Literarna in filmska upodobitev religije v delih umeščenih v anglosaško Anglijo za časa kralja Alfreda Velikega

Dagarin, Aljaž (author), Maver, Igor (mentor)

Religija med obdobjem anglosaške Anglije je v mnogih primerih predstavljena z vidika krščanstva, kar posledično pomeni subjektivni prikaz Vikingov in njihovih prepričanj, v povezavi z njihovimi vpadi na otok in končno invazijo. Namen tega dela je ugotavljanje načina prikaza religije Anglosasov in Vikingov v literarnih in kinematografskih delih, ter določiti pomembnost in namen religije v tovrstnih delih. Magistrska naloga se bo osredotočala na krščanstvo in poganstvo za časa življenja Alfreda Velikega, in bo iskala povezave med religijama v naraciji, karakterjih in ugotavljala v kakšni meri je religija prestavljena, ter analizirala vse možne konotacije, ki jih ti opisi nosijo ali nakazujejo. Raziskovanje za izdelavo tega dela je obsegalo pregled več zgodovinskih knjig, člankov in drugih del, ki so bila potrebna za vzpostavitev zgodovinskega ozadja, ki je v osrednjem delu te naloge povezan s petimi Cornwellovimi romani iz zbirke The Saxon Stories in s televizijskima serijama The Last Kingdom in Vikings (Vikingi). Rezultati natančnega branja odstavkov povezanih z religijo in pozornega pregleda različnih filmskih segmentov kažejo, da religija igra pomembno vlogo v vseh analiziranih delih. Prezir verskih tem v tovrstnih delih bi v veliki meri vplival na globino in avtentičnost tovrstnih del. V analiziranih delih iz zbirke The Saxon Stories je krščanstvo v veliki meri bolj podrobno opisano od poganstva. Pri televizijski nanizanki Vikingi se je to izkazalo za ravno obratno, saj serija sledi življenju Vikingov, kar posledično prinese bolj podrobne uprizoritve njihovih verskih tradicij. Ena bolj pomembnih figur za magistrsko delo je Alfred Veliki. Poleg tega, da je obdobje, ki je pomembno za to delo omejeno na čas njegovega življenja, so v vseh analiziranih delih bogati opisi in uprizoritve njegovih dosežkov na področju krščanstva, ki so v veliki meri predstavljeni v skladu z zgodovinskimi dejstvi. Magistrska naloga poleg drugih krščanskih figur navede tudi več Vikingov, ki so pomembni predstavniki poganstva, in s svojimi karakteristikami težijo stran od splošnega prepričanja, ki jih označi zgolj za brezbožne, nekulturne in nasilne. Obstaja več literarnih del, ki so umeščene v anglosaško Anglijo in niso omejene z obdobjem kralja Alfreda Velikega. Za nadaljnje raziskovanje bi tovrstna dela lahko bila analizirana z istega vidika kot ta magistrska naloga, s katero bi lahko nadaljnje ugotovitve primerjali na področju prikaza religije v zvezi s stilom, obsegom in načinom.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: religija, Anglosasi, Vikingi, krščanstvo, poganstvo, Alfred Veliki
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Year: 2019
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-111902
• Publication date in RUL: 17.10.2019

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Literary and Cinematic Portrayal of Religion in Works Set in the Anglo-Saxon England during the Time of Alfred the Great

Abstract

Religion during the Anglo-Saxon England is often portrayed through the eyes of the Christian society, which consequently results in subjective description of Vikings and their beliefs in connection to their raids and invasions of the island. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how religion of the Anglo-Saxons and their invaders is presented in literature and cinematic works, and to determine the importance and purpose of religion in such works. This work will focus on Christianity and paganism during the life of Alfred the Great, and will seek parallels between the religions in terms of how religion is expressed by narrative and characters, to what extent it is presented and what kind of connotations the descriptions have or imply. The research for the thesis included overview of several history books and articles to set the historical background, which is in the main part of the thesis analysed in terms of religion with five novels from Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories and television series Vikings and The Last Kingdom. The results of close reading of the religious passages and observing movie segments show, that religion plays an important role in all analysed works of art, and cannot be omitted without significantly decreasing the depth and authenticity of the story. In literature, The Saxon Stories provided a detailed description and inclusion of Christianity, and presented paganism to a lower degree. This was opposite for the television series Vikings, which follows the life of the Vikings and portrays their religious traditions in greater detail than Cornwell’s novels. One of the most important figures for the thesis is Alfred the Great. Not only does the thesis focus on the religious state during his life, but also his contributions to Christianity in England are described in all analysed works alike, and correspond well with true historical facts. The thesis also provides a description of several Viking characters, who are important representatives for paganism and steer away from the common trend, which describes Norsemen as godless, uncultured and violent figures. There are many literary works that are set in the Anglo-Saxon England, which are not limited to the life of Alfred the Great. Those works could be analysed in the same manner and compared to this thesis to find differences in portrayal of religion in terms of style, scope and manner.

• Keywords: religion, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, paganism, Christianity, Alfred the Great