Writing from the edge of the world: medieval Icelandic literature and the quest for social identity. This project has special significance for Australians. Iceland and Australia are both geographically isolated communities, both originally colonies of larger political powers (Norway and Britain), both asserting a social identity different from that of the motherland. Many themes of medieval Icelandic literature have parallels in Australian culture; slogans like 'the cultural cringe', 'the lucky ....Writing from the edge of the world: medieval Icelandic literature and the quest for social identity. This project has special significance for Australians. Iceland and Australia are both geographically isolated communities, both originally colonies of larger political powers (Norway and Britain), both asserting a social identity different from that of the motherland. Many themes of medieval Icelandic literature have parallels in Australian culture; slogans like 'the cultural cringe', 'the lucky country', 'home and away' can be readily paralleled in Old Icelandic literature. Our study will be of considerable social benefit to Australia and will show how another ex-colony, remote in time and place, constructed its own social identity.Read moreRead less