"Svá daufr orðinn, at hann mátti eigi heyra": a critical exploration of depictions of deaf and non-speaking characters in medieval Icelandic literature.
Saved in:
| Title: | "Svá daufr orðinn, at hann mátti eigi heyra": a critical exploration of depictions of deaf and non-speaking characters in medieval Icelandic literature. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Hardonk, Stefan C1, Tirosh, Yoav1 |
| Source: | Journal of Deaf Studies & Deaf Education. Jul2025, Vol. 30 Issue 3, p384-395. 12p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Culture, *Communities, *Multilingualism, *Communication, *Hearing, *Case studies, Deafness & psychology, Stereotypes, Icelanders, Linguistics, Social status, Social isolation |
| Geographic Terms: | Iceland |
| Abstract: | This article revisits the polarities of oralist and cultural-linguistic approaches to deaf identities through the perspective of the medieval Icelandic sagas, a product of mainly the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. Through a historically informed close reading of the Sagas of Early Icelanders corpus, 5 saga episodes were selected for further analysis with regard to the meaning of being deaf and/or non-speaking and intersections with other social categories like gender and class. This study suggests diverse ways in which being deaf and/or non-speaking was given meaning before the advent of oralism and the establishment of Deaf communities in Iceland, that is, as traits that lead to social exclusion as well as a part of the identities of individuals with considerable social status. An intersectional perspective shows male deaf characters exerting control over their lives and yielding political power, while deaf and non-speaking women are more portrayed as disenfranchised, regardless of their social class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Deaf Studies & Deaf Education is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | This article revisits the polarities of oralist and cultural-linguistic approaches to deaf identities through the perspective of the medieval Icelandic sagas, a product of mainly the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. Through a historically informed close reading of the Sagas of Early Icelanders corpus, 5 saga episodes were selected for further analysis with regard to the meaning of being deaf and/or non-speaking and intersections with other social categories like gender and class. This study suggests diverse ways in which being deaf and/or non-speaking was given meaning before the advent of oralism and the establishment of Deaf communities in Iceland, that is, as traits that lead to social exclusion as well as a part of the identities of individuals with considerable social status. An intersectional perspective shows male deaf characters exerting control over their lives and yielding political power, while deaf and non-speaking women are more portrayed as disenfranchised, regardless of their social class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 10814159 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/jdsade/enaf006 |
