Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture (eBook)

Rory McTurk is Professor of Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds. Previously he has taught at the Universities of Lund and Copenhagen and at University College, Dublin. He is the author of Studies in Ragnars saga lodbrókar and its Major Scandinavian Analogues (1991) and Chaucer and the Norse and Celtic Worlds (2005), and has translated Kormáks saga for the Penguin Sagas of Warrior-Poets (2002).

Notes on Contributors viii

Maps xii

Introduction 1

Rory McTurk

1 Archaeology of Economy and Society 7

Orri Vésteinsson

2 Christian Biography 27

Margaret Cormack

3 Christian Poetry 43

Katrina Attwood

4 Continuity? The Icelandic Sagas in Post-Medieval Times
64

Jón Karl Helgason

5 Eddic Poetry 82

Terry Gunnell

6 Family Sagas 101

Vésteinn Ólason

7 Geography and Travel 119

Judith Jesch

8 Historical Background: Iceland 870-1400 136

Helgi Dorláksson

9 Historiography and Pseudo-History 155

Stefanie Würth

10 Language 173

Michael Barnes

11 Late Prose Fiction (lygiso¨gur) 190

Matthew Driscoll

12 Late Secular Poetry 205

Shaun Hughes

13 Laws 223

Gudmund Sandvik and Jón Vidar Sigurdsson

14 Manuscripts and Palaeography 245

Gudvardur Már Gunnlaugsson

15 Metre and Metrics 265

Russell Poole

16 Orality and Literacy in the Sagas of Icelanders 285

Gísli Sigurdsson

17 Pagan Myth and Religion 302

Peter Orton

18 The Post-Medieval Reception of Old Norse and Old Icelandic
Literature 320

Andrew Wawn

19 Prose of Christian Instruction 338

Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir

20 Rhetoric and Style 354

Dórir Óskarsson

21 Romance (Translated riddarasögur) 372

Jürg Glauser

22 Royal Biography 388

Ármann Jakobsson

23 Runes 403

Patrik Larsson

24 Sagas of Contemporary History (Sturlunga saga): Texts and
Research 427

Úlfar Bragason

25 Sagas of Icelandic Prehistory (fornaldarsögur) 447

Torfi H. Tulinius

26 Short Prose Narrative (dáttr) 462

Elizabeth Ashman Rowe and Joseph Harris

27 Skaldic Poetry 479

Diana Whaley

28 Social Institutions 503

Gunnar Karlsson

29 Women in Old Norse Poetry and Sagas 518

Judy Quinn

Index 536

"In a series that already has a large number and wide range of
excellent titles to its credit, I would venture opinion that this
volume is one of its best...we have here a major publication of
considerable value, not to mention its intrinsic interest.
Obviously it will be a necessary acquisition for any specialist
collection and for any academic collection where aspects of Old
Norse literature and culture may be needed...this will also be a
useful addition to major general collections."

Reference Reviews

"...its chapters are crammed full to bursting with facts and
figures, references to primary and secondary sources, swift
overviews of past scholarship, and (very importantly) present
debates. This is ostensibly a reference book, to be consulted on
particular issues and subjects. But as with all the best
encyclopedias...browsing becomes addictive...Mc Turk's Companion to
Old Norse-Icelandic Studies is a great resource for the scholar or
graduate student who may think, mistakenly, that he or she is
familiar with this field."

The Review of English Studies

"No one could read the volume and not learn something, indeed a
great deal"

TLS

"A comprehensive guide to Old Norse-Icelandic literature
which functions as a basic reference work for scholars in
neighboring disciplines, a reliable introduction for students, and
an interesting and informative read for Old Norse scholars ...
a remarkable achievement and a valuable resource."

Carolyne Larrington, St John's College, Modern Language
Review