Professor of ancient Greek and Latin, University of Southern Denmark 1993-2003, Guest researcher at the Saxo Institute, Copenhagen University. The main fields of my research are Homeric Epic and Scandinavian Neo-Latin Poetry.
David F. Elmer & Peter McMurray (edd.): Singers and Tales in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge Mass., London: Harvard UP 2024. (Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature No. 7.), 2024
For the understanding of Book 4 of the Odyssey a comparison with Book 3 is helpful. The singer / ... more For the understanding of Book 4 of the Odyssey a comparison with Book 3 is helpful. The singer / poet has implemented the double pattern, known from folklore.
Marita Akhøj Nielsen, Simon Skovgaard Boeck & Bjarke Moe (edd.): Danske reformationssalmer i kontekst. København: Det danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab 2022. ISBN: 978-87-7533-059-1., 2022
Paraphrasing of psalms from the Old Testament in classical Latin meters was fashionable in the 15... more Paraphrasing of psalms from the Old Testament in classical Latin meters was fashionable in the 15th century. The Danish poet Johannes Georgius Sadolinus published six such paraphrases in 1569, celebrating King Frederick II and his victories over Sweden.
Han Lamers & Silvio Bär (edd.): Studia in Honorem Vibeke Roggen., 2022
As a young man, the Danish poet Bertil Knudsen Aqvilonius travelled widely, and both during his t... more As a young man, the Danish poet Bertil Knudsen Aqvilonius travelled widely, and both during his travels and afterwards he often handled experience from his journeys in poetry. Among his various topics the traveller’s nostalgia plays an important role. One such poem, published in 1620, is here edited, translated into Danish verse, and analysed.
The Albanian humanist Marin Barleti composed his works as an exile in
Venice. With his first book... more The Albanian humanist Marin Barleti composed his works as an exile in Venice. With his first book, De Obsidione Scodrensi, 1504, he applied to the doge for patronage, but does not seem to have had success, perhaps understandably. An analysis of his work reveals how he omitted most of the flattery that would have been expected; while in general he praises Venice, much unexpressed criticism of the city is to be found between the lines.
The terms emic and etic were coined in the 1950s by the American linguist and anthropologist Kenn... more The terms emic and etic were coined in the 1950s by the American linguist and anthropologist Kenneth L. Pike to describe the difference between two ways of observing human behaviour, from inside or from outside. The pair became a basic tool for anthropologists, not least by way of the further development it received at the hands of Marvin Harris, who discussed the pair in a 1979 monograph, Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture. The terms are also in use among scholars who collect epic poetry, as a way of distinguishing between how the tales are situated in the singing communities and in the fieldworkers’ handling of them. Since Neo-Latin literature is in some respects similar to a foreign culture, it may be useful to introduce this terminology as a help in clarifying scholars’ approach to their object. The Danish poet Hans Jørgensen Sadolin’s Elegidia (1552) offers examples.
The special kind of intertextuality at work in Neo-Latin poetry discussed in relation to the emic... more The special kind of intertextuality at work in Neo-Latin poetry discussed in relation to the emic/etic distinction.
Introduction The Homeric Epics: Collective Memory or Collective Fantasy? The Textualising of Home... more Introduction The Homeric Epics: Collective Memory or Collective Fantasy? The Textualising of Homer Reading Between the Signs Heroine in Grief: The Old Norse Development of a Germanic Theme Learning the Basic Words: Religious Instruction in the Late Middle Ages Saint Ann: Story and Rhetoric, Orality and Print The Impact of Writing on Stories Collected From Nineteenth-Century Inuit Traditions Medieval Perspectives on Turkic Oral Epic Poetry A Regenerative Approach to Oral Traditions of the Past? Modern Contemporary Legends and their Medieval and Ancient Counterparts.
David F. Elmer & Peter McMurray (edd.): Singers and Tales in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge Mass., London: Harvard UP 2024. (Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature No. 7.), 2024
For the understanding of Book 4 of the Odyssey a comparison with Book 3 is helpful. The singer / ... more For the understanding of Book 4 of the Odyssey a comparison with Book 3 is helpful. The singer / poet has implemented the double pattern, known from folklore.
