Norse-Gaelic contacts in a Viking world : studies in the literature and history of Norway, Iceland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man / by Colmán Etchingham, Jón Viðar Sigurðsson, Máire Ni Mhaonaigh, and Elizabeth Ashman Rowe.
This multi-disciplinary volume draws on the combined expertise of specialists in the history and literature of medieval Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland to shed new light on the interplay of Norse and Gaelic literary traditions. Through four detailed case-studies, which examine the Norwegian 'Konungs skuggsjá', the Icelandic 'Njáls saga' and 'Landnámabók', and the Gaelic text 'Baile Suthach Sith Emhna', the volume explores the linguistic, cultural, and political contacts that existed between Norse and Gaelic speakers in the High Middle Ages, and examines the impetus behind these texts, including oral tradition, transfer of written sources, and authorial adaption and invention. Crucially, these texts are not only examined as literary products of the thirteenth century, but also as repositories of older historical traditions, and the authors seek to explore these wider historical contexts, as well as analyse how and why historical and literary material was transmitted. The volume contains English translations of key extracts and also provides a detailed discussion of sources and methodologies to ensure that this milestone of scholarship is accessible to both students and subject-specialists.
Series:
Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe volume 29
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.