The Testimony of the Hoofprints

Danish Legends about the Medieval Union Queen Margrethe

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3065337
AutoresJohn Lindow (University of California, Berkeley Scandinavian, autor correspondente)
Ano2021
Volume51
Fascículo1
Data de publicação2021-07-08
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEthnologia Europaea (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0425-4597 • E-ISSN: 1604-3030
EditoraBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.16995/ee.1899
OpenAlexW3151873980
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas10

Barbro Klein's "The Testimony of the Button" is still, fifty years after it appeared, a fundamental study of legends and legend scholarship. Inspired by Klein's article, I analyze legends about "lord and lady" Margrethe (1353-1412), who reigned for decades as the effective ruler of the medieval union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Proceeding through various groups of related legends, I show how these legends were adapted to Margrethe's anomalous status as a female war leader, including their cross-fertilization with robber legends and the use of a ruse usually associated with male protagonists. This article ends by indicating the importance of place within history as articulated in legends

Ancient history · Art · Art history · Danish · Legend · Literature · Medieval history · Political science · Ruler · Scholarship · Classics · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy