Kristel Zilmer

Post-Doctoral fellowship (2008-2012)
The YFF Research Project “THE ‘FORGING’ OF CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY (c.820-c.1200)”


Project title:

Scandinavian Viking and Medieval Runic Inscriptions as Expressions of Christian Identity in a Transformational and Comparative Setting

Project summary:

The current project seeks to contribute new insights to the research concerning the process of Christianisation and the formation of Christian identity in Scandinavia by applying transformational and comparative perspectives while studying the runic material from the Viking Ages and the Scandinavian Middle Ages. The project has the following main purposes: 1) Provide a nuanced understanding of runic inscriptions as expressions of Christian identity in the Scandinavian context with a particular emphasis laid upon the analysis of rune stones; 2) Analyse the inscriptions’ manner of manifesting Christian identity in a transformative and comparative setting by a) studying the rune stone inscriptions in relation to other types of runic inscriptions (both contemporary and later), so as to trace parallels, differences, transitions, regional and local variations; and b) bringing in comparative perspectives between the Scandinavian runic material and the birch-bark letters from northern Russia with regard to their principal functional and performative features.

The Christian runic inscriptions can be expected to reflect both collective social processes as well as provide evidence of the forging of individual identities that got their first form after the introduction of Christianity and underwent gradual changes and transitions during the course of time. The project will combine perspectives from different disciplines in that the interaction between the written words, visual imagery, physical objects and their contextual criteria will lie in the centre of the attention.

Select publications:

Monographs / Edited books

‘He Drowned in Holmr’s Sea – His Cargo-ship Drifted to the Sea-bottom, Only Three Came out Alive’. Records and Representations of Baltic Traffic in the Viking Age and the Early Middle Ages in Early Nordic Sources . 2005. Nordistica Tartuensia XII. Tartu: Tartu University Press. Accessible digitally at: http://www.utlib.ee/ekollekt/diss/dok/2005/b1734458x/zilmer.pdf

Kristel Zilmer (Ed.). Dialogues with Tradition: Studying the Nordic Saga Heritage. Nordistica Tartuensia. 2005. Tartu: Tartu University Press.

Kristel Zilmer & Stig Örjan Ohlsson (Eds.). Perspectives on Text and Context . Nordistica Tartuensia VIII. 2003. Tartu: Tartu University Press.

Kristne runeinnskrifter i dynamisk sammenheng: tekstuelle utviklingslinjer og kulturhistorisk kontekst .  2002. Nordistica Tartuensia VI. Tartu: Tartu University Press.

Articles

“Christian Runic Inscriptions in a Dynamic Context.” 2006. In: Gillian Fellows-Jensen, Marie Stoklund, Michael Lerche Nielsen, Bente Holmberg  (Eds.). Runes and their Secrets. Studies in Runology. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. 437-454.

“The Representation of Waterborne Traffic in Old Norse Narratives – The Case of the Baltic Sea Area.” 2006. In: Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 2. Brepols Publishers. 239-274.

“Icelandic Sagas and the Narrative Tradition of Travelogue.” 2006. In: John McKinnell, David Ashurst and Donata Kick (Eds.). The Fantastic in Old Norse/Icelandic Literature. Sagas and the British Isles. Papers of the 13th International Saga Conference, Durham and York, 6th-12th August 2006. Volume II. 1105-1113.

“The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative.” 2005. In: Kristel Zilmer (Ed.). Dialogues with Tradition: Studying the Nordic Saga Heritage. Nordistica Tartuensia. Tartu: Tartu University Press. 64-92.

“Representations of Intercultural Communication in the Sagas of Icelanders.” 2003. In: Rudolf Simek & Judith Meurer (Eds.). Scandinavia and Christian Europe in the Middle Ages. Papers of the 12th International Saga Conference, Bonn/Germany, 28th July-2nd August 2003. Bonn: Hausdruckerei der Universität Bonn. 549-556.

“Texts and Historical Tradition: A Hermeneutical Approach.” 2003. In: Kristel Zilmer & Stig Örjan Ohlsson (Eds.). 2003. Perspectives on Text and Context . Nordistica Tartuensia VIII. Tartu: Tartu University Press. 53-68.

“Nordiske runeinnskrifters opplysninger om kontakter innenfor Østersjøområdet i vikingtiden og tidlig middelalder.” 2002.  In: Svante Lagman, Stig Örjan Ohlsson, Viivika Voodla (Eds.). Svenska språkets historia i Östersjöområdet. Studier i svensk språkhistoria VII & Nordistica Tartuensia VII. Tartu: Tartu University Press, Rätt Satt Hård & Lagman HB. 25-38.

(Forthcoming)

“Vanapõhja luulekunst.” [Old Norse Poetry]. In: Akadeemia. Tartu: Eesti Kirjanike Liidu kuukiri Tartus.

“Kommunikatsioonist ja kontaktidest Läänemere piirkonnas islandlaste saagade andmetel.” [Communication and Contacts in the Baltic Region on the Basis of Sagas of Icelanders]. In: Mare Kõiva (Ed.). Sator 3: Artikleid usundi- ja kombeloost. Tartu. 27-47.

CV:

Born 1974, Tartu, Estonia. B.A. (cum laude) in Scandinavian Studies (Norwegian language and literature), University of Tartu, 1998. During the B.A. studies I completed a 2-year programme (1995-1997) at the University of Oslo. M.A. (cum laude) in Scandinavian Studies, University of Tartu, 2000. During the M.A. studies I completed a course in Nordic Viking and Medieval Culture at the Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies, University of Oslo (autumn 1999). PhD in Germanic Philology (Scandinavian Studies), University of Tartu, 2005. I have also attended a number of international courses.

At the University of Tartu, I served as a teacher of Norwegian (1997-2002); assistant lecturer of Norwegian philology (2002-2005); lecturer of Scandinavian Studies (2005-2008); and head of programme of Scandinavian Studies (2006-2008). I have taught courses in Norwegian language; Old Norse literature; Scandinavian culture and history; philological methodology and textual studies; and academic writing. I have also supervised B.A. and M.A. theses within my field. My administrative duties at the Tartu University included curricula development and management on B.A. and M.A. level as well as coordination and evaluation of study programmes.

My main field of interest has been the cultural-historical analysis of early Nordic sources, such as runic inscriptions, skaldic poetry and Icelandic sagas focusing upon their representation of travel and communication in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. My doctoral dissertation discussed the narrative imagery of travel contacts in the Baltic region as depicted by runic inscriptions, skaldic poetry, and the sagas of Icelanders and kings’ sagas. My M.A. thesis focused upon the study of Christian runic inscriptions. Currently, I am interested in the further analysis of runic inscriptions as expressions of Christian identity.

I have organised various conferences, symposiums and seminars at the University of Tartu, and presented papers at international conferences and symposiums in Europe.