The Meters of Old Norse Eddic Poetry: Common Germanic Inheritance and North Germanic Innovation (Ergnzungsbnde zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde, 86)

This book is a formal and functional study of the three distinct meters of Old Norse eddic poetry, __fornyrðislag__, __málaháttr__, and __ljóðaháttr__. Itprovides a systematic account of these archaic meters, both synchronic and diachronic, and from a comparative Germanic perspective; particularly concerned with Norse innovations in metrical practice, Suzukiexplores how and why the three meters were shaped in West Scandinavia through divergent reorganization of the Common Germanic metrical system. The bookconstitutes the first comprehensive work on the meters of Old Norse eddic poetry in a single coherent framework; with thorough data presentation, detailed philological analysis, and sophisticated linguistic explanation, the book will be of enormous interest to Old Germanic philologists/linguists, medievalists, as well as metrists of all persuasions. A strong methodological advantage of this work is the extensive use of inferential statistical techniques for giving empirical support to specific analyses and claims being adduced. Another strength is a cognitive dimension, a (re)construction of a prototype-based model of the metrical system and its overall characterization as an integral part of the poetic knowledge that governed eddic poets' verse-making technique in general.

This book is a formal and functional study of the three distinct meters of Old Norse eddic poetry, fornyrðislag, málaháttr, and ljóðaháttr. Itprovides a systematic account of these archaic meters, both synchronic and diachronic, and from a comparative Germanic perspective; particularly concerned with Norse innovations in metrical practice, Suzukiexplores how and why the three meters were shaped in West Scandinavia through divergent reorganization of the Common Germanic metrical system. The bookconstitutes the first comprehensive work on the meters of Old Norse eddic poetry in a single coherent framework; with thorough data presentation, detailed philological analysis, and sophisticated linguistic explanation, the book will be of enormous interest to Old Germanic philologists/linguists, medievalists, as well as metrists of all persuasions. A strong methodological advantage of this work is the extensive use of inferential statistical techniques for giving empirical support to specific analyses and claims being adduced. Another strength is a cognitive dimension, a (re)construction of a prototype-based model of the metrical system and its overall characterization as an integral part of the poetic knowledge that governed eddic poets' verse-making technique in general.

This book is a formal and functional study of the three distinct meters of Old Norse eddic poetry, fornyrðislag, málaháttr, and ljóðaháttr. It provides a systematic account of these archaic meters, both synchronic and diachronic, and from a comparative Germanic perspective; particularly concerned with Norse innovations in metrical practice, Suzuki explores how and why the three meters were shaped in West Scandinavia through divergent reorganization of the Common Germanic metrical system. The book constitutes the first comprehensive work on the meters of Old Norse eddic poetry in a single coherent framework; with thorough data presentation, detailed philological analysis, and sophisticated linguistic explanation, the book will be of enormous interest to Old Germanic philologists/linguists, medievalists, as well as metrists of all persuasions. A strong methodological advantage of this work is the extensive use of inferential statistical techniques for giving empirical support to specific analyses and claims being adduced. Another strength is a cognitive dimension, a (re)construction of a prototype-based model of the metrical system and its overall characterization as an integral part of the poetic knowledge that governed eddic poets' verse-making technique in general. 1 Introduction Part I. Fornyrðislag Introduction 2 Verse types and their realizations 