Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Visual and Verbal Art: Orality, Poetry, and Representation
in Classical Greek and Old Norse Narratives
Introduction: Weaving a Text
Weaving and Gender
Weaving as a Sign of the Feminine
Mythical Spinners
Weaving as a Literary Technique
Visual Poetry
Female Literary Weavers: Athena and Arachne
Penelope
Helen, Guðrún, and Brynhildr
Woven Tragedies
Women Weaving Texts and Textiles
Chapter 2: Culture, Gender, and Storytelling
Weaving as Performance
Performance and Gender
Nordic Figurative Weavings
Weaving a Text
Weaving in a Feminine Setting
An Introduction to The Saga of the Völsungs
Chapter 3: Visual Poetry, Weaving Meaning: Micronarratives in the
Nordic Oral Tradition
A Reading of the Överhogdal Tapestry
Tapestry 1a
Brynhildr
The Tree
The Ships
Gunnarr
Fáfnir
The Hall
Tapestry 1b
Concluding Remarks
Epilogue: Saint Birgitta and Gendered Verbal Performance in
the Scandinavian Middle Ages
Bibliography
Index
