Overview

A landmark new history of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, this volume is a comprehensive, up-to-date guide to a unique and celebrated body of medieval writing. Chapters by internationally recognized experts offer the latest in-depth analysis of every significant genre and group of texts in the corpus, including sagas and skaldic verse, romances and saints' lives, myths and histories, laws and learned literature. Together, they provide a scholarly, readable and accessible overview of the whole field. Innovatively organized by the chronology and geography of the texts' settings – which stretch from mythic history to medieval Iceland, from Vinland to Byzantium – they reveal the interconnectedness of diverse genres encompassing verse and prose, translations and original works, Christian and pre-Christian literature, fiction and non-fiction. This is the ideal volume for specialists, students and general readers who want a fresh and authoritative guide to the literature of medieval Iceland and Norway.

Full Product Details

Author:   Heather O'Donoghue (University of Oxford) ,  Eleanor Parker (University of Oxford)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.00cm , Height: 3.50cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   1.160kg
ISBN:  

9781108486811

ISBN 10:   1108486819
Pages:   648
Publication Date:   29 February 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Contexts: 1. History: Iceland from the settlement to 1400 CE Haki Antonsson; 2. Manuscripts and textual culture Emily Lethbridge; 3. Poetic language, form and metre R. D. Fulk; 4. Theoretical approaches Torfi H. Tulinius; 5. Reception Verena Höfig; 6. Landscape and material culture Jane Harrison; Part II. The Distant Past: 7. Mythological poetry Judy Quinn; 8. Heroic poetry Carolyne Larrington; 9. Fornaldarsögur Annette Lassen; Part III. The Saga Age: 10. Íslendingasögur Margaret Clunies Ross; 11. Poets' sagas Alison Finlay; 12. Prosimetrum in the Íslendingasögur Heather O'Donoghue; 13. Court poetry Diana Whaley; Part IV. The New Christian World: 14. Conversion and literature Christopher Abram; 15. Saints' lives Siân Grønlie; 16. Christian poetry Kirsten Wolf; 17. Homilies and Christian instruction Jonas Wellendorf; 18. Biskupa sögur Ásdís Egilsdóttir; Part V. Beyond Iceland: 19. Kings' sagas Erin Michelle Goeres; 20. Diaspora sagas Judith Jesch; 21. Riddarasögur Sif Ríkharðsdóttir; 22. Rímur M. J. Driscoll; Part VI. Compilations: 23. The Prose Edda Kevin J. Wanner; 24. Samtíðarsögur Ármann Jakobsson; 25. Learned literature Guðrún Nordal; 26. Grágás and the legal culture of Commonwealth Iceland William Ian Miller.

Reviews

'The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature offers readers comprehensive and authoritative essays on the principal genres, concepts, and contexts connected with this extraordinary medieval literature. Written by leading experts in the field, the book's twenty-six essays are divided into six sections, reflecting a broadly chronological arrangement (Contexts, The Distant Past, The Saga Age, The New Christian World, Beyond Iceland, and Compilations). The topics of the individual chapters range widely from, for example, 'Theoretical Approaches' to 'Landscape and Material Culture' to 'Diaspora Sagas' to 'Homilies and Christian Instruction', and in addition to treatments of the better-known saga genres this reference work also examines such critically important topics as legal culture and 'Rímur'. Elegantly written, with generous references to the scholarly literature, The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature seems destined to hold a prominent place on the 'ready-reference' shelf of every medievalist's library.' Stephen A. Mitchell, Harvard University 'This comprehensive volume exceeds even the expectations raised by its distinguished list of contributors. It consistently delivers masterly, up-to-date accounts of all key aspects of the medieval vernacular literature of Iceland, Norway, and the Norse-speaking diaspora, from manuscripts and metre to landscape and law. Organised mainly by genre, it does justice both to such extensively studied texts as family sagas, heroic poetry and myth, and to comparatively neglected writings (including saints lives', learned literature, homilies, and rímur), astutely elucidating the claims of each kind of text on our attention. Anyone with the good sense to read this Cambridge History from cover to cover will encounter fascinating topics as varied as the literary afterlife of Attila the Hun, the insights offered by biocodicology and the medieval uses of walrus oil. The book will be a stimulating and essential resource for everyone interested in the riches of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, from beginning students to expert researchers.' Carl Phelpstead, Professor of English Literature, Cardiff University

Author Information

Heather O'Donoghue is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse at Linacre College, Oxford. She has published widely on the reception of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and the narratology of Old Norse sagas. She recently completed a monograph on Beowulf and is current President of the Viking Society for Northern Research. Eleanor Parker teaches medieval English literature at Brasenose College, Oxford. She is the author of Dragon Lords: The History and Legends of Viking England (2018), Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England (2022) and Winters in the World: A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year (2022).

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