Wayland Smith: A cultural-historical biography

Wayland the Smith appears in art and literature from across early medieval north-western Europe, but much of this material has not been used to its fullest potential. Assessing all of the Wayland material together, across disciplines, illuminates different themes and motifs, shedding light both on the figure of Wayland and on various aspects of medieval society. Wayland appears as a smith, a murderer, a rapist, and an outsider, but these different facets have not received equal attention. This thesis places the focus on the name and image of Wayland in those surviving sources which are most firmly identified as depicting the legendary smith. It concentrates on how he changed between cultures and across the centuries in medieval north-western Europe. Studies of Wayland have often focused on the ritual and magical properties of the smith, but recent archaeological evidence has demonstrated the complex role of smiths in early medieval societies, and a cross-disciplinary study of Wayland material shows how he was adapted to fit changing ideas about craftsmen. Less attention has been paid in scholarship to Wayland’s roles as a murderer and a rapist, but the surviving sources have the potential to reveal a great deal about early medieval attitudes to these crimes. Finally, while Wayland’s connections to the supernatural have been well-studied, broadening this into a consideration of how he was presented as an outsider allows fragmentary sources to reveal patterns of continuity and change in attitudes to foreigners, slaves, the supernatural, and more.