Virtual Exhibition Launch: Old Norse Literature in Time and Space

I'm delighted to announce an upcoming seminar that will mark the launch of a new virtual exhibition Reception and Reinvention: Old Norse in Time and Space (25th February 2021, on Zoom). This exhibition, which we have curated in partnership with the National Museum of Iceland and the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, comprises three virtual galleries - Paired Objects, Writing Histories, and Writing Futures - through which we explore - through more than 100 items - moments in the reception history of Old Norse literature from the seventeenth century to the present day.

In Paired Objects, we bring together items from the National Museum of Iceland and the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle to tell a story about an aspect of reception history that connects them.

Writing Histories illustrates the awakening of scholarly interest in Old Norse literature in Denmark in the early modern period, when the authority of Saxo's Gesta Danorum became increasingly challenged by the rediscovery of Old Norse-Icelandic sources.

Writing Futures explores the use of the same medieval literatures in naming worlds in our solar system, from Saturn's moon Mimas, where names come from Arthurian legend, to Jupiter's moon Callisto, where names come from Norse myth.

Our launch includes exhibition presentations, and exciting lectures on aspects of reception history.

I will post more about these exhibitions soon. They represent the culmination of a two-year collaborative venture, and I can't wait for the world to see them!

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If you would like to join us for the launch, please send me an email at dale@hi.is by 20th February 2021.