Resumen de The Political Symbolism of Ants and Bees in Old Norse Sources
n this article I discuss the political themes attached to the eusocial creatures,specifically ants and bees, in Old Norse sources. I consider the situation of OldNorse as a transnational literature, encompassing one country that lacked antsand bees (Iceland) and one that did not (Norway). Although the behaviouralecology of eusociality, or indeed the classification of ants and bees astaxonomically related, is a relatively recent development in human knowledge,I argue that the fundamental qualities of swarming and mutual aid were clearlyrecognisable long before modern science. The differing environments anddiffering political systems between Iceland and Norway are examined as factorsshaping the depiction of eusocial insects. However, the Old Norse sources arealso integrated into their European context in order to explore the abstract –even universal – ideological questions that are prompted when humans comparetheir own societies to those of ants and bees.
