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Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Njáls saga
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Media, Saga Places

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Njáls saga

21/02/202121/02/2021 by Matthew Roby4 Min Reading

We return to south-west Iceland for the fourth episode of the ‘Saga Stories’ series. This time, we’re near the modern-day town of Hvolsvöllur, telling stories

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Flóamanna saga
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Media, Saga Places

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Flóamanna saga

06/02/202121/02/2021 by Matthew Roby2 Min Reading

In the third episode of the ‘Saga Stories’ series, I travel to South Iceland to tell stories from the lesser-known Flóamanna saga. This saga is

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Egils saga
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Media, Saga Places

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Egils saga

09/01/202106/02/2021 by Matthew Roby1 Min Reading

The second episode of my new video series ‘Saga Stories’ looks at Egils saga. In this episode, I travel to three locations around Borgarnes and

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Þingvellir
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Media, Saga Places

Saga Stories with the Reykjavík Grapevine: Þingvellir

26/12/202006/02/2021 by Matthew Roby2 Min Reading

Here is the first in a new series of videos I will be making with the Reykjavík Grapevine, one of Iceland’s leading English-language media outlets.

Merlínússpá: King Arthur and Merlin in Medieval Iceland
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Merlínússpá: King Arthur and Merlin in Medieval Iceland

11/11/202006/02/2021 by Matthew Roby1 Min Reading

Last week I spoke with Dr Kathy Cawsey, professor of English literature at Dalhousie University in Canada. Kathy is an inspiring researcher and teacher, and

Saga Places: Esja, Viðey, and Kjalnesinga saga
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Saga Places, Supernatural Stories in the Icelandic Sagas

Saga Places: Esja, Viðey, and Kjalnesinga saga

01/11/202006/02/2021 by Matthew Roby6 Min Reading

This is a short article about the character of Esja. She is a witch from Kjalnesinga saga, the only saga set in Iceland’s capital region.

Conversation with the Reykjavik Grapevine
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Conversation with the Reykjavik Grapevine

31/10/202006/02/2021 by Matthew Roby1 Min Reading

This week I met with Jess Distill from the Reykjavík Grapevine to discuss my research on the medieval Icelandic sagas. See our conversation about witches,

Sexual Assault by a Zombie: The Case of Heiðarvíga saga
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Supernatural Stories in the Icelandic Sagas

Sexual Assault by a Zombie: The Case of Heiðarvíga saga

31/10/202006/02/2021 by Matthew Roby6 Min Reading

This is an article about a sexual assault by a zombie in Heiðarvíga saga, which reveals aspects of the sexual ideology of medieval Iceland. *Trigger

About This Site

I will be using this blog to post about aspects of my research as a medievalist that I find especially fascinating. This will include brief summaries and analyses of medieval texts from Iceland and throughout Europe, with a particular focus on narratives about sexuality, monsters, or both.

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Matthew Roby - Old Norse Blog

6 days ago

Matthew Roby - Old Norse Blog
Cheese theft, arson, and murder on the ice. Check out my latest video with The Reykjavík Grapevine about the famous Njáls saga. ... See MoreSee Less

Saga Stories #4: Njáls Saga

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Join Dr Matthew Roby on a trip to the countryside around the town of Hvolsvöllur in south-east Iceland, as he walks you through three stories from perhaps th...
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Retweet on TwitterDr Matthew Roby Retweeted
AvatarLee-Anne Fox 😍🇮🇸📚☕@Avid_eva·
21 Feb

@MatthewHRoby Loved your retelling of Njáls Saga from on location, alongside Art's masterful cinematography, it really is a great & much appreciated & enjoyed pairing! Is there a side-by-side English/Icelandic publication of the Poetic Edda that you'd recommend? Takk aftur!😍🇮🇸📚

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matthewharoldroby

matthewharoldroby
Last summer, I visited the farm and church at Mö Last summer, I visited the farm and church at Möðruvellir in Eyjafjörður, North Iceland. This location is associated with an incredibly important fourteenth-century manuscript called Möðruvallabók, the largest medieval collection of Íslendingasögur (Icelandic family sagas) in existence. The precise origins of the manuscript are unknown, but we know it was in the possession of the family who owned Möðruvellir no later than the seventeenth century. 

Not only does this manuscript contain exclusively Icelandic family sagas, which substantiates the notion that these texts were recognised as generically distinct in the Middle Ages, but also it contains some sagas and saga episodes that are not attested in any other medieval manuscript. Without Möðruvallabók, our knowledge of this dazzling narrative tradition – unique among European literatures of the period – would be significantly hampered.
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#medievalist #medievalliterature #íslendingasögur #icelandicsagas #icelandicliterature #medievalscholar #möðruvellir #möðruvallakirkja #möðruvallabók #eyjafjörður #eyjafjordur #northiceland #northiceland🇮🇸 #visitnorthiceland #norðurland
Looking back at 2020, I am very happy to have been Looking back at 2020, I am very happy to have been featured in this book on masculinity in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, alongside many eminent scholars. My chapter “The Licit Love Visit” discusses the connection between pre-marital sex and male maturation in the medieval Icelandic imagination, with particular reference to saga episodes in which young men have temporary love affairs with troll-women. I am especially grateful to Gareth Lloyd-Evans and Jessica Hancock for putting together this terrific volume!
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#oldnorseliterature #oldnorse #icelandicliterature #icelandicsagas #icelandicsaga #medievalliterature #medievalscholar #medievalscholars
Þingvellir is the historical location of the Icel Þingvellir is the historical location of the Icelandic parliament, founded c.930. For saga stories set here, check out my most recent blog post, which includes a video I made with @rvkgrapevine. 
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#thingvellir #thingvellirnationalpark #þingvellir #þingvellirnationalpark #lögberg #öxarárfoss #oxararfoss #icelandicsagas #iceland #iceland🇮🇸 #icelandicnature #visiticeland #visiticeland🇮🇸 #iceland2020 #ísland
I'm grateful to be featured in the most recent vol I'm grateful to be featured in the most recent volume of Saga-Book, published by The Viking Society for Northern Research. My paper "Menopausal Marvels" discusses elderly female sexuality in medieval Icelandic literature, with particular reference to the fascinating figure of Þórgunna in Eyrbyggja saga.
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#eyrbyggjasaga #icelandicsagas #icelandicsaga #medievalliterature #medievalist #medievalscholar #íslendingasögur
Pictures from the beautiful isle of Viðey. To lea Pictures from the beautiful isle of Viðey. To learn more about a medieval saga thought to have been written here, check out my latest blog post! [Link in Bio]
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#viðey #videy #videyisland #viðeyisland #kjalnesingasaga #icelandicsagas #icelandicsaga #medievalliterature #sagasoficelanders #íslendingasögur #esja #reykjavikiceland🇮🇸 #reykjavík #reykjavíkiceland #reykjavikiceland #literatureblog #literatureblogger #medievalist #medievalistsofig #scholars #medievalscholar
Day hike on Esja, the beautiful mountain overlooki Day hike on Esja, the beautiful mountain overlooking Reykjavík. If you want to know about the witch who lived here, check out my latest blog post about Kjalnesinga saga [link in Bio] 🏔️ 🇮🇸 
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#esja #kjalnesingasaga #icelandicsagas #medievalliterature #sagasoficelanders #icelandicliterature #visitreykjavik #witchesinliterature #magicinliterature #reykjavík #reykjavikiceland #reykjavíkiceland #reykjavikiceland🇮🇸 #iloveiceland #icelandlove #icelandlover #icelandlovers #icelandlovers🇮🇸 #iloveiceland❤️🇮🇸 #iloveiceland❤️
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