The Social Dynamics of Lovesickness and the Ecclesiastical Project's Expansion in Medieval Northern Europe

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyze the social patterns of lovesickness in thirteenth century Iceland and Norway. I approach feelings from an anthropological perspective and understand them as emotional concepts that shed light not on the inner state of the individual, but rather on the social context in which one is integrated. Special attention is paid to the relationship between love and grief in Vǫlsunga saga, Tristrams saga , and the Strengleikar . In these sources, most of the concepts for grief, pain, and sorrow are associated with love affairs, and can be the result of infatuation, of the impossibility for the sweethearts to stay together, or of the beloved's death. This affection is also understood as an illness whose only remedy lies in the loved person. The emphasis placed on the conjugal relationship runs parallel to historical changes in kinship structure and marriage rules. Thus, emotional concepts and literary expressions of love could react against social practices and pave the way for the insertion of Christian laws. However, the Christian marriage model was not totally opposed to secular interests, as the economic and political gains of marriages were still crucial in both medieval literature and law.