Eddas and Sagas: Iceland’s Medieval Literature

Description

Translated by Peter Foote. This book presents the history of Icelandic literature from the earliest times to the Reformation. Because no comparable work has hiterto been published in a major international language, it fulfills a pressing need. For Icelanders the Eddas and sagas are still an accessible body of living literature. They were a high point in the literary achievement of the European Middle Ages and are Scandinavia's most important contribution to world literature. The author, Dr. Jónas Kristjánsson, is an internationally recognized scholar and author. He is Director of the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, which is responsible for the study and preservation of the Old Icelandic manuscripts. The translator, Dr. Peter Foote, Professor emeritus at University College, London, a distinguished scholar and writer, is widely known for The Viking Achievement, written in collaboration with Sir David Wilson, Director of the British Museum. Preface 7 A new land 9 The major periods 21 Eddaic poetry 25 Skaldic poetry 83 An age of learning 115 Hagiography. Saints' lives 135 Kings' sagas 147 Contemporary sagas 179 Sagas of Icelanders 203 Íslendinga þættir 299 Sagas of chivalry 211 Heroic sagas 341 Jónsbók 363 New forms 369 Bibliography 401 Index 415