Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories

Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories PDF Author:
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141961422
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
Written around the thirteenth century AD by Icelandic monks, the seven tales collected here offer a combination of pagan elements tightly woven into the pattern of Christian ethics. They take as their subjects figures who are heroic, but do not fit into the mould of traditional heroes. Some stories concern characters in Iceland - among them Hrafknel's Saga, in which a poor man's son is murdered by his powerful neighbour, and Thorstein the Staff-Struck, which describes an ageing warrior's struggle to settle into a peaceful rural community. Others focus on the adventures of Icelanders abroad, including the compelling Audun's Story, which depicts a farmhand's pilgrimage to Rome. These fascinating tales deal with powerful human emotions, suffering and dignity at a time of profound transition, when traditional ideals were gradually yielding to a more peaceful pastoral lifestyle.

The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180-1280)

The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180-1280) PDF Author: Theodore Murdock Andersson
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801444081
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
Andersson introduces readers to the development of the Icelandic sagas between 1180 and 1280, a crucial period that witnessed a gradual shift of emphasis from tales of adventure and personal distinction to the analysis of politics and history.

Old Norse-Icelandic Literature

Old Norse-Icelandic Literature PDF Author: Carol J. Clover
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501741659
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description
The current revival of interest in the rich and varied literature of early Scandinavia has prompted a corresponding interest in its background: its origins, social and historical context, and relationship to other medieval literatures. Even readers with a knowledge of Old Norse and Icelandic have found these subjects difficult to pursue, however, for up-to-date reference works in any language are few and none exist in English. To fill the gap, six distinguished scholars have contributed ambitious new essays to this volume. The contributors summarize and comment on scholarly work in the major branches of the field: Eddie and skaldic poetry, family and kings' sagas, courtly writing, and mythology. Taken together, their judicious and attractively written essays-each with a full bibliography-make up the first book-length survey of Old Norse literature in English and a basic reference work that will stimulate research in these areas and help to open up the field to a wider academic readership.

Laxdaela Saga

Laxdaela Saga PDF Author: Magnus Magnusson
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780140442182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Book Description
Written around 1245 by an unknown author, the Laxdaela Saga is an extraordinary tale of conflicting kinships and passionate love, and one of the most compelling works of Icelandic literature. Covering 150 years in the lives of the inhabitants of the community of Laxriverdale, the saga focuses primarily upon the story of Gudrun Osvif's-daughter: a proud, beautiful, vain and desirable figure, who is forced into an unhappy marriage and destroys the only man she has truly loved – her husband's best friend. A moving tale of murder and sacrifice, romance and regret, the Laxdaela Saga is also a fascinating insight into an era of radical change – a time when the Age of Chivalry was at its fullest flower in continental Europe, and the Christian faith was making its impact felt upon the Viking world.

Feud in the Icelandic Saga

Feud in the Icelandic Saga PDF Author: Jesse L. Byock
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520082591
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 315

Book Description
Byock sees the crucial element in the origin of the Icelandic sagas not as the introduction of writing or the impact of literary borrowings from the continent but the subject of the tales themselves - feud. This simple thesis is developed into a thorough examination of Icelandic society and feud, and of the narrative technique of recounting it.

Medieval Iceland

Medieval Iceland PDF Author: Jesse L. Byock
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520069541
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Book Description
Gift of Joan Wall. Includes index. Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-248) and index. * glr 20090610.

The Weather in the Icelandic Sagas

The Weather in the Icelandic Sagas PDF Author: Bernadine McCreesh
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527525597
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 167

Book Description
The descriptions of the weather in medieval Icelandic sagas have long been considered unimportant, mere adjuncts to the action. This is not true: the way the weather is depicted can give us an insight into the minds of medieval Icelanders. The first part of this book illustrates how the Christian world-view of authors of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries influenced their descriptions of meteorological conditions in earlier times. The second part is more literary in approach. It points out the formulaic nature of descriptions of storms, and shows how references to the weather help to structure the narrative in some sagas. It also demonstrates how medieval Icelandic attitudes to the weather affect the portrayal of the hero.

The Rewriting of Njáls Saga

The Rewriting of Njáls Saga PDF Author: Jón Karl Helgason
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
ISBN: 9781853594571
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 186

Book Description
The Rewriting of Njáls saga concerns itself with the process which enables literary texts to cross cultures and endure history. Through six interrelated case studies, Jón Karl Helgason focuses on the reception of Njáls saga, the most distinguished of the Icelandic sagas, in Britain, the United States, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, between 1861 and 1945. The editions and translations in question claim to represent a medieval narrative to their audience, but Helgason emphasises how these texts simultaneously reflect the rewriters' contemporary ideas about race, culture, politics and poetics. Introducing the principles of comparative Translation Studies to the field of Medieval Literature, Helgason's book identifies the dialogue between literary (re)production and society.
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