Supernatural Sentiments: The Language of Emotion in the fornaldarsögur

Abstract

The study of emotion in Old Norse-Icelandic literature has sparked considerable scholarly debate in recent years. However, little attention has been given to the emotive language of non-human beings. This contribution seeks to examine the emotional lexis associated with supernatural figures in the fornaldarsögur within the context of historical semantics. As will be shown, the function of the emotional language and its social implications will be discussed in context of the narratives, furthering the discussion of feelings of marginalised figures in medieval Icelandic literature.