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The special issue emerges from theinterdisciplinary research project Disability before disability(Icel. Fötlun fyrir tíma fötlunar) situated at the Centre forDisability Studies at the University of Iceland, initiated in 2017,and supported by the Icelandic Research fund (Icel. Rannsóknasjóður)Grant of Excellence No 173655-05. Recent years have seen growing interestin the exploration of disability in premodern societies and cultures.In line with the now commonly accepted (working) premise thatdisability is a multi-factorial phenomenon, scholars have come torealise that there can be no fixed, atemporal or acultural definitionof disability. Thus, in order to consider whether and how premodernsocieties may have conceptualized disability, scholars must shedpresentist preconceptions, cast a wide net, and be prepared to readbetween the lines. Equipped with an understanding of disability as atool of sociocultural analysis, scholars today commonly make use ofthe concepts of ‘embodied difference’ and ‘marked or unusualbodies’ to yield more fruitful results as they do not implypre-defined notions of disability. Although the body becomes acentral platform on whose basis disability is negotiated, scholarsare in no way limited to speaking only of the physicality of bodies.Rather the body is understood as a medium which materialises andtranslates physical, psychic, and intellectual differences in a waythat societies can identify them as deviations from what isconsidered ‘normal’ in specific historical and socio-culturalcontexts. Indeed, the phenomenon of disability cannot be studiedwithout the contrast of what a culture or society conceptualizes as‘ability’ and identifies as ‘normal’. The term ‘dis/ability’can be used to express this inherent relationship and to remind usthat it is not possible to understand one without recognizing theother. Within this theoretical context, weinvite proposals for essays (c. 7000 words) for a special issue ofthe journal Mirator that seeks to expand upon growing interest ofdis/ability in the context of the medieval Nordic world. Contributorsto the special issue will explore dis/ability within the context ofdifferent social arrangements and cultural conventions in themedieval Nordic world. We will especially welcome contributions thatfocus on close reading of specific texts (historical, legal,literary, etc.) as well as suggestions for broad, methodologicalapproaches towards the study of dis/ability in the medieval Nordicworld. Contributors will be encouraged, where possible, to expand thescope of their research to include related aspects from the fields ofcultural studies, social theory, history, art, etc. In the context ofthe medieval Nordic world, possible topics include, but are notlimited to: Approaches to the experience of dis/ability (i.e. sources, methodology)  Dis/ability and society  Religion and dis/ability  Dis/ability and medical knowledge  Intersections of dis/ability with age, gender, social status, etc.  Dis/ability and the law  Narrating experiences and perceptions of dis/ability  Dis/ability, assistive technology, and care  Terminology or language of dis/ability  Contributions dealing with geographicregions in the medieval Nordic world, including Denmark, Finland,Iceland, Norway, and/or Sweden, are welcome. We hope to represent allof these regions in the special issue and are particularly eager tofield proposals dealing with Danish and Finnish material. Please send one-page essay proposalsaccompanied by brief author bio (c. 100 words) to annakh@hi.is byJune 1, 2019. In order to achieve an expeditious production timeline,essay drafts will be due in January 2020. Please feel free to contactus with any questions or concerns you might have in the meantime. 