Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum: Origins, Reception and Significance(Studies in Medieval History and Culture)

Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum is one of the most important accounts documenting the history, geography and ethnology of Northern and Central-Eastern Europe in the period between the ninth and eleventh centuries. Its author, a canon of the archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, remains an almost anonymous figure but his text is an essential source for the study of the early medieval Baltic. However, despite its undisputed status, past scholarship has tended to treat Adam of Bremen’s account as, on the one hand, an historically accurate document, but on the other, a literary artefact containing few, if any, reliable historical facts. The studies collected in this volume investigate the origins and context of the Gesta and will enable researchers to better understand and evaluate the historical veracity of the text.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Grzegorz Bartusik, Radosław Biskup, Jakub Morawiec Henrik Janson, Imperial politics and visions of the North. Łukasz Neubauer, "Proselytus et advena": What Does Adam of Bremen Seem to Reveal about Himself and His Ancestry in the Opening Lines of His Gesta. Jakub Morawiec, Sveinn Ulfsson as Adam’s informant. Maciej Lubik, St. Olaf and Adam of Bremen’s narrative pragmatics. Carina Damm, Ad insulas Baltici – Role and reception of scholia in Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum. Laura Gazzoli, Adam’s Gesta as a source for Tenth-Century Norwegian History. Marcin Böhm, The eleventh-century Normans of Normandy in the view of Adam of Bremen. Jules Piet, Religious conversions in Adam of Bremen Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontifiucm and in Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum in a comparative perspective. Annett Krakow, Olaph, Emund, Anund: traces of the influence of Adam of Bremen on Yngvars saga víðfǫrla and the interpretation of the historical Yngvarr. Piotr Pranke, Adam of Bremen and the visions of the state in the Early Medieval Scandinavia – chiefdom, leadership, kingship, segmental tribes – and the social changes in the age of commemoration – a comparative approach. Marta Rey-Radlińska, Ars moriendi and figures of power in Adam of Bremen’s Gesta. Lukas Gabriel Grzybowski, Female characters and historical meaning in the Gesta Hammaburgensis. Kendra Willson, The figure of Gunnhildr. Types, dynasties, and alliances. Mariusz Mayburd, At the Edge of Time. Adam of Bremen's Imaginary North and Horror Vacui. Tatjana N. Jackson, Scythia and the Scythian Sea on the Mental Map of Adam of Bremen. Leszek Gardeła, Harald Bluetooth and the Slavic World. Piotr Piętkowski, Description of the Oder estuary in Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum. The oldest accounts on the river until the end of the 12th century. Wojciech Filipowiak, Adam of Bremen and archaeology of Wolin. Paweł Migdalski, Adam of Bremen’s Gesta as a source of Polish Politics of History in Wolin after World War Two.

About the Author :
Grzegorz Bartusik is assistant professor in the Institute of History at the University of Silesia in Katowice. His research focuses on cultural developments in medieval Iceland, especially influences of Latin culture on Old Norse/Icelandic literature. Radosław Biskup is associate professor in the Institute of History and Archival Studies at the Nicolaos Copernicus University of Torun. His research focuses on history of the Baltic zone in the Middle Ages, especially ecclesiastical developments in the Teutonic Order in Prussia. Jakub Morawiec is associate professor in the Institute of History at the University of Silesia in Katowice and head of the Center for Nordic and Old English Studies. His research focuses on the history of Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, the development of royal ideology and Icelandic skalds.