Jötnar as “supernatural beings”: a cognitive matrix of the Old Norse verbal representations

Abstract

This article addresses verbal representations of the mythic concept JÖTUNN (Engl. JOTUN) in Old Norse eddic texts. Jötnar as supernatural beings inherent to the Nordic mythic space are regarded as a class of open systems marked by a set of hypertrophied features. Etymological analysis of the concep’s names followed by broader analogue speculations allows identifying the basic “nano-myths” or “code-ons” that iconically outline the JOTUN-system’s “preset” trajectories of behavior and interaction with other systems. The paper focuses on linguo-cognitive premises of language units verbalizing the said concept. Primary attention is paid to identifying sets of JOTUN’s conceptualized features. The article suggests cognitive models and respective frame-like structures. The paper discusses different types of logical and semantic connections betweenthe said conceptual features and models. Our research employs a broad universalia-oriented interdisciplinary approach (M-logic) that focuses on the idea of irrational rationalization of reality (world-building) and encompasses the theory of myth-oriented semiosis. The identified semantic features and cognitive models are thus integrated into a model of a hierarchic plane of an open system therefore creating a “cognitive matrix” of the JOTUN concept. The correlations between the sets of conceptualized features are discussed in terms of their complementary, determinative and causative correlations. The paper argues that the Jötnar appeared as an imbalanced (chaotic) system capable of fractal expansion. The paper highlights the systemic premises of a paradox-type symbiosis between Jötnar and the Aesir.