Jómsvikings - History and Tradition

The "Jómsvikings - tradition and history" project has been established to renew research on Jómsvikinga saga and the whole tradition that lies behind the narrative. The projects focus on saga itself and on all potential features, decisive for rise and sha pe of the legend, the saga is part of. It gathers various specialists: historians, historians of literature, linguistics and archeologists. Their common work within the project should reveal fully diversity and complexity of the legend of Jómsvikings and Jomsborg and its numerous, literary, historical, social and political, contexts. My part of the project is first, to translate Jómsvikinga saga into Polish, second, to do research on various historical features that would have influenced creation and char acter of the saga. Translation of the saga will be based on redaction preserved in manuscript AM 291 4to and will be the first ever Polish edition of Jómsvikinga saga. Thus it will be available for both academics and general reader, more and more interest ed in Icelandic sagas and history of the North, especially the Vikings. Importantly, it can happen in full association with new kind of interdisciplinary studies of the whole legend, that have just been established. My future research within the project w ill elaborate deeper the question of potential influence of political affairs in Scandinavia in 12th century on development of the saga. I will pay special attention to following topics: Danish activity in Slavic territories, military and political encoun ters with Pomeranian and Polish rulers, royal power and royal court in Scandinavia. In effect, I hope to show that Jómsvikinga saga reflex political situation in the North in 12th century. My one month stay in Oslo would be sufficient part of my work. The university library would secure full access to subject literature. Stay in Oslo would also enable me contact with specialist in history of medieval North and Old Norse literature.