Marita Akhøj Nielsen, Simon Skovgaard Boeck & Bjarke Moe (edd.): Danske reformationssalmer i kontekst. København: Det danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab 2022. ISBN: 978-87-7533-059-1., 2022
Paraphrasing of psalms from the Old Testament in classical Latin meters was fashionable in the 15... more Paraphrasing of psalms from the Old Testament in classical Latin meters was fashionable in the 15th century. The Danish poet Johannes Georgius Sadolinus published six such paraphrases in 1569, celebrating King Frederick II and his victories over Sweden.
Han Lamers & Silvio Bär (edd.): Studia in Honorem Vibeke Roggen., 2022
As a young man, the Danish poet Bertil Knudsen Aqvilonius travelled widely, and both during his t... more As a young man, the Danish poet Bertil Knudsen Aqvilonius travelled widely, and both during his travels and afterwards he often handled experience from his journeys in poetry. Among his various topics the traveller’s nostalgia plays an important role. One such poem, published in 1620, is here edited, translated into Danish verse, and analysed.
The Albanian humanist Marin Barleti composed his works as an exile in
Venice. With his first book... more The Albanian humanist Marin Barleti composed his works as an exile in Venice. With his first book, De Obsidione Scodrensi, 1504, he applied to the doge for patronage, but does not seem to have had success, perhaps understandably. An analysis of his work reveals how he omitted most of the flattery that would have been expected; while in general he praises Venice, much unexpressed criticism of the city is to be found between the lines.
The terms emic and etic were coined in the 1950s by the American linguist and anthropologist Kenn... more The terms emic and etic were coined in the 1950s by the American linguist and anthropologist Kenneth L. Pike to describe the difference between two ways of observing human behaviour, from inside or from outside. The pair became a basic tool for anthropologists, not least by way of the further development it received at the hands of Marvin Harris, who discussed the pair in a 1979 monograph, Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture. The terms are also in use among scholars who collect epic poetry, as a way of distinguishing between how the tales are situated in the singing communities and in the fieldworkers’ handling of them. Since Neo-Latin literature is in some respects similar to a foreign culture, it may be useful to introduce this terminology as a help in clarifying scholars’ approach to their object. The Danish poet Hans Jørgensen Sadolin’s Elegidia (1552) offers examples.
The special kind of intertextuality at work in Neo-Latin poetry discussed in relation to the emic... more The special kind of intertextuality at work in Neo-Latin poetry discussed in relation to the emic/etic distinction.
Introduction The Homeric Epics: Collective Memory or Collective Fantasy? The Textualising of Home... more Introduction The Homeric Epics: Collective Memory or Collective Fantasy? The Textualising of Homer Reading Between the Signs Heroine in Grief: The Old Norse Development of a Germanic Theme Learning the Basic Words: Religious Instruction in the Late Middle Ages Saint Ann: Story and Rhetoric, Orality and Print The Impact of Writing on Stories Collected From Nineteenth-Century Inuit Traditions Medieval Perspectives on Turkic Oral Epic Poetry A Regenerative Approach to Oral Traditions of the Past? Modern Contemporary Legends and their Medieval and Ancient Counterparts.
Marin Barleti / Marinus Barletius (ca. 1460-efter 1512) var Albaniens store renæssancehumanist. H... more Marin Barleti / Marinus Barletius (ca. 1460-efter 1512) var Albaniens store renæssancehumanist. Han kom til Venedig som flygtning i 1479, blev uddannet i teologi ved universitetet i Padua og præst ved kirken Santo Stefano i Piovene i 1494. Som forfatter til to latinske værker om albansk historie, De obsidione Scodrensi (1504) og Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi (ca. 1510) er han grundlæggeren af albansk historie og litteratur.
Bogen er en præsentation af disse værker for danske læsere og en diskussion af Barletis komplicerede forhold til værtsbyen Venedig.
The oral-formulaic theory formed by Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord not only revolutionised Homer... more The oral-formulaic theory formed by Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord not only revolutionised Homeric studies but also had an impact on anthropology and folklore. It led to increased interest in oral epic traditions, and fieldworkers changed their methods towards a focus on composition in performance. The individual singer and his handling of the tradition gained importance. When possible, more than one performance of the “same” song was recorded, by the same singer on different occasions or by different singers, and interaction with the audience was documented. By now, a wealth of editions and studies of oral epics from various parts of the world is accessible and is used in the present study as an inspiration for achieving a deeper understanding of the methods at work in oral epic, for building a social framework for the Iliad and the Odyssey, and especially for speculating on the circumstances of the writing of the two great poems. Long oral narratives are flexible, and accordingly, the dictation to scribes that must be at the origin of the texts that have been preserved in writing to this day, was a process of the utmost importance as the composition in performance of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
In February 1974 the Albanian epic singer Mirash Ndou spent a week in the Albturist hotel in Shko... more In February 1974 the Albanian epic singer Mirash Ndou spent a week in the Albturist hotel in Shkodra performing the most important parts of his repertoire for the tape-recorder. The present resource contains his songs both sung and dictated, as well as his own comments on his art.
