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SuMMARy
Citing Sigurður Nordal as a model, the article attempts to bring philology, with its
concern with minutiae, into dialogue with the grand sweep of Nordic civilizational
analysis that formed the focus of the workshop as a whole. The paper argues
a continuity from the building blocks of the particular through the controlled
generalization of genre (and interpretation) to a limited window on one aspect
of cultural dynamic. The examples of philology ascending toward broad cultural
history are supplied by egill SkallaGrímsson’s Sonatorrek and the Swedish Rök
inscription. the genre in question is erfikvæði, which, however, is treated as a form
of cross-cultural ‘elegy,’ thus opening toward the memorial inscription. The Rök
inscription is, in conclusion, assessed in its relation to hegemonic influence from
the Continent, advancing communications technology, and possible nativistic
resistance.
J. Harris
Harvard University
harris@fas.harvard.edu
PHILoLoGy, eLeGy, AnD CuLtuRAL CHAnGe