölskyldu hans sem dæmi um tvískiptingu útlits í svart/hvítt eða ljóst/dökkt, en þar á hún við mismunandi útlit og náttúru bræðranna Skalla-Gríms og Þórólfs Kveldúlfssona. Hún bendir á að langafi bræðrana hafi verið Úlfur óargi og ömmubróðir þeirra Hallbjörn hálftröll. Þetta hafi verið ástæða fyrir berserksgangi Kveldúlfs og útliti og náttúru Skalla-Gríms og sonar hans, Egils.

References

Chapter 90: "Nicknamed Skalla- Grímr ("Bald-Grimr," because he lost his hair),he became the progenitor of a vast and extended family known as the Mýramannakyn after Mýrar,the place where he settled. Summarizing the qualities of this group in the last chapter, the author indicates that its most remarkable feature was the inclusionof both"the most beautiful" and "the ugli- est" of people." (p. 313).

Links

• Written by: Hildur Ýr Ísberg
• English translation: Hildur Ýr Ísberg