An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders (New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions)

An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders provides new perspectives on a unique medieval literary genre: the Sagas of Icelanders (also known in English as Family Sagas). The book deepens our understanding both of the Old Norse-Icelandic texts and of our responses to them by attending to the ways in which the texts work as narratives of identity. It offers a fresh account of the sagas by relating them to questions addressed by postcolonial studies, feminist and queer theory, and ecocriticism, approaches that are currently more familiar in other areas of literary study than in the study of Old Norse-Icelandic literature. The book begins by examining what an Icelandic saga is, and then goes on to discuss the origins of the genre, describing its historical contexts and arguing that a rich variety of oral and written source traditions combined to produce a new literary form. The book then examines issues of national, religious, and legal identity, gender and sexuality, and the relations between human beings, nature, and the supernatural. Readings of selected individual sagas show how the various source traditions and thematic concerns of the genre interact in the most widely read and admired sagas. A brief history of the translation of the sagas into English shows how consistently translation has been inspired by, and undertaken in accordance with, beliefs about identity. The book’s conclusion draws together the preceding chapters by underlining how they have presented the sagas of Icelanders as narrative explorations of identity and alterity. Combining an accessible approach with innovative scholarship, An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders provides up-to-date perspectives on a unique medieval literary genre that has fascinated the English-speaking world for more than two centuries. Carl Phelpstead draws on historical context, contemporary theory, and close reading to deepen our understanding of Icelandic saga narratives about the island's early history. Phelpstead explores the origins and cultural setting of the genre, demonstrating the rich variety of oral and written source traditions that writers drew on to produce the sagas. He provides fresh, theoretically informed discussions of major themes such as national identity, gender and sexuality, and nature and the supernatural, relating the Old Norse-Icelandic texts to questions addressed by postcolonial studies, feminist and queer theory, and ecocriticism. He then presents readings of select individual sagas, pointing out how the genre's various source traditions and thematic concerns interact. Including an overview of the history of English translations that shows how they have been stimulated and shaped by ideas about identity, and featuring a glossary of critical terms, this book is an essential resource for students of the literary form. A volume in the series New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh Foreword by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh. Combining an accessible approach with innovative scholarship, 'An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders' provides up-to-date perspectives on a unique medieval literary genre that has fascinated the English-speaking world for more than two centuries. Carl Phelpstead draws on historical context, contemporary theory, and close reading to deepen our understanding of Icelandic saga narratives about the island's early history. Phelpstead explores the origins and cultural setting of the genre, demonstrating the rich variety of oral and written source traditions that writers drew on to produce the sagas. He provides fresh, theoretically informed discussions of major themes such as national identity, gender and sexuality, and nature and the supernatural, relating the Old Norse-Icelandic texts to questions addressed by postcolonial studies, feminist and queer theory, and ecocriticism. He then presents readings of select individual sagas, pointing out how the genre's various source traditions and thematic concerns interact. Including an overview of the history of English translations that shows how they have been stimulated and shaped by ideas about identity, and featuring a glossary of critical terms, this book is an essential resource for students of the literary form. Foreword vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii A Note on Names and Pronunciation xv List of Abbreviations xix Chronology xxi 1. Encountering the Sagas 1 2. Traditions in Time 13 3. Icelandic Identities 52 4. Reading Selected Sagas 93 5. The Sagas in English 148 Conclusion: Identity and Alterity 163 Reference Material: Glossary and Table of Editions, Translations, and Possible Dates 167 Notes 175 Bibliography 183 Index 199 Combining an accessible approach with innovative scholarship, this book provides up-to-date perspectives on a unique medieval literary genre. Carl Phelpstead draws on historical context, contemporary theory, and close reading to deepen our understanding of Icelandic saga narratives about the island's early history "Combining an accessible approach with innovative scholarship, Carl Phelpstead draws on historical context, contemporary theory, and close reading to deepen our understanding of Icelandic saga narratives about the island'searly history"-- Fourni par l'éditeur