Space and its domestication in Old Norse culture
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2025-5-33-54
Abstract
The concept of physical space as an abstract expanse was neither articulated nor conceptualized, indicating that it was alien to the mentality of medieval Icelanders. The lexemes associated with the concept of space depict it as limited, comprising distinct areas and inherently inhabited: heimr ‘abode, land; the region of the world or sky’ and rúm ‘room, space; a room, seat, place’. More specific were the designations of certain sections of the space: land ‘land’ and staðr ‘a stead, place, abode’. The most important aspect of all these spaces was their association with human or mythological beings. The conception of ‘boundary’ was predominantly practical; it was related to the demarcation of land property and, due to its significance, was represented by a number of terms: mörk (also a [border] forest), landamæri, landamörk, endimörk (edge). The dimensions of local spaces, their length, and the distances between specific geographical objects were defined by days of travel; that is, the distance was measured by the ‘human factor’. The space was thus perceived as being anthropomorphic. Familiarisation with a new area of space was, in some instances, accompanied by its domestication, which was achieved through various means. The most significant way to appropriate a piece of space was by assigning names to it and to the objects contained within it. In the domesticated space of the north-western part of Eastern Europe, Old Norse designations of the region and its centres predominated, whereas, in the ‘alien’ space, most place names were transliterations of local names. The domesticated space was organised through centres of power and their contraposition to the periphery (the opposition inni : úti).
About the Author
E. A. Melnikova
Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Elena A. Melnikova, Dr. of Sci. (History)
32a, Leninskij pr., Moscow, 119334
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Review
For citations:
Melnikova E.A. Space and its domestication in Old Norse culture. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2025;(5):33-54. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2025-5-33-54
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