Old Norse-Icelandic Literature A Short Introduction

by O'Donoghue, Heather

• ISBN13: 9780631236269
• ISBN10: 0631236260
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-27
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

From runic inscriptions to sagas, this book introduces readers to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature. An introduction to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature. Covers mythology and family sagas, as well as less well-known areas, such as oral story-telling, Eddaic verse and skaldic verse. An introduction helps readers to appreciate the language and culture of the first settlers in Iceland. Looks at the reception of Old-Norse-Icelandic literature over the ages, as views of the vikings have changed. Shows how a whole range of authors from Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney have been influenced by Old Norse-Icelandic literature.

Author Biography

Heather O’Donoghue is Reader in Old Norse at Oxford University. She is a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
Chronology	viii
Preface	x
Iceland	1	(21)
The Beginnings	1	(4)
Language	5	(4)
Cultural Heritage	9	(8)
Discovery and Settlement	17	(5)
The Saga	22	(39)
What Is a Saga?	22	(2)
Are Family Sagas Medieval Novels?	24	(12)
Are Family Sagas Chronicles of Time Past?	36	(11)
Three Extracts: Egils saga, Vatnsdœla saga and Laxdœla saga	47	(14)
New Knowledge and Native Traditions	61	(45)
Latin Learning	61	(1)
Eddaic and Skaldic Verse	62	(31)
Historical Writings	93	(6)
Fornaldarsogur	99	(3)
Riddarasogur and Rimur	102	(4)
The Politics of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature	106	(43)
Iceland and Scandinavian Nationalism	107	(3)
Old Norse-Icelandic as `Ancient Poetry'	110	(1)
Bishop Percy's Translations	111	(5)
Gray's `Norse Odes'	116	(4)
The Romantic Viking	120	(4)
Our Friends in the North	124	(4)
Old Norse-Icelandic Studies in Academia	128	(2)
The Debate about Saga Origins	130	(4)
Why is Old Norse English Literature?	134	(2)
Old Norse-Icelandic and English Medieval Literature	136	(13)
The Influence of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature	149	(53)
Blake	149	(5)
Tolkien and Fantasy Literature	154	(3)
Scott, Kingsley and Haggard	157	(9)
Landor, Arnold and Morris	166	(10)
Stevenson, Hardy and Galsworthy	176	(8)
MacDiarmid, Mackay Brown, and Auden and MacNeice	184	(12)
Heaney and Muldoon	196	(6)
Appendix: Hrafnkel's Saga	202	(22)
Glossary	224	(3)
Notes	227	(2)
Bibliography	229	(3)
Index	232