2018/01/01 by Margaret Cormack · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Ancient Near East History #Eurasian Exchange Networks #Linguistics and Cultural Studies
paper · doi:10.1484/m.bbl-eb.5.116081
openalex publication_date 2018/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
The saga of Guðmundr Arason contains several accounts of Guðmundr’s conflicts with monsters called flagð or trollkona. Selkolla, the subject of one of its more detailed accounts, does not fit neatly into known categories of supernatural beings, neither those of the Middle Ages nor those familiar from more recent folklore. The medieval story of Selkolla was composed by an Icelandic cleric who drew on native and learned traditions to create a terrifying exemplum designed to promote certain ecclesiastical ideals. Selkolla takes on very different forms in nineteenth-century folklore. Twentieth-century accounts appear to be influenced by the publication of the medieval narrative. Translations and summaries of both medieval and more recent stories about Selkolla allow readers to consider the extent to which folklore can be used to interpret medieval texts.