A Past that Never Was: Examining Vikings in the Medieval ‘Dane saga’ of Breda - Christian Cooijmans

On Thursday 27 November at 5.15pm GMT, the Scandinavian Studies seminar series will be joined by Dr Christian Cooijmans (Oslo) who will give a talk on 'A Past that Never Was: Examining Vikings in the Late Medieval ‘Dane saga’ of Breda'.

Tucked away in the present-day southern Netherlands, the historic town of Breda has long been home to a unique late medieval manuscript, whose contents represent an offbeat pastiche of premodern literary imagination. Customarily known by the name Dane saga (‘Denensage’), its verse text narrates how a group of ‘vikings’ – originally bound for Aberdeen – found their way to Breda, established a fortress there, and wreaked havoc across the region for thirty years. In doing so, the work exemplifies how memories of a bygone viking past – both real and imagined – served a continued role in the development of urban social memory in the late medieval Low Countries. Placing the Dane saga in its social and cultural context, this paper will explore its wide-ranging narrative influences, determine its potential authorship, and examine why it was produced in the first place.

The talk will take place in person in room CB009, 50-52 College Bounds, and will be streamed over Teams. Please note that the link will be posted here before the event - no need to sign up.

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