Skaldsagas: Text, Vocation, and Desire in the Icelandic Sagas of Poets (Erganzungsbande Zum Reallexikon Der Germanischen Altertumskunde, Bd. 27)

Eleven papers present broad discussions of a small group of sagas which chronicle the lives of Skalds, court poets, and provide a vivid and entertaining portrait of poetry, love and warfare. The contributors examine the typical features of the skald sagas, their date and authorship, the relationship between verse and prose, their composition, characterisation and their relationship with other Icelandic and European genres. The sagas discussed are "Bjarnar saga", "Gunnlaugs saga", "Hallfredar saga" and "Kormaks saga". Introduction / Poole, Russell Gilbert 1-24 The Skald Sagas as a Genre: Definitions and Typical Features / Clunies Ross, Margaret 25-49 The Dating and Attributions of Verses in the Skald Sagas / Gade, Kari Ellen 50-74 The Relation Between Verses and Prose in "Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa" / Marold, Edith 75-124 The Relation Between Verses and Prose in "Hallfredar saga" and "Gunnlaugs saga" / Poole, Russell Gilbert 125-171 The Prosimetrum Form 1: Verses as Voices of the Past / Meulengracht Sørensen, Preben 172-190 The Prosimetrum Form 2: Verses as the Basis for Saga Composition and Interpretation / Tulinius, Torfi H. 191-217 Skald Sagas in Their Literary Context 1: Other Icelandic Genres / Lindow, John 218-231 Skald Sagas in Their Literary Context 2: Possible European Contexts / Finlay, Alison 232-271 Skald Sagas in Their Literary Context 3: The Love Triangle Theme / Andersson, Theodore Murdock 272-284 Representations of Skalds in the Sagas 1: Social and Professional Relations / Whaley, Diana Edwards 285-308 Representations of Skalds in the Sagas 2: Gender Relations / Jochens, Jenny M. 309-332 Literature 333 Notes on contributors 350 Index 353 Eleven papers present broad discussions of a small group of sagas which chronicle the lives of Skalds, court poets, and provide a vivid and entertaining portrait of poetry, love and warfare. The contributors examine the typical features of the skald sagas, their date and authorship, the relationship between verse and prose, their composition, characterisation and their relationship with other Icelandic and European genres. The sagas discussed are Bjarnar saga , Gunnlaugs saga , Hallfredar saga and Kormks saga . Our focus, then, is the small set of Icelandic sagas where the lives of those men are selectively chronicled: Kormáks saga, Hallfredar saga, Bjarnar saga Hitdlakappa, and Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu. Four renowned sagas about Icelandic poets (or skalds) - "Bjarnar Saga", "Gunnlaugs Saga", "Hallfredar Saga", and "Korm ks Saga" - provide the focus for this book.