Symbolic meanings of the human body in The Old Norwegian Homily Book
This paper attempts to show that the human body is a recurring symbol in The Old Norwegian Homily Book, AM 619 4to, thus situating everyday human experience in the midst of the theological exposition. The symbolic meanings inherent in the body motif are ambivalent within the corpus.
Five of the texts of the corpus contains the Biblical comparison of the body’s physical need for food to the soul’s spiritual need for The Word of God. Additionally, celebrating feasts by eating good food symbolize nurturing the inner, spiritual life. On the other hand, eating is also used as a metaphor for sinning. The dead or dying body is also a central symbol in The Old Norwegian Homily Book. The bodily sacrifice of the martyrs giving their lives for Christ, serve as a symbol for the suppression of evil desires, whereas the dead bodies of the parishioners’ forefathers in the churchyard serve as examples of leading either a sinful life or a good Christian life. Finally, at the core of the symbolic universe of The Old Norwegian Homily Book, we find the body of Christ, carrying within it several central theological doctrines, such as the belief in the salvation of the human soul as well as the human body.
Considering the importance The Old Norwegian Homily Book most likely held in the 13th century church in Bjǫrgvin, both serving as a textbook for pastoral training (Berg 2010), and being an early compilation of religious texts written in Norse, the native tongue, the corpus provides an unique insight into religious believes in medieval Norway. Consequently it is suggested that the religious understanding of the body in medieval Norway is neither solely negative nor positive, as evident in the symbolic utilization of the body inThe Old Norwegian Homily Book.
Five of the texts of the corpus contains the Biblical comparison of the body’s physical need for food to the soul’s spiritual need for The Word of God. Additionally, celebrating feasts by eating good food symbolize nurturing the inner, spiritual life. On the other hand, eating is also used as a metaphor for sinning. The dead or dying body is also a central symbol in The Old Norwegian Homily Book. The bodily sacrifice of the martyrs giving their lives for Christ, serve as a symbol for the suppression of evil desires, whereas the dead bodies of the parishioners’ forefathers in the churchyard serve as examples of leading either a sinful life or a good Christian life. Finally, at the core of the symbolic universe of The Old Norwegian Homily Book, we find the body of Christ, carrying within it several central theological doctrines, such as the belief in the salvation of the human soul as well as the human body.
Considering the importance The Old Norwegian Homily Book most likely held in the 13th century church in Bjǫrgvin, both serving as a textbook for pastoral training (Berg 2010), and being an early compilation of religious texts written in Norse, the native tongue, the corpus provides an unique insight into religious believes in medieval Norway. Consequently it is suggested that the religious understanding of the body in medieval Norway is neither solely negative nor positive, as evident in the symbolic utilization of the body inThe Old Norwegian Homily Book.
Publisert i The 10th annual Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North, 2021
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