Me, the Hero ...'. Individuality and Heroic Self-Reflexion in Old Norse Death-Lays

Abstract

The article describes Old Norse death-lays (a singular subgenre of Old Norse heroic poetry, in which a legendary hero describes his life and deeds) and a concept of individuality present in them. The article comes to a conclusion that the heroic individuality in Old Norse death-lays represents the oldest concept of individuality as indivisibility, especially in respect to the division of good-evil.

Keywords

• Old Norse
• heroic poetry
• human individuality