Aidan Foster

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Wales

Abstract

Hierophanies in the Vinland Sagas:  Images of a New World

One of the most seemingly evocative images that comes down to us from Norse legends is that of the fabled land of Vinland.  Described as a place of immense natural wealth with abundant pastures, wild grapes, self-sown wheat and rivers and lakes full of salmon, one gains the impression of an earthly paradise where all wants could be met. This poster sets out to establish whether the Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows (Newfoundland, Canada) could be considered a sacred space, as delineated by the 20th Century religious historian Mircea Eliade.  In his research into hierophanies, a feature of his definition of sacred space, Eliade documents the widespread use of vines as a hierophany, suggesting that the presence of vines in the VS may not be literal but used as a metaphor for something symbolically more significant. 

 

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Biographical Details

Aidan Foster read Chemistry at Memorial University in Canada and was awarded a BSc in 1979.   He spent the next 15 years in scientific research after which he became Computer Officer at the University of Cambridge UK, where is currently located. He is currently working on an MA in Cultural Astronomy at the University of Lampeter, Wales.