New Studies in the Manuscript Tradition of Njáls saga

New Studies in the Manuscript Tradition of Njáls saga
Author: Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2018-10-22
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3110625393

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.

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
Author: A. Hamer
Publisher: Peeters
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2014-12-31
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9789042930896

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.

The Rewriting of Njáls Saga

The Rewriting of Njáls Saga
Author: Jón Karl Helgason
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 186
Release: 1999-01-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9781853594571

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.

Njál's Saga

Njál's Saga
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 420
Release: 1955
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

The story of Burnt Njal, the great Icelandic tribune, jurist, and consellor.

'Why is Your Axe Bloody?'

'Why is Your Axe Bloody?'
Author: William Ian Miller
Publisher:
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2014
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0198704844

Njals saga, the greatest of the sagas of the Icelanders, was written around 1280. It tells the story of a complex feud that starts innocently enough--in a tiff over seating arrangement at a local feast--and expands over the course of 20 years to engulf half the country, in which both sides are effectively exterminated, Njal and his family burned to death in their farmhouse, the other faction picked off over the entire course of the feud. Law and feud feature centrally in the saga, Njal, its hero, being the greatest lawyer of his generation. No reading of the saga can do it justice unless it takes its law, its feuding strategies, as well as the author's stunning manipulation and saga conventions. In 'Why is Your Axe Bloody?' W.I. Miller offers a lively, entertaining, and completely orignal personal reading of this lengthy saga.

Approaches to the Medieval Self

Approaches to the Medieval Self
Author: Stefka G. Eriksen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2020-09-21
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3110664763

The main aim of this book is to discuss various modes of studying and defining the medieval self, based on a wide span of sources from medieval Western Scandinavia, c. 800-1500, such as archeological evidence, architecture and art, documents, literature, and runic inscriptions. The book engages with major theoretical discussions within the humanities and social sciences, such as cultural theory, practice theory, and cognitive theory. The authors investigate how the various approaches to the self influence our own scholarly mindsets and horizons, and how they condition what aspects of the medieval self are 'visible' to us. Utilizing this insight, we aim to propose a more syncretic approach towards the medieval self, not in order to substitute excellent models already in existence, but in order to foreground the flexibility and the complementarity of the current theories, when these are seen in relationship to each other. The self and how it relates to its surrounding world and history is a main concern of humanities and social sciences. Focusing on the theoretical and methodological flexibility when approaching the medieval self has the potential to raise our awareness of our own position and agency in various social spaces today.

Njáls Saga

Njáls Saga
Author: Njáls Saga
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2023-12-22
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0520308786

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.

Medieval Disability Sourcebook

Medieval Disability Sourcebook
Author: Cameron Hunt McNabb
Publisher: punctum books
Total Pages: 501
Release: 2020
Genre: History
ISBN: 1950192733

The field of disability studies significantly contributes to contemporary discussions of the marginalization of and social justice for individuals with disabilities. However, what of disability in the past? The Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe explores what medieval texts have to say about disability, both in their own time and for the present. This interdisciplinary volume on medieval Europe combines historical records, medical texts, and religious accounts of saints' lives and miracles, as well as poetry, prose, drama, and manuscript images to demonstrate the varied and complicated attitudes medieval societies had about disability. Far from recording any monolithic understanding of disability in the Middle Ages, these contributions present a striking range of voices-to, from, and about those with disabilities-and such diversity only confirms how disability permeated (and permeates) every aspect of life. The Medieval Disability Sourcebook is designed for use inside the undergraduate or graduate classroom or by scholars interested in learning more about medieval Europe as it intersects with the field of disability studies. Most texts are presented in modern English, though some are preserved in Middle English and many are given in side-by-side translations for greater study. Each entry is prefaced with an academic introduction to disability within the text as well as a bibliography for further study. This sourcebook is the first in a proposed series focusing on disability in a wide range of premodern cultures, histories, and geographies.

The Secret in Medieval Literature

The Secret in Medieval Literature
Author: Albrecht Classen
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2022-11-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1666917877

The Secret in Medieval Literature explores the many secret agents, actions, creatures, and other beings influencing human existence. Medieval poets had a clear sense of the alternative dimension (the secret) and allowed it to enter quite frequently into their texts.