The medieval Norse-Icelandic saga is one of the most important
European vernacular literary genres of the Middle Ages. This
Introduction to the saga genre outlines its origins and
development, its literary character, its material existence in
manuscripts and printed editions, and its changing reception from
the Middle Ages to the present time. Its multiple sub-genres -
including family sagas, mythical-heroic sagas and sagas of knights
- are described and discussed in detail, and the world of medieval
Icelanders is powerfully evoked. The first general study of the Old
Norse-Icelandic saga to be written in English for some decades, the
Introduction is based on up-to-date scholarship and engages with
current debates in the field. With suggestions for further reading,
detailed information about the Icelandic literary canon, and a map
of medieval Iceland, this book is aimed at students of medieval
literature and assumes no prior knowledge of Scandinavian
languages.
目錄：
List of tables viii
A preface on practical issues ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Abbreviations xiv
1 Medieval Iceland
Setting the scene
Why Iceland?
Where did the settlers come from?
Medieval Iceland society
Religion
Why did medieval Icelanders write so much and so well?
2 What is an Old Norse-Icelandic saga?
The term Old Norse
What is an Old Norse-Icelandic saga?
Saga in the medieval lexicon
How are sagas different from non-sagas?
The view from inside the text
Kinds of sagas
3 The genesis of the Icelandic saga
Theories of saga origins
A major controversy in studies of saga origins: bookprose
versus freeprose
Studies of oral cultures and their impact on saga
studies
Vernacular literacy in medieval Iceland
The growth of saga conventions
Concepts of authorship
4 Saga chronology
The politics of saga chronology
The evidence of the manuscripts
Dating criteria
Some tentative conclusions
5 Saga subjects and settings
Time and place in the saga world
The world of the fornaldars?gur
Riddaras?gur and their world
Kings’ sagas
Sagas of Icelanders and their world
Contemporary sagas
6 Saga mode, style and point of view
An example of prosimetrum: Kormáks saga, Chapter
6
Literary and cultural background
The analysis
Valla-Ljóts saga, Chapter 4
Literary and cultural background
The analysis
Brennu-Njáls saga, Chapter 157
Literary and cultural background
The analysis
?rvar-Odds saga, Chapter 42
Literary and cultural background
The analysis
Conclusion
7 Saga structures
Structure and meaning
Structures of conflict and resolution
Life-histories: structures of biography and genealogy
Structures of travel and the acquisition of knowledge
Structural complexity in the Icelandic sagas
8 The material record: how we know the sagas
Medieval Icelandic manuscripts and manuscript copying
The copying and collecting of Icelandic manuscripts after
the Middle Ages
Saga editions: principles and practice
9 Changing understandings of the sagas
The reception of sagas in post-medieval Iceland
The reception of the Icelandic sagas outside Iceland
Notes
Glossary of technical terms
Guide to further reading
References to volumes in the ?slenzk fornrit editions of
Icelandic sagas
Index
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