The Afterlives of an Icelandic “Foremother of Us All”: Auðr djúpauðga and the Making of Cultural Memory

Abstract

ABSTRACT: During the last few decades an increasing number of Old Norse scholars have drawn from memory studies in their analyses of texts. Yet, so far, these studies have not sufficiently considered other genres of literature besides the Íslendingasögur, such as post-medieval poetry and folk literature, in the discussion of memory. This article looks at the relation between genre and the ways in which the foremother figure Auðr djúpauðga is remembered in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century forms of popular culture as diverse as rímur, popular poetry, such as kappakvæði, vikivakakvæði, and other types of folk poetry, prayers, and þjóðsögur. The article demonstrates how various authors have created and recreated the foremother figure Auðr djúpauðga in accordance with their chosen genres.