Résumé
The static form in which Norse mythology has come down to us belies its original, fluid and highly contextualised setting as spoken tales, and we thereby risk misunderstandings in their interpretation. Many of these stories concern what might be termed the invisible population of the North – the elves, dwarves, trolls, and spirits of various kinds – who were not regarded as supernatural creatures but simply as Others with whom the Scandinavians shared their world. This lecture discusses the borders of what it meant to be human, concepts of (supra)nature, and the non-human world of animals, all linked in themes of posthumanism and personhood.
