Open AccessSigurður Árni Þórðarson, Limits and Life: Meaning and Metaphors in the Religious Language of Iceland (Peter Lang: American University Studies, 2012)
Author(s) -
Pétur Björgvin Þorsteinsson
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
nordicum-mediterraneum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1670-6242
DOI - 10.33112/nm.8.1.28
Subject(s) - bliss , destiny (iss module) , mythology , meaning (existential) , trance , history , natural (archaeology) , arson , poetry , alchemy , hubris , art history , literature , art , ancient history , sociology , archaeology , philosophy , classics , anthropology , engineering , epistemology , computer science , programming language , aerospace engineering
“How did the people think, pray and make their lives meaningful in an isolated, underground sod farm in Iceland some centuries ago? In the summer everything enjoyed the bliss of creation in an endless bosom of light nights. Even the roofs turned green and yellow in response to the gentle strokes of the bright winds in a world of pulsing restlessness. Too soon the decay of fall set in. As prey to thundering storms of winter, the inhabitants of the small houses were left to some uncertain destiny. Above, the threats hovered in the sky. All around the forces of natural evil came closer. The world of myths creped into the minds and bones. Like a beast awakened from a summer trance, a precarious world suddenly echoed its appearance in the stories, the nannies’ warnings, the poems recited, and the religion practiced.” (p.51)