About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherCambridge University Press

ISBN-100521110254

ISBN-139780521110259

eBay Product ID (ePID)71887971

Product Key Features

Number of Pages352 Pages

Publication NameOld Icelandic Literature and Society

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2009

SubjectEurope / Scandinavia, European / Scandinavian, European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, History

AuthorMargaret Clunies Ross

SeriesCambridge Studies in Medieval Literature Ser.

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight18.4 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

Reviews"eminently well-considered and well-written overview of the nature of medieval Icelandic society and its various social, political, and legal institutions in relation to its literary production and the way in which literature was used...the volume is a stimulating and enjoyable book, especially if read piecemeal and not in one sitting...An important factor to the credit of the volume is its detailed subject and name Index and the full Bioliographies and often-detailes notes at the end of each article, which enable the reader to follow each contributor's tracks." Envoi Spring 2000, '... it works as a sound new slant on [Old Icelandic literature] from a contemporary academic perspective. All those working in the field will want to take account of it.' Heather O'Donoghue, Times Literary Supplement, ' ... the book provides a well-grounded and interesting introduction to Old Icelandic literature, with the bonus of multiple signposts towards new directions in Old Norse scholarship.' Modern Language Review

Series Volume NumberSeries Number 42

IllustratedYes

Table Of ContentIntroduction Margaret Clunies Ross; 1. Social institutions and belief systems of medieval Iceland (ca. 870-1400) and their relation to literary production Preben Meulengracht Sørensen; 2. From orality to literacy in medieval Iceland Judy Quinn; 3. Poetry and its changing importance in medieval Icelandic culture Kari Ellen Gade; 4. Øláfr Pøarson hvítaskáld and oral poetry in the west of Iceland ca. 1250 Gísli Sigursson; 5. The conservation and reinterpretation of myth in medieval Icelandic writings Margaret Clunies Ross; 6. Medieval Iceland artes poeticae Stephen Tranter; 7. A useful past: historical writing in medieval Iceland Diana Whaley; 8. Sagas of Icelanders as the literary representation of a new social space Jürg Glauser; 9. The contemporary sagas and their social context Gurún Nordal; 10. The matter of the north: fiction and uncertain identities in thirteenth-century Iceland Torfi H. Tulinius; 11. Romance in Iceland Geraldine Barnes; 12. The Bible and biblical interpretation in medieval Iceland Ian Kirby; 13. Sagas of saints Margaret Cormack.

SynopsisFrom the period of settlement (870-930) to the end of the fourteenth century, Icelanders produced one of the most varied and original literatures of medieval Europe. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive account of Old Icelandic literature within its social setting and across a range of genres. An international team of specialists examines the ways in which the unique social experiment in Iceland, a kingless society without an established authority structure, inspired a wealth of innovative writing composed in the Icelandic vernacular. Icelanders explored their uniqueness through poetry, mythologies, metrical treatises, religious writing, and through saga, a new literary genre which textualised their history and incorporated oral traditions in a written form. The book shows that Icelanders often used their textual abilities to gain themselves political and intellectual advantage, not least in the period when the state's freedom came to an end., This is the first book to provide a comprehensive account of Old Icelandic literature within its social context. Leading experts examine the ways in which Iceland's unique social experiment, a kingless society without an established authority structure, inspired a wealth of writing including a new literary genre - the saga.

LC Classification NumberPT7113 .O53 2000