This lecture will examine the ways in which three principal figures of Old Norse myth have been made to signify in recent Anglo-American culture. Exploring the figures of Óðinn, Þórr and Loki (and his monstrous children) in novels, films, TV shows and operas, I will argue that these figures are indeed, as journalists like to say, ‘having a moment’ in the present-day popular imagination, in ways that differ considerably from their roles in previous nineteenth- and early twentieth-century works. The cultural functions they fulfil are closely related to their depictions in medieval sources – indeed, their ‘authenticity’ in relation to medieval source material for example is a subject of lively debate in fan communities – but these characters have also fundamentally re-tooled and re-imagined in order to reflect on key contemporary concepts such as patriarchy, masculinity, queerness, adolescence and alterity in popular discourse.
The speaker
Carolyne Larrington is Emerita Professor of medieval European literature at the University of Oxford, and Emerita Research Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford. Her research spans such fields as Old Norse literature, Arthurian studies, folklore, emotions in medieval literature and medievalism. Her most recent academic book is Approaches to Emotion in Middle English Literature (2024). She also writes books for the general reader, including The Old Norse Myths that Shape the Way We Think (2023) and two books on Game of Thrones. Her next trade book, The Little Book of Trolls, for the British Library, is published on 15 May 2025.
Programme
17.15: Welcome
17.30: Presentation
18.30: Questions and discussion
19.00: Reception
Tuesday, 4 March 2025
17.30 - 19.00
Maison des Sciences humaines, BlackBox
Please register.
LTAH is organised as a cooperative format with doctoral students from the Centre of Contemporary and Digital History and the Institute of History at the University of Luxembourg. This instance of LTAH is organised with the support of the Alumni Initiative at the University of Luxembourg.