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The first comprehensive account of Old Icelandic literature set within its social and cultural context.
As complete a history as possible of the literature of Iceland.
This major survey of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and culturedemonstrates the remarkable continuity of Icelandic language andculture from medieval to modern times. Comprises 29 chapters written by leading scholars in thefield Reflects current debates among Old Norse-Icelandicscholars Pays attention to previously neglected areas of study, such asthe sagas of Icelandic bishops and the fantasy sagas Looks at the ways Old Norse-Icelandic literature is used bymodern writers, artists and film directors, both within and outsideScandinavia Sets Old Norse-Icelandic language and literature in its widercultural context
"In the past few decades, interest in the rich and varied literature of early Scandinavia has prompted a corresponding interest in its background: its origins, social and historical context, and relationship to other medieval literatures. Until the 1980s, however, there was a distinct lack of scholarship in English that synthesized the critical trends and thinking in the field, so in 1985 Carol J. Clover and John Lindow brought together several of the most distinguished Old Norse scholars to contribute essays for a collection that would finally provide a comprehensive guide to the major genres of Old Norse-Icelandic literature." "The contributors summarize and comment on scholarly work in th...
The current revival of interest in the rich and varied literature of early Scandinavia has prompted a corresponding interest in its background: its origins, social and historical context, and relationship to other medieval literatures. Even readers with a knowledge of Old Norse and Icelandic have found these subjects difficult to pursue, however, for up-to-date reference works in any language are few and none exist in English. To fill the gap, six distinguished scholars have contributed ambitious new essays to this volume. The contributors summarize and comment on scholarly work in the major branches of the field: Eddie and skaldic poetry, family and kings' sagas, courtly writing, and mythology. Taken together, their judicious and attractively written essays-each with a full bibliography-make up the first book-length survey of Old Norse literature in English and a basic reference work that will stimulate research in these areas and help to open up the field to a wider academic readership.
As the global banking boom of the early twenty-first century expanded towards implosion, Icelandic media began calling the country's celebrity financiers útrásarvíkingar: “raiding vikings.” This new coinage encapsulated the macho, medievalist nationalism which underwrote Iceland's exponential financialisation. Yet within a few days in October 2008, Iceland saw all its main banks collapse beneath debts worth nearly ten times the country's GDP.Hall charts how Icelandic novelists and poets grappled with the Crash over the ensuing decade. As the first English-language monograph devoted to twenty-first-century Icelandic literature, it provides Anglophone readers with an introduction to one...
From runic inscriptions to sagas, this book introduces readers to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature. An introduction to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature. Covers mythology and family sagas, as well as less well-known areas, such as oral story-telling, Eddaic verse and skaldic verse. An introduction helps readers to appreciate the language and culture of the first settlers in Iceland. Looks at the reception of Old-Norse-Icelandic literature over the ages, as views of the vikings have changed. Shows how a whole range of authors from Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney have been influenced by Old Norse-Icelandic literature.
"An in-depth, accessible history of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, this book provides analysis of all key genres in this celebrated body of writing and of their literary and historical contexts. Through essays by internationally distinguished scholars, it presents a fresh, unified, authoritative guide for specialists, students and general readers"--
Following this, Einarsson provides a thorough survey of Icelandic literature through the 1950s.
The great Icelandic novel by the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Halldór Laxness 'There are good books and there are great books and there may be a book that is something still more: it is the book of your life' New York Review of Books First published in 1946, this is a humane, epic novel set in rural Iceland. Bjartus is a sheep farmer determined to eke a living from a blighted patch of land. Nothing, not merciless weather, nor his family, will come between him and his goal of financial independence. Only Asta Solillja, the child he brings up as his daughter, can pierce his stubborn heart. As she grows up, keen to make her own way in the world, Bjartus's obstinacy threatens to estrange them forever. Written by the Nobel prize-winner dubbed the 'Tolstoy of the North', this is a magnificent portrait of the eerie Icelandic landscape and one man's dogged struggle for independence. 'I defy anyone to finish Halldór Laxness's Independent People without wetting the pages with tears' Jonathan Franzen, Guardian 'The greatest Icelandic novel and surely one of the best books of the 20th century' Hallgrímur Helgason, Guardian