195
usage, unlike his medieval and Viking-Age
predecessors. In all of these depictions, the
vocabulary used to translate and discuss
berserkir devolves to the concepts of frenzy
and battle madness. Translating ON
berserkr
as
Present
Day
English
‘berserker’
immediately suggests wildness and frenzy,
while President Day English ‘champion’
encompasses many of the historical roles and
literary activities of
berserkir. Similarly, ON
berserksgangr is always translated as ‘berserk
fit’ or ‘berserk frenzy’ and it is difficult to find
an alternative translation that fits the sense of
the component elements of ON
berserksgangr
without straying into the realms of the overly
mystical (with translations like ‘way of the
berserkr’). While ‘berserk fit’ may be
appropriate
in
some
cases,
as
when
berserksgangr is used to refer to illness rather
than the activities of
berserkir, a better, less
semantically loaded, if somewhat awkward,
translation
may
be
‘the
champion’s
movements’. It cannot be doubted that the
choice of vocabulary can steer the analysis
subconsciously and thus alternative modes of
expression need to
be found if further research
into
berserkir is to be pursued effectively. This
thesis has begun that process with its three
models of
berserkir and its call for greater
precision.
Works Cited
Sources
Egils saga = Sigurður Nordal (ed.). 1933.
Egils saga
Skalla-Grímssonar. Íslenzk fornrit 2. Reykjavík: Hið
íslenzka fornritafélag.
Germania = Tacitus, Cornelius. 1970.
Agricola,
Germania, Dialogus. Trans. Hutton, M. and
Peterson, W. Rev. by Ogilvie, R.M., Warmington,
E.H. and Winterbottom, M. Loeb Classical Library
35. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ívens saga = In Kalinke, Marianne E. (ed. and trans.).
1999.
Norse Romance: The Knights of the Round
Table II. Arthurian Archives 4. Cambridge: D.S.
Brewer. Pp. 33–102.
Haraldskvæði = In Fulk, R.D. (ed.). 2012.
Skaldic
Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages: Poetry
from the Kings’ Sagas 1, from mythical times to c.
1035. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 91–117.
Hávamál, = Evans, David A.H. (ed.). 1986.
Hávamál.
London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
NGL = Keyser, R., & P.A. Munch (eds.). 1846–1895.
Norges Gamle Love indtil 1387. Christiania:
Grondahl.
Njáls saga = Einar Ól. Sveinsson (ed.). 1954.
Brennu-
Njáls saga. Íslenzk Fornrit 12. Reykjavík: Hið
Íslenzka Fornritafélag.
Óláfs saga = Snorri Sturluson. 2002.
Heimskringla II.
Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. Íslenzk Fornrit 27.
Reykjavík: Hið Íslenzka Fornritafélag.
Vatnsdœla saga = Einar Ól. Sveinsson (ed.). 1939.
Vatnsdœla saga, Hallfreðar saga, Kormáks saga,
Hrómundar
þáttr
halta,
Hrafns
þáttr
Guðrúnarsonar. Íslenzk Fornrit 8. Reykjavík: Hið
Íslenzka Fornritafélag.
Literature
Blaney, Benjamin. 1982. “The Berserk Suitor: The
Literary Application of a Stereotyped Theme”.
Scandinavian Studies 54: 279–294.
Breen, Gerard. 1999.
The Berserkr in Old Norse and
Icelandic Literature. Unpublished PhD dissertation.
Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Danielli, Mary. 1945. “Initiation Ceremonial from
Norse Literature”.
Folklore 56(2): 229–245.
Fabing, Howard. 1956. “On Going Berserk: A
Neurochemical Enquiry”.
The Scientific Monthly
83(5): 232–237.
Grøn, Fredrik. 1929. “Berserksgangens vesen og
årsaksforhold: En medisinsk-historisk studie”. In
Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab
Forhandlinger og Skrifter 4. Trondhjem: Bruns
Bokhandel.
Hauck,
Karl.
2011.
“Machttaten Odins. Die
Chiffrenwelt der Brakteaten und die Methoden ihrer
Auswertung”.
In
Die
Goldbrakteaten
der
Völkerwanderungszeit – Auswertung und Neufunde.
Ed. Wilhelm Heizmann and Morten Axboe. Berlin:
de Gruyter. Pp. 1–60.
Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte. 2009. “A Brotherhood
of Feasting and Campaigning: The Success of the
Northern Warrior”. In
From Ephesos to Dalecarlia:
Reflections on Body, Space and Time in Medieval
and Early Modern Europe. Ed. E. Regner, C. von
Heijne, L. Kitzler Áhfeldt & A. Kjellström.
Stockholm Studies in Archaeology 48. Stockholm:
The Museum of National Antiquities. Pp. 43–56.
Höfler, Otto. 1934.
Kultische Geheimbünde der
Germanen. Frankfurt: Moritz Diesterweg.
Liberman, Anatoly. 2004. “
Berserkir: A Double
Legend”.
Brathair 4.2: 97–101.
Peuckert, Will-Erich. 1988.
Geheimkulte. München:
Wilhelm Heyne.
Poestion, Josef Calasanz. 1884.
Aus Hellas, Rom und
Thule: Cultur- und Literaturbilder. 2
nd
edn. Leipzig:
Friedrich.
Robinson, James. 2004.
The Lewis Chessmen. London:
British Museum Press.
Schübeler, F. C. 1885.
Viridarium Norvegicum: Norges
Væxtrige : Et bidrag til Nord-Europas Natur- og
Culturhistorie I. Kristiania: Fabritius.
Shay, Jonathan. 2003.
Achilles in Vietnam: Combat
Trauma and the Undoing of Character. London:
Scribner.