Introduction

Geographical space and toponyms in saga literature have interested historians and archaeologists mainly as a way to connect the sagas to the physical world. Toponyms in sagas that depict past events have functioned for scholars as evidence that the sources are historical and have some kind of reliability. (See for instance the discussion in Rory McTurk 1994-1997: 164-172.) The main objective of research has thus been to identify toponyms and place them on the map. In fact, most of the toponyms in the sagas can be identified without problems, but not all sagas provide accurate information about geographical conditions. For instance, legendary sagas are often set in distant and imagined places, but these are usually designated by ‘real’ place-names. In these cases, the imagined environment is part of the story that conveys the fantastic and does not aim to be credible but enhances the supernatural and fantastic in the saga (Marold 1996).

In addition to this very concrete function that the toponyms have in the sagas – namely, to give a setting for the story – I argue that the toponyms functioned also as a way to remember stories. Ancient authors of spoke of different techniques for memorisation and these texts were known to medieval authors. For instance, Thomas of Aquinas wrote that a place could be used as a source for reminiscence. Frances Yates, who has written about mnemotechnical details that were used and developed by medieval authors as well as artists, speaks of different ways to remember things.