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Taboo or Magic Practice? Cannibalism as Identity Marker for Giants and Human Heroes in Medieval Iceland.

Cannibalism has been connoted negatively among many Western civilizations throughout history, medieval Iceland included. Icelandic giants were characterized by a diet consisting mainly of horsemeat (banned by the Church) and human flesh (an ancient taboo). But cannibalism was also connoted positivel...

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Published in:Parergon Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 1 - 26
Main Author: Maraschi, Andrea
Format: Article
Published: Australian & New Zealand Association for Medieval & Early Modern Studies 2020
Subjects:
Cannibalism
Western civilization
Horsemeat
Diet
Human body
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        10.1353/pgn.2020.0056
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        au: Maraschi, Andrea
        affil: University of Bari.
      su:
        Cannibalism
        Western civilization
        Horsemeat
        Diet
        Human body
      sug:
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          Cannibalism
          Western civilization
          Horsemeat
          Diet
          Human body
      ab: Cannibalism has been connoted negatively among many Western civilizations throughout history, medieval Iceland included. Icelandic giants were characterized by a diet consisting mainly of horsemeat (banned by the Church) and human flesh (an ancient taboo). But cannibalism was also connoted positively when it was performed by heroes in accordance with the laws of sympathetic magic: in this case, eating specific parts of the human body would transfer the qualities of the eaten to the eater. The intention of this article is to discuss the role that the human body played as identity marker, and its different connotations depending on who consumed it.
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    language: English
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