How to do things with gifts: Gjafa-Refs þáttr and Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka

The aim of this article is to assess the ideology of two short storiesfocused on gift-giving and composed in medieval Iceland: Gjafa-Refs þáttr and Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka. Our hypothesis is that the texts, while sharing a similar narrative motif, represent different ideological stances that can be...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Barreiro, Santiago Francisco
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/41243
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/41243
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Gifts
Medieval
Iceland
Short Stories
Islândia Medieval
Presentes
Contos
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.2
Descripción
Sumario:The aim of this article is to assess the ideology of two short storiesfocused on gift-giving and composed in medieval Iceland: Gjafa-Refs þáttr and Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka. Our hypothesis is that the texts, while sharing a similar narrative motif, represent different ideological stances that can be associated with the transformations undertaken by Icelandic society during the thirteenth century. We argue that while the earlier Tale of Auðunn exemplifies a story of social promotion based almost purely on personal qualities, the later Tale of Gift-Refr adds supraindividual conditionsto explain the success of its main character, emphasizing good lineage and aristocratic patronage.