Marriage Choice and Fate: Icelandic and Norse Literature Destigmatizing the Medieval Damsel
Location
Ponderosa Room A
Presentation Type
Presentation
Presentation Topic
Medieval literature, women's autonomy, marriage choice
Start Date
6-3-2026 2:30 PM
Event Sort Order
35
Abstract
This paper examines the autonomy medieval Norse women had in their choice of spouse and within their marriages and how that is exhibited within classic sagas such as Volsunga Saga and Laxdaela Saga. Contrary to stereotypes regarding medieval women, many of these Norse women not only had agency within their marriage customs and laws, but their level of agency within these sagas often correlated with the fates of those around them. Rather than being damsels, they are fate changers. To examine this concept, this paper considers historical accounts of Norse laws and customs regarding betrothal, marriage, and divorce alongside the two sagas. This is then categorized by the levels of agency exhibited by female characters within the sagas when choosing their marriage, ranging from no choice, to coercion, to reluctant acceptance, to true acceptance, and how those levels correspond with how tragic the fate of the tale is. Following that, categories of agency within unwanted marriages are examined, including divorce, hvöt (incitement), and murder, the level of severity of each tending to correspond with both the ending of the tale and the level each woman was forced into the marriage. Far from damsels in need of saving, these women pave their own path forward with the legal and social rights they have, their agency and the autonomy they are allowed determining not just their happiness, but the survival of themselves and those around them.
Marriage Choice and Fate: Icelandic and Norse Literature Destigmatizing the Medieval Damsel
Ponderosa Room A
This paper examines the autonomy medieval Norse women had in their choice of spouse and within their marriages and how that is exhibited within classic sagas such as Volsunga Saga and Laxdaela Saga. Contrary to stereotypes regarding medieval women, many of these Norse women not only had agency within their marriage customs and laws, but their level of agency within these sagas often correlated with the fates of those around them. Rather than being damsels, they are fate changers. To examine this concept, this paper considers historical accounts of Norse laws and customs regarding betrothal, marriage, and divorce alongside the two sagas. This is then categorized by the levels of agency exhibited by female characters within the sagas when choosing their marriage, ranging from no choice, to coercion, to reluctant acceptance, to true acceptance, and how those levels correspond with how tragic the fate of the tale is. Following that, categories of agency within unwanted marriages are examined, including divorce, hvöt (incitement), and murder, the level of severity of each tending to correspond with both the ending of the tale and the level each woman was forced into the marriage. Far from damsels in need of saving, these women pave their own path forward with the legal and social rights they have, their agency and the autonomy they are allowed determining not just their happiness, but the survival of themselves and those around them.
Presenter Bio
Ella Ferguson is a senior at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She is a double major in Political Science and English with a minor in Public Law. Next year, she plans to attend law school, most likely at the Nebraska Law College in Lincoln.