Viking Mediologies: A New History of Skaldic Poetics

Viking Mediologies explores the pre-modern multimedia of the Viking Age, focusing on the embodied poetic practice of skalds and their ability to capture shared contingent meanings and re-mediate them in named, memorable, reproducible works. The study reconsiders skaldic tradition as pieces in a pre-modern media landscape, highlighting the media's capacity to embody memory, visibility, and sound.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2022
Publisher: Fordham University Press

Viking Mediologies delves into the rich tapestry of pre-modern multimedia, drawing its essence from the embodied poetic practice of Viking Age skalds. Previous research in the skaldic tradition has primarily focused on authorship, examining stylistic distinctions, historical contexts, and the works of skalds whose names have been preserved in written records. However, Kate Heslop takes a fresh perspective, treating these not as standalone texts but as integral components within a pre-modern media landscape. She emphasizes poetry's remarkable ability to encapsulate memory, visuality, and sound, shaping a dynamic and multifaceted narrative.

During the Viking Age, mobile, hybrid, and diasporic social formations emerged, characterized by bands of raiders and traders, petty kingdoms, and colonial expeditions. Skalds, with their intricate poetry, held a unique value for these leaders. They claimed to possess the capacity to capture and re-mediate shared contingent meanings, transforming them into named, memorable, and reproducible works. The commemorative poetry found in kviðuháttr vividly recalls histories of ruin and loss, while skaldic ekphrasis unveils and replicates the presence of the gods. Dróttkvætt encomium evokes the soundscape of battle, resonating with the leaders and their retinue.

As writing made its way to Scandinavia in the aftermath of Christianization, the media landscape underwent a significant transformation. Skalds adapted to the demands of a literate audience during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, while historical and poetological texts from the Icelandic High Middle Ages fostered a dialogue between Latin Christian ideas of mediation and local traditions. The Second Grammatical Treatise, for instance, employs the literate technology of the grid to analyze the intricate resonances of dróttkvætt, considering it as the output of a syllable-spewing hurdy-gurdy—a poetry machine. This approach offers fresh readings of canonical works such as Ynglingatal, Ragnarsdrápa, and Háttatal, as well as examinations of lesser-known texts.

In conclusion, Viking Mediologies provides a groundbreaking exploration of pre-modern multimedia, shedding light on the interplay between poetry, memory, visuality, and sound in the Viking Age. By reconsidering the skaldic tradition in this context, Heslop offers a fresh perspective that broadens our understanding of the media landscape and its role in shaping cultural narratives. This study contributes to our understanding of the complex and multifaceted world of the Vikings and their rich artistic traditions.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780823298242