Nov. 4-5: Old Norse Mythology Conference (Stockholm)

This year the Mythology Conference will be held in Stockholm on the 4th and 5th of November. The conference will focus on the material dimension of Norse mythology and the role played by religion in everyday life.

Photo by: Bengt A Lundberg

Myth, materiality and lived religion

This year the Mythology Conference will be held in Stockholm on the 4th and 5th of November. The title for this conference is ‘Myth, materiality, and lived religion’. The conference will focus on the material dimension of Norse mythology and the role played by religion in everyday life.

What do myths tell us about the material culture of the periods in which they were narrated? Can the mention of specific items in the myths help us to date the Eddic poems? Can material things and iconographic expressions increase our knowledge of Norse mythology? What significance did the material dimensions of the myths have for Viking Age and Medieval people both in ritual contexts and in everyday life?

Other classic issues will also be addressed, such as the question of whether the mythical traditions preserved in the medieval texts can really inform us about pre-Christian mythology and religion.

Some of the world's foremost myth scholars will speak and respond at the conference, such as Professor Margaret Clunies Ross from The University of Sydney, Professor John Lindow from The University of California, Berkeley, and Professor Rudolf Simek from The University of Bonn.

  Conference Program (73 Kb)