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Author Andersson, Theodore Murdock, 1934-

Title The growth of the medieval Icelandic sagas (1180-1280) / Theodore M. Andersson
Published Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, ©2006

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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
Print version record
SUBJECT Konungasögur. ram
Íslendingasögur. ram
Subject Sagas -- History and criticism
Old Norse literature -- History and criticism
LITERARY CRITICISM -- Medieval.
Old Norse literature
Sagas
Saga
Sagas -- Histoire et critique.
littérature islandaise -- Moyen-Âge.
saga -- Islande -- Moyen-Âge.
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780801460302
0801460301