Njals Saga and Its Christian Background: A Study of Narrative Method. Germania Latina VIII

Njals Saga and Its Christian Background: A Study of Narrative Method. Germania Latina VIII PDF

Author: A. Hamer

Publisher: Peeters

Published: 2014-12-31

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9789042930896

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Njals saga is universally recognised as the greatest and most complex of all the sagas of Icelanders (Islendingasogur). The originality with which the writer composed his narrative has led to its being likened to a novel created by an author who certainly used sources, although identifying which parts of the saga descend from oral and which from written sources has proved difficult. The 'Christian background' of the title of this study refers to the ecclesiastical texts (including Scripture and its exegesis, church liturgy and the liturgical year, and hagiographical and apocryphal writings) which, it is argued, were used by the author of Njals saga as he both created a bipartite structure, using familiar Christian metaphors to help unify the work; and developed his central thematic concern: that good legal judgement depends upon justice and mercy acting together, as in divine judgement. It is this which finally redeems Skarphedinn Njalsson.

New Studies in the Manuscript Tradition of Njáls saga

New Studies in the Manuscript Tradition of Njáls saga PDF

Author: Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2018-10-22

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 1580443060

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Njáls saga is the best known and most highly regarded of all medieval Icelandic sagas and it occupies a special place in Icelandic cultural history. The manuscript tradition is exceptionally rich and extensive. The oldest extant manuscripts date to only a couple of decades after the saga’s composition in the late 13th century and the saga was subsequently copied by hand continuously up until the 20th century, even alongside the circulation of printed text editions in latter centuries. The manuscript corpus as a whole has great socio-historical value, showcasing the myriad ways in which generations of Icelanders interpreted the saga and took an active part in its transmission; the manuscripts are also valuable sources for evidence of linguistic change and other phenomena. The essays in this volume present new research and a range of interdisciplinary perspectives on the Njáls saga manuscripts. Many of the authors took part in the international research project "The Variance of Njáls saga" which was funded by the Icelandic Research Council from 2011-2013.

Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400

Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400 PDF

Author: Ármann Jakobsson

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-03-23

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 1501513613

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This anthology of international scholarship offers new critical approaches to the study of the many manifestations of the paranormal in the Middle Ages. The guiding principle of the collection is to depart from symbolic or reductionist readings of the subject matter in favor of focusing on the paranormal as human experience and, essentially, on how these experiences are defined by the sources. The authors work with a variety of medieval Icelandic textual sources, including family sagas, legendary sagas, romances, poetry, hagiography and miracles, exploring the diversity of paranormal activity in the medieval North. This volume questions all previous definitions of the subject matter, most decisively the idea of saga realism, and opens up new avenues in saga research.

The Rewriting of Njáls Saga

The Rewriting of Njáls Saga PDF

Author: Jón Karl Helgason

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 9781853594571

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The Rewriting of Njáls saga concerns itself with the process which enables literary texts to cross cultures and endure history. Through six interrelated case studies, Jón Karl Helgason focuses on the reception of Njáls saga, the most distinguished of the Icelandic sagas, in Britain, the United States, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, between 1861 and 1945. The editions and translations in question claim to represent a medieval narrative to their audience, but Helgason emphasises how these texts simultaneously reflect the rewriters' contemporary ideas about race, culture, politics and poetics. Introducing the principles of comparative Translation Studies to the field of Medieval Literature, Helgason's book identifies the dialogue between literary (re)production and society.

Njal's Saga

Njal's Saga PDF

Author:

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

Published: 1997-06-12

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9781853267857

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Proclaimed as one of the finest Icelandic sagas, this text was written in about 1280 and refers to events a couple of centuries earlier. It is full of the details of everyday life, as well as the social structures of the society in which they take place.

Laxdaela Saga

Laxdaela Saga PDF

Author: Magnus Magnusson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 1969

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 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.