Symposium: From the Nordic Middle Ages
Icelandic and foreign experts talk about the Nordic faith, churches and residence in the 11th century in Skagafirður, Icelandic church vestments and Vínland stories in fine literature.
Stiftelsen Barbro and the Sune Örtendahls Foundation in Sweden is hosting a seminar on Nordic medieval subjects in cooperation with the National Museum of Iceland and the Kakalaskála in Skagafjörður. The Fund works to promote knowledge about Iceland in Sweden. The seminar took place in the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg in October 2024.
The seminar will take place at the National Museum on Saturday 5 April and in Kakalaskála on Sunday 6 April.
Watch the lecture here
Explore our YouTube channelSpeakers and Topics
Kl. 1:00 PM
The forum is set
Harpa Þórsdóttir welcomes guests.
Nanna Hermansson says a few words about Stiftelsen Barbro and Sune Örtendahls and introduces the lecturer.
Kl. 13:15-14:00
Nordic belief in resolution.
Olof Sundquist Professor of Religious History at the University of Stockholm.
Olof describes religion in the Nordic countries between 900 and 1100 with a focus on Christianity and the development of Christianity, and highlights how the Nordic Axis faith succumbed to Christianity and what was the attitude of secular rulers in Norway and Iceland.
Kl. 14:00 - 14:45
11th century churches and residences in Skagafirður.
Professor Guðný Zoëga at the University of Hólar is an archaeologist with a specialisation in osteology.
For many years, Guðný has been conducting archaeological research at the beginning of settlement, urban development, the oldest churches and churchyards in Skagafirður. She will discuss what the research has revealed and what they can tell us about people and society from colonization to the 12th century.
Kl. 14:45-15:15
Coffee break. Coffee and pastry will be served.
Kl. 15.15 -16.00
Icelandic church vestments from the Middle Ages and later centuries.
Lilja Árnadóttir, a former specialist at the National Museum of Iceland, edited the book Creative Hands, which was published by the museum in 2023.
Lilja discusses the research of Elsa E. Gudjónsson on Icelandic refilsaums published in the aforementioned book. The name is a quote from a text from the John story of the saints about the learned Inga who sewed and listened to the word of God. Fifteen garments from different eras are preserved, which have probably been made in Icelandic monasteries.
Kl. 16.00-16.45
Wine Country Stories in Fine Literature.
Joakim Liljegren is a specialist in Nordic languages, translator and bookkeeper at the University of Gothenburg Library.
Joakim talks in Icelandic about the influence of Icelandic medieval literature in the fine literature of the last two centuries. The subject of the Irish History of the Red and the Greenlanders has inspired many authors around the world since the beginning of the 19th century, when Nordic people began to migrate to the West.
The program will be repeated on Sunday, April 6 in Kakalaskála in Skagafirður.
We look forward to seeing you as many as possible.
Photograph: Refill FráhVammi in Dólar preserved at the Dana National Museum
Stiftelsen Barbro and Sune Örtendahls: https://ortendahlsfond.se
