The Cold Counsel: The Women in Old Norse Literature and Myth (Garland reference library of the humanities) [Hardcover]

Sarah M. Anderson (Editor), Karen Swenson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0815319665 | ISBN-13: 978-0815319665 | Publication Date: December 21, 2001

Cold Counsel is the only collection devoted to the place of women in Old Norse literature and culture. It draws upon the disciplines of history, sociology, feminism, ethnography and psychoanalysis in order to raise fresh questions about such new subjects as gender, class, sexuality, family structure and ideology in medieval Iceland.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah M. Anderson teaches in the Department of English at Princeton University, and Karen Swenson teaches at Virginia Tech University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (December 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815319665
• ISBN-13: 978-0815319665
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,215,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding collection of essays on Norse women, November 12, 2004

By 

Gunnvor (McDade, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cold Counsel: The Women in Old Norse Literature and Myth (Garland reference library of the humanities) (Hardcover)

"Cold Counsel" is an outstanding collection of essays on Norse women. I found many of the articles thought-provoking and informative. It's still very difficult to find good information on Viking Age women - some of the best research is only published as journal articles, and it's only in the past 4-5 years that books on the topic of Norse women have begun to appear. This volume is fairly expensive, but very well worth it for anyone studying women in the Viking Age. Articles include:

(1) Introduction: "og eru köld kvenna ráð"; (2) "En hon er blandin mjök": Women and Insults in Old Norse Literature; (3) Hildigunnr's Lament; (4) Women's Voices in Old Norse Literature: The Case of Trójumanna saga; (5) Taming the Shrew: The Rise of Patriarchy and the Subordination of the Feminine in Old Norse Literature; (6) The Re-emergence of Women's Voices in Icelandic Literature, 1500-1800; (7) Vikings Westward to Vinland: The Problem of Women; (8) "Þegi Þú, Þórr!": Gender, Class, and Discourse in Þrymskviða; (9) Fathers, Mothers, and Daughters: "Hver er að ráða?"; (10) A Good Day's Work: Laxdoela saga, ch. 49; (11) Women's Counsel in the Riddarasögur: The Case of Parcevals saga; (12) The Woman Who Knows: Female Characters of Eyrbyggja saga; (13) Male Bonding, Female Body: The Absenting of Woman in "Bisclaretz ljóð"; (14) Ambiguously Gendered: The Skalds Jórunn, Auðr and Steinunn; (15) Women Outside: Discourse of Community in Hávamál; (16) Saga World and Nineteenth-Century Iceland: The Case of Women Farmers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New Takes on an Overlooked Topic, May 7, 2004

By 

Ninthnight (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cold Counsel: The Women in Old Norse Literature and Myth (Garland reference library of the humanities) (Hardcover)

As far as Garland compliations go, this is one of the better ones. Collected essays span topics from goddesses and eddic lore to the roles of everyday women in the sagas. A couple exceptional articles, many quite good, an essay wrought with 1970's feminist theory I honestly could not wade through. Overall worth a read for divergent takes on Women in Norse Culture.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Work, August 2, 2004

By 

A Patriotic Professor "universityprofessor2293" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cold Counsel: The Women in Old Norse Literature and Myth (Garland reference library of the humanities) (Hardcover)

This is a terrific study of an often overlooked subject. Truly groundbreaking work in fact. If you are trying to understand women in literature, this is a great study to look at.