To read more about the theoretical context and background of the documentation of this oral tradition, as well as a description of the art of the singer, see the introduction.
To find the sung or dictated song of a given recording session, select the recording-tab in the menu on the left, or navigate to a specific song in the song index.
This book is a Festschrift dedicated to Synnøve des Bouvrie, professor of classical studies at Ui... more This book is a Festschrift dedicated to Synnøve des Bouvrie, professor of classical studies at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, who celebrates her seventieth birthday on 16th November 2014. Apart from the introduction, the Festschrift is divided into four parts, namely a Pars Mythologica, Philosophico-Litteraria, Thulensis, and Latinitatis Vivae. Twelve articles have been written in English, seven in Latin, four in Norwegian and a single article in each of the languages French, Sami and Swedish. A biographical interview is also included, along with several illustrations made by Synnøve herself. The book has been edited by Per Pippin Aspaas (Tromsø), Sigrid Albert (Saarbrücken) and Fredrik Nilsen (Tromsø).
Among the multiforms of patterns the Odyssey poet implements, sometimes two are particularly clos... more Among the multiforms of patterns the Odyssey poet implements, sometimes two are particularly closely related, so that one alludes to the other and calls forth the elements that distinguish the two. Such a doubling of a pattern between Telemachus’ visits to Nestor and Menelaus is active in the characterisation of the latter as he appears in book 4.
Anmeldelse af Francesco Petrarca, Gløden i hjertet: Metriske Epistler og Ekloger. Oversat af Søre... more Anmeldelse af Francesco Petrarca, Gløden i hjertet: Metriske Epistler og Ekloger. Oversat af Søren Sørensen. Forlaget Multivers 2016.
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Venice. With his first book, De Obsidione Scodrensi, 1504, he applied to the
doge for patronage, but does not seem to have had success, perhaps
understandably. An analysis of his work reveals how he omitted most of the
flattery that would have been expected; while in general he praises Venice,
much unexpressed criticism of the city is to be found between the lines.
the difference between two ways of observing human behaviour, from inside or from outside. The pair became a basic tool for
anthropologists, not least by way of the further development it received at the hands of Marvin Harris, who discussed the pair in a
1979 monograph, Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture. The terms are also in use among scholars who collect epic
poetry, as a way of distinguishing between how the tales are situated in the singing communities and in the fieldworkers’ handling
of them. Since Neo-Latin literature is in some respects similar to a foreign culture, it may be useful to introduce this terminology
as a help in clarifying scholars’ approach to their object. The Danish poet Hans Jørgensen Sadolin’s Elegidia (1552) offers examples.
Venice. With his first book, De Obsidione Scodrensi, 1504, he applied to the
doge for patronage, but does not seem to have had success, perhaps
understandably. An analysis of his work reveals how he omitted most of the
flattery that would have been expected; while in general he praises Venice,
much unexpressed criticism of the city is to be found between the lines.
the difference between two ways of observing human behaviour, from inside or from outside. The pair became a basic tool for
anthropologists, not least by way of the further development it received at the hands of Marvin Harris, who discussed the pair in a
1979 monograph, Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture. The terms are also in use among scholars who collect epic
poetry, as a way of distinguishing between how the tales are situated in the singing communities and in the fieldworkers’ handling
of them. Since Neo-Latin literature is in some respects similar to a foreign culture, it may be useful to introduce this terminology
as a help in clarifying scholars’ approach to their object. The Danish poet Hans Jørgensen Sadolin’s Elegidia (1552) offers examples.
Bogen er en præsentation af disse værker for danske læsere og en diskussion af Barletis komplicerede forhold til værtsbyen Venedig.
To read more about the theoretical context and background of the documentation of this oral tradition, as well as a description of the art of the singer, see the introduction.
To find the sung or dictated song of a given recording session, select the recording-tab in the menu on the left, or navigate to a specific song in the song index.
September 2016, Minna Skafte Jensen
www.albanian-tales.net