Person:

Nagy, Joseph

The tales in medieval Scandinavian literature centered on the legendary entrepreneur Ragnarr loðbrók, his wives, and his sons famously feature several serpentine motifs. The narrative construct of a family literally and metaphorically bound together by dragon-like creatures under the control of a daughter, wife, or mother is also to be found in Iranian and Irish storytelling tradition. The parallels point to a genetic mythological relationship among these (in other respects) disparate stories, whose deep-seated affinity cannot be explained on the basis of intercultural borrowing.