A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture PDF Download

Author: Rory McTurk
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 140513738X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 584

View

Book Description
This major survey of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and culturedemonstrates the remarkable continuity of Icelandic language andculture from medieval to modern times. Comprises 29 chapters written by leading scholars in thefield Reflects current debates among Old Norse-Icelandicscholars Pays attention to previously neglected areas of study, such asthe sagas of Icelandic bishops and the fantasy sagas Looks at the ways Old Norse-Icelandic literature is used bymodern writers, artists and film directors, both within and outsideScandinavia Sets Old Norse-Icelandic language and literature in its widercultural context

Author: Rory McTurk
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781782686255
Category : Iceland
Languages : en
Pages :

View

Book Description
This major survey of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and culture demonstrates the remarkable continuity of Icelandic language and culture from medieval to modern times. Written by leading scholars in the field Reflects current debates among Old Norse-Icelandic scholars Pays attention to previously neglected areas of study, such as the sagas of Icelandic bishops and the fantasy sagas. Looks at the ways Old Norse-Icelandic literature is used by modern writers, artists and film directors, both within and outside Scandinavia Sets Old Norse-Icelandic language and literature in its wider cultural context.

Author: Rory McTurk
Publisher: Blackwell Publishers
ISBN: 9786610198696
Category : Iceland
Languages : en
Pages : 567

View

Book Description
This major survey of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and culture comprises 29 chapters written by leading scholars in the field, over a third of whom are Icelanders. At the same time, it conveys a sense of the mainland Scandinavian origins of the Icelandic people, and reflects the ongoing contact between Iceland and other countries and cultures. The volume highlights current debates among Old Norse-Icelandic scholars specializing in different aspects of the subject. Coverage of traditional topics is complemented by material on previously neglected areas of study, such as the sagas of Icelandic bishops and the translated knights' sagas. Chapters on 'archaeology', 'social institutions' and 'geography and travel' make it possible to view the literature in its wider cultural context while chapters on 'reception' and 'continuity' demonstrate the ways in which medieval Norse-Icelandic literature and culture overflow into the modern period.

Author: Dustin Geeraert
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1843846381
Category : Mythology, Norse, in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 233

View

Book Description
The cultural and literary legacy of medieval Iceland, with its roots in Norse heathen religion, heroic literature, and Viking Age history, is the focus of this volume. Its chapters examine the history and reception of a particular text or topic within this remarkable tradition. They treat a number of topics, including the legendary dragon-slayer Sigurd, the many personas of the mysterious god Odin, aspects of the ancient mythology of gods and giants, the early settlement of Iceland, the defiant Viking warriors known as the "Sworn Brothers", the entrepreneurial role of cloth production in medieval Scandinavia, the codicology and book history of key literary works, the many references to medieval Nordic lore in modern fiction and poetry, and the cultural position of islands such as Iceland in relation to the ebb and flow of religions, institutions and empires. Reconsidering these areas of Old Norse-Icelandic literary culture reveals the striking resilience and adaptability of its traditions, through a startling variety of transformations.

Author: Gísli Sigurðsson
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 422

View

Book Description
This work explores the role of orality in shaping and evaluating medieval Icelandic literature. Applying field studies of oral cultures in modern times to this distinguished medieval literature, G sli Sigur sson asks how it would alter our reading of medieval Icelandic sagas if it were assumed they had grown out of a tradition of oral storytelling, similar to that observed in living cultures. Sigur sson examines how orally trained lawspeakers regarded the emergent written culture, especially in light of the fact that the writing down of the law in the early twelfth century undermined their social status. Part II considers characters, genealogies, and events common to several sagas from the east of Iceland between which a written link cannot be established. Part III explores the immanent or mental map provided to the listening audience of the location of Vinland by the sagas about the Vinland voyages. Finally, this volume focuses on how accepted foundations for research on medieval texts are affected if an underlying oral tradition (of the kind we know from the modern field work) is assumed as part of their cultural background. This point is emphasized through the examination of parallel passages from two sagas and from mythological overlays in an otherwise secular text.

Author: Margaret Clunies Ross
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139492640
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 210

View

Book Description
The medieval Norse-Icelandic saga is one of the most important European vernacular literary genres of the Middle Ages. This Introduction to the saga genre outlines its origins and development, its literary character, its material existence in manuscripts and printed editions, and its changing reception from the Middle Ages to the present time. Its multiple sub-genres - including family sagas, mythical-heroic sagas and sagas of knights - are described and discussed in detail, and the world of medieval Icelanders is powerfully evoked. The first general study of the Old Norse-Icelandic saga to be written in English for some decades, the Introduction is based on up-to-date scholarship and engages with current debates in the field. With suggestions for further reading, detailed information about the Icelandic literary canon, and a map of medieval Iceland, this book is aimed at students of medieval literature and assumes no prior knowledge of Scandinavian languages.

Author: Massimiliano Bampi
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1843845644
Category : Literary form
Languages : en
Pages : 390

View

Book Description
A comprehensive guide to a crucial aspect of Old Norse literature.

Author: Gareth Lloyd Evans
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1843845628
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287

View

Book Description
Compared to other areas of medieval literature, the question of masculinity in Old Norse-Icelandic literature has been understudied. This is a neglect which this volume aims to rectify. The essays collected here introduce and analyse a spectrum of masculinities, from the sagas of Icelanders, contemporary sagas, kings' sagas, legendary sagas, chivalric sagas, bishops' sagas, and eddic and skaldic verse, producing a broad and multifaceted understanding of what it means to be masculine in Old Norse-Icelandic texts. A critical introduction places the essays in their scholarly context, providing the reader with a concise orientation in gender studies and the study of masculinities in Old Norse-Icelandic literature. This book's investigation of how masculinities are constructed and challenged within a unique literature is all the more vital in the current climate, in which Old Norse sources are weaponised to support far-right agendas and racist ideologies are intertwined with images of vikings as hypermasculine. This volume counters these troubling narratives of masculinity through explorations of Old Norse literature that demonstrate how masculinity is formed, how it is linked to violence and vulnerability, how it governs men's relationships, and how toxic models of masculinity may be challenged.

Author: Martin Chase
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823257835
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 184

View

Book Description
Eddic, Skaldic, and Beyond shines light on traditional divisions of Old Norse–Icelandic poetry and awakens the reader to work that blurs these boundaries. Many of the texts and topics taken up in these enlightening essays have been difficult to categorize and have consequently been overlooked or undervalued. The boundaries between genres (Eddic and Skaldic), periods (Viking Age, medieval, early modern), or cultures (Icelandic, Scandinavian, English, Continental) may not have been as sharp in the eyes and ears of contemporary authors and audiences as they are in our own. When questions of classification are allowed to fade into the background, at least temporarily, the poetry can be appreciated on its own terms. Some of the essays in this collection present new material, while others challenge long-held assumptions. They reflect the idea that poetry with “medieval” characteristics continued to be produced in Iceland well past the fifteenth century, and even beyond the Protestant Reformation in Iceland (1550). This superb volume, rich in up-to-date scholarship, makes little-known material accessible to a wide audience.

Author: Jenny Jochens
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801455952
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

View

Book Description
Jenny Jochens captures in fascinating detail the lives of women in pagan and early Christian Iceland and Norway—their work, sexual behavior, marriage customs, reproductive practices, familial relations, leisure activities, religious practices, and legal constraints and protections. Women in Old Norse Society places particular emphasis on changing sexual mores and the impact of Christianity as imposed by the clergy and Norwegian kings. It also demonstrates the vital role women played in economic production.