Scandinavia can be seen through many lenses and from many different angles, but few are as diverse as those of Dr Bjarne Thorup Thomsen. On the occasion of his retirement from the University of Edinburgh, this volume honours his body of work, bringing together 24 contributions from Bjarne’s friends and colleagues that explore everything from early Christianity in Scandinavia to the contemporary currents that bind Scotland and Scandinavia together via many points in between. These many refractions of Scandinavia exhibit both the quality of Bjarne’s interdisciplinary research and his generosity of spirit.

Edited by Ian Giles

Contents:

• Front Matter
• Preface
  Irene Scobbie and Peter Graves – pp. xi-x
• Introduction
  Ian Giles – pp. xi-xix

 

• A Young Dane Named Bjarne
  Gunilla Blom Thomsen – pp. 1-7
• On a Bench in Edinburgh
  Jakob Thorup Thomsen – pp. 8-12

  Representations of Scandinavia

• Tradition and Innovation: The Function of Ambiguity in the Three Scandinavian Runic Conversion Monuments
  Arne Kruse – pp. 15-44
• The Zorns in St Ives
  Helen Robinson – pp. 45-55
• A Duel of Shine and Shadow
  Eric Cain – pp. 56-59
• Bevægelsesdramatik: The Railway Film and the Danish and British Documentary Movements
  C. Claire Thomson – pp. 60-86
• With Gratitude
  Steinvör Pálsson – p. 87
• Winter Afternoons in Buccleuch Place
  Dana Caspi – pp. 88-89

  A Literary Lens on Scandinavia

• Amalie Skram as a Travel Writer
  Janet Garton – pp. 93-115
• Flying Lessons with Bjarne
  Anna Bohlin – pp. 116-120
• Feminism, Interplay, and Cooperation: A Comparison of Selma Lagerlöf ’s ‘Hem och stat’ and Karen Blixen’s ‘En Baaltale med Aars Forsinkelse’
  Barbara Tesio-Ryan – pp. 121-143
• Selma Lagerlöf ’s Transnational Terrains
  Lisbeth Stenberg – pp. 144-146
• Olof Högberg’s Analogy for the Colonisation of the North of Sweden
  Anders Öhman – pp. 147-165

  The Many Faces of Denmark

• The Right Stuff: Gösta Winkler, Akademisk Skytteforening, and Churchill’s ‘Danish Demand’
  John Gilmour – pp. 169-199
• ‘Jeg er ikke bange for dig’: Elements of the (Anti)Hero’s Journey in Two Classics of 1970s Danish Children’s Literature
  Guy Puzey – pp. 200-219
• On the Right Frequency
  Charlotte Berry – pp. 220-224
• Rewriting the Homeland – Danish Islands: Real, Imagined, and Between the Lines
  Henk van der Liet – pp. 225-255
• Our Nordic Neighbours: The Present State of the Danish Community in Scotland
  Ruairidh Tarvet – pp. 256-270

  Understanding Scandinavia

• Small Countries, Media, and Cosmopolitan Thinking
  Dominic Hinde – pp. 273-277
• The Right Time for a Dane to Cross the North Sea
  Ian Giles – pp. 278-314
• Bjarne’s Quiet Wisdom
  Julie Larsen – pp. 315-316
• Anger and Hypocrisy in Vigdis Hjorth’s Et norsk hus – Is Alma Complicit?
  Anja Tröger – pp. 317-341
• What Have the Romans Vikings Ever Done For Us?: A ‘Postcard’ on How Studying Literature and Mythology Equips You for a Career in Politics
  Fiona Twycross – pp. 342-346

  A Life in Print

• Moving Currents: A Note of Appreciation
  Laura Alice Chapot – pp. 349-352

• Bibliography of Bjarne Thorup Thomsen – pp. 354-359
• Notes on Contributors – pp. 361-367