Description |
1 online resource (x, 237 pages) |
Series |
Cornell paperbacks |
Contents |
From hagiography to hero : Odd Snorrason's saga Olaf Tryggvason -- Sanctifying a Viking chieftain : the oldest/legendary saga of Saint Olaf -- Creating personalities : the saga age Icelanders -- Defining political identities : the saga of King Magnús and King Harald -- Political ambiguities : Egils saga Skallagrímssonar -- Turning inward : Ljósvetninga saga -- Gilding an age : Laxdola saga -- Two views of Icelandic history : Eyrbyggja saga and Vatnsdaela saga -- Pondering justice : Haensa-Þóris saga, Bandamanna saga, and Hrafnkels saga -- Demythologizing the tradition : Njáls saga |
Summary |
"Theodore M. Andersson, a leading scholar of the Norse sagas, introduces readers to the development of the Icelandic sagas between 1180 and 1280, a crucial period that witnessed a gradual shift of emphasis from tales of adventure and personal distinction to the analysis of political and historical propositions. Andersson emphasizes a historical perspective, establishing a chronology for seventeen of the most important sagas and showing how they evolve thematically and stylistically over the century under study. He revisits the long-standing debate about the oral and literary components of the sagas by arguing that there is a clear progression from the somewhat mechanical gathering of oral lore in the early sagas to an increasingly tight and authorially controlled composition in the later sagas."--Jacket |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
Notes |
English |
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Print version record |
SUBJECT |
Konungasögur. ram |
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Íslendingasögur. ram |
Subject |
Sagas -- History and criticism
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Old Norse literature -- History and criticism
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LITERARY CRITICISM -- Medieval.
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Old Norse literature
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Sagas
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Saga
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Sagas -- Histoire et critique.
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littérature islandaise -- Moyen-Âge.
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saga -- Islande -- Moyen-Âge.
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Genre/Form |
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
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Form |
Electronic book
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ISBN |
9780801460302 |
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0801460301 |
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