Nordic folklore in the Passio Olavi: A possible story of bergtagning in the hagiographic legend about Saint Óláfr
The miracle n. 39 of the Passio Olavi, a 12th-century hagiographic legend, tells the story of a Norwegian woodcutter who is attracted by two beautiful women into a cave, where he finds a throng of feasters and merrymakers. However, when the young man refuses the offers of food and drink, the scene s...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Morcelliana
2021
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| In: |
Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni
Year: 2021, Volume: 87, Issue: 1, Pages: 264-284 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Passio Olavi
/ Rapture
/ Mountain
/ Germanic peoples
/ Mythology
/ Reinterpretation
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| IxTheo Classification: | BD Ancient European religions CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations CD Christianity and Culture KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia KCD Hagiography; saints |
| Further subjects: | B
Agiografia
B Demonology B Church B Óláfr il Santo B Norway B bergtagning B Folklore B Norvegia B Hagiography B Óláfr the Saint B Loggers |
| Summary: | The miracle n. 39 of the Passio Olavi, a 12th-century hagiographic legend, tells the story of a Norwegian woodcutter who is attracted by two beautiful women into a cave, where he finds a throng of feasters and merrymakers. However, when the young man refuses the offers of food and drink, the scene suddenly changes; sulphurous flames erupt from the floor of the cave, while its occupants reveal themselves as devils and evil spirits. In aid of the woodcutter comes the providential intervention of Óláfr the Saint: invoked by the boy, the saint appears in the cave, putting the devils to flight and then taking the young man back home. Although the miracle is usually included in the category of "miraculous release of prisoners", one of Saint Óláfr's specializations, it shows many similarities with the folkloric motif of bergtagning or "taking into the mountain", a widespread and characteristic motif in modern Nordic folklore, in which a person is kidnapped or lured by supernatural beings inside a hill or a mountain, from which he will not be able to get out unless with difficulty and often reporting severe psycho-physical impairments. Through an in-depth comparative analysis, the contribution therefore highlights the way in which, in the Passio Olavi, such a folkloric motif has been adapted (and essentially Christianized) with a didactic-pastoral purpose: keeping the faithful away from a belief unacceptable for the Church due to its pagan origins. (English) |
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| ISSN: | 2611-8742 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni
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