Minni and Muninn: Memory in Medieval Nordic Culture ed. by Pernille Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, and Agnes S. Arnórsdóttir (review)

The volume is a collection of ten articles dealing with various aspects of memory studies in medieval Nordic culture and society. It is divided into two sections: "Memory and Narration" and "Memory and History" with five articles in each. The first section treats the usage and value of memory studies with regard to Old Norse literature and myth.

In the first essay, Pernille Hermann examines and analyzes the mnemonic techniques used in the Old Norse medieval world on the basis of the Old Norse sources. Drawing on examples taken from texts from various literary genres of Old Norse literature which relate to aspects of memory, Hermann analyzes the relationships among memory and wisdom, intelligence and learning, memory as a storehouse of knowledge, and mnemonic techniques such as the use of images, places, and individuals to help remember things, as well as the role of forgetting and the relationship between memory and a written text. Based on her wide knowledge of the subject, Hermann analyzes the purposes of these mnemonic techniques in medieval Iceland in a concise and clear manner, opening various gates for further studies in the field.

In the second essay, John Lindow also considers the techniques of memory, but with a focus on mythology. He is concerned primarily with the fundamental role of memory in the preservation of mythological cultural heritage represented by what he calls "sites of memory." He does not consider the æsir and jötnar as representatives of the definite antagonists and enemies of traditional scholarly discussion, but rather as two groups within the same society or community competing for power through various kinds of ritual activity. Based on the Völuspá version of ragnarök, Lindow distinguishes among four different stages of mnemonic techniques or "sites of memory": a) the gathering of the gods after ragnarök, b) the use of objects, c) the use of places, and finally d) rituals involving only the æsir once the jötnar have disappeared from the scene. Thus, while Völuspá shows the disappearance of the old cosmos and the beginning of a new one after ragnarök, it also stresses how mnemonic techniques may help preserve the cultural heritage of the old.

In the third essay, Margaret Clunies Ross tackles the methods used by the medieval skalds to emphasize the veracity of their material while both creating and highlighting cultural memory. She concludes that, unlike an eye-witness, personal memories and references to forn minni (ancient memories) needed no strict proof of authenticity. The essay is remarkable for its discussion of the impact of Christianity on skaldic royal praise-poetry, especially the poetry concerning Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr Haraldsson.

In the fourth article, Kate Heslop focuses on two words, minni (memory) and minna (to remind, remember), as they appear in the skaldic, Eddic, and runic textual sources, and examines their usage in each genre in order to define how they may have served as a memory technique, considering the degree to which they relate to Assman's concepts of communicative or cultural memory. Unfortunately, not included is a discussion of the verb muna (remember), which is of much importance in this context and might have been useful to consider as part of the research. The essay is a compact piece of research but somewhat complex in style.

The last article in this section of the book is by Russell Poole, who examines autobiographical memory-texts, in which he sees two main strands: the relation of an autobiographical episode on the one hand and a catalogue of deeds on the other. By comparing various skaldic sources in which these characteristics can be identified to Pouchenie Ditiam (Instruction for My Children), the memories of the Grand Prince of the Kievan Rus Vladimir...