Att se och tänka med ritual: kontrakterande ritualer i de isländska släktsagorna
(2006) In Vägar till Midgård- Abstract
- To make it possible to classify an action as a ritual act we need to know exactly what constitutes it. In this thesis I try, with the aid from literature of the field called ritual studies and the sagas of Icelanders, to sort out what these constituent elements best should consist of if we want to use the term ritual as an analytical tool in the production of knowledge with scientific criteria. Rituals have a transformative capacity to change the social status of people or objects. Perhaps the most obvious example of the transformative quality of a ritual is the circumcision of boys.
In the thesis I will proceed from the sagas of Icelanders, and especially Njáls saga, to discuss the possibility of sorting out ritual... (More) - To make it possible to classify an action as a ritual act we need to know exactly what constitutes it. In this thesis I try, with the aid from literature of the field called ritual studies and the sagas of Icelanders, to sort out what these constituent elements best should consist of if we want to use the term ritual as an analytical tool in the production of knowledge with scientific criteria. Rituals have a transformative capacity to change the social status of people or objects. Perhaps the most obvious example of the transformative quality of a ritual is the circumcision of boys.
In the thesis I will proceed from the sagas of Icelanders, and especially Njáls saga, to discuss the possibility of sorting out ritual actions that establish a social contract. Three rituals of contracts are in focus, the oath, the handshake and giving gifts. The ritual acts in the sagas of Icelanders established a social contract between people with a moral and a political duty to fulfil. When discussing the sagas of Icelanders I will also show how rituals, alliances, contracts, places, and important social values interact in an intricate way in the society of the saga.
When focusing on rituals in social sciences, one needs to know what a ritual is, and hopefully this thesis will be a small contribution to that purpose. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
I avhandlingen utvecklas en begreppsapparat som syftar till att utvidga vetenskapens möjligheter att studera människors formaliserade praktik i såväl religiösa som profana sammanhang. Begreppet ritual blir en term att se och tänka med. Författaren applicerar sin begreppsapparat på de medeltida isländska släktsagorna där skapandet av allianser mellan personer är ett viktigt tema, och att till exempel svära eder, ge gåvor och bekräfta överenskommelser med handslag har en central roll.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/24353
- author
- Habbe, Peter LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Dr phil Schødt, Jens Peter, Aarhus universitet
- organization
- publishing date
- 2006
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Non-Christian religions, Humaniora, Humanities, Social Contracts, Sagas of Icelanders, Njáls saga, History of Religions, Ritual Studies, Världsreligioner (ej kristendom)
- in
- Vägar till Midgård
- pages
- 277 pages
- publisher
- General History and Anthropology of Religions
- defense location
- Edens hörsal, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Paradisgatan 5 H, Lund
- defense date
- 2006-01-28 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1650-5905
- ISBN
- 91-89116-79-8
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: General History and Anthropology of Religions (015017030)
- id
- c6d7bf16-2cc2-4ba6-9032-e22f8dea5f83 (old id 24353)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 15:58:56
- date last changed
- 2019-05-24 08:18:29
@phdthesis{c6d7bf16-2cc2-4ba6-9032-e22f8dea5f83, abstract = {{To make it possible to classify an action as a ritual act we need to know exactly what constitutes it. In this thesis I try, with the aid from literature of the field called ritual studies and the sagas of Icelanders, to sort out what these constituent elements best should consist of if we want to use the term ritual as an analytical tool in the production of knowledge with scientific criteria. Rituals have a transformative capacity to change the social status of people or objects. Perhaps the most obvious example of the transformative quality of a ritual is the circumcision of boys.<br/><br> <br/><br> In the thesis I will proceed from the sagas of Icelanders, and especially Njáls saga, to discuss the possibility of sorting out ritual actions that establish a social contract. Three rituals of contracts are in focus, the oath, the handshake and giving gifts. The ritual acts in the sagas of Icelanders established a social contract between people with a moral and a political duty to fulfil. When discussing the sagas of Icelanders I will also show how rituals, alliances, contracts, places, and important social values interact in an intricate way in the society of the saga.<br/><br> <br/><br> When focusing on rituals in social sciences, one needs to know what a ritual is, and hopefully this thesis will be a small contribution to that purpose.}}, author = {{Habbe, Peter}}, isbn = {{91-89116-79-8}}, issn = {{1650-5905}}, keywords = {{Non-Christian religions; Humaniora; Humanities; Social Contracts; Sagas of Icelanders; Njáls saga; History of Religions; Ritual Studies; Världsreligioner (ej kristendom)}}, language = {{swe}}, publisher = {{General History and Anthropology of Religions}}, school = {{Lund University}}, series = {{Vägar till Midgård}}, title = {{Att se och tänka med ritual: kontrakterande ritualer i de isländska släktsagorna}}, year = {{2006}}, }