The Testimony of the Hoofprints

Danish Legends about the Medieval Union Queen Margrethe

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3065337
AutoresJohn Lindow (University of California, Berkeley Scandinavian, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen51
Número1
Fecha de publicación2021-07-08
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEthnologia Europaea (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0425-4597 • E-ISSN: 1604-3030
EditorialBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.16995/ee.1899
OpenAlexW3151873980
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias 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