The Sagas of the Icelanders

The Sagas of the Icelanders
Author: Jane Smilely
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2005-02-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0141933267
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In Iceland, the age of the Vikings is also known as the Saga Age. A unique body of medieval literature, the Sagas rank with the world’s great literary treasures – as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of the last millennium, these stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norse men and women who first settled in Iceland and of their descendants, who ventured farther west to Greenland and, ultimately, North America. Sailing as far from the archetypal heroic adventure as the long ships did from home, the Sagas are written with psychological intensity, peopled by characters with depth, and explore perennial human issues like love, hate, fate and freedom.

The Weather in the Icelandic Sagas

The Weather in the Icelandic Sagas
Author: Bernadine McCreesh
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2019-01-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1527525597
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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.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie
Author: Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2020-04-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350137103
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LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE Valkyries: the female supernatural beings that choose who dies and who lives on the battlefield. They protect some, but guide spears, arrows and sword blades into the bodies of others. Viking myths about valkyries attempt to elevate the banality of war – to make the pain and suffering, the lost limbs and deformities, the piles of lifeless bodies of young men, glorious and worthwhile. Rather than their death being futile, it is their destiny and good fortune, determined by divine beings. The women in these stories take full part in the power struggles and upheavals in their communities, for better or worse. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological evidence, Valkyrie introduces readers to the dramatic and fascinating texts recorded in medieval Iceland, a culture able to imagine women in all kinds of roles carrying power, not just in this world, but pulling the strings in the other-world, too. In the process, this fascinating book uncovers the reality behind the myths and legends to reveal the dynamic, diverse lives of Viking women.

The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, Including 49 Tales: An epic : Njal's saga

The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, Including 49 Tales: An epic : Njal's saga
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 488
Release: 1997
Genre: Old Norse literature
ISBN:
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The set contains "the first complete, coordinated English translation of The sagas of Icelanders, forty in all, together with forty-nine of the shorter Tales of Icelanders."--Preface.

The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga

The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga
Author: Margaret Clunies Ross
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2010-10-28
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1139492640
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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.

The Saga of Þórður Kakali

The Saga of Þórður Kakali
Author: D.M. White
Publisher: punctum books
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2020-12-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1953035272
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Laxdaela Saga

Laxdaela Saga
Author: Magnus Magnusson
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1969
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780140442182
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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.

An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders

An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders
Author: CARL. PHELPSTEAD
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-05-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780813080680
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Combining an accessible approach with innovative scholarship, Carl Phelpstead draws on historical context, contemporary theory, and close reading to deepen our understanding of Icelandic saga narratives about the island's early history.

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

The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180-1280)
Author: Theodore Murdock Andersson
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780801444081
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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.

The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas

The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas
Author: Ármann Jakobsson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2017-02-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 131704147X
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The last fifty years have seen a significant change in the focus of saga studies, from a preoccupation with origins and development to a renewed interest in other topics, such as the nature of the sagas and their value as sources to medieval ideologies and mentalities. The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas presents a detailed interdisciplinary examination of saga scholarship over the last fifty years, sometimes juxtaposing it with earlier views and examining the sagas both as works of art and as source materials. This volume will be of interest to Old Norse and medieval Scandinavian scholars and accessible to medievalists in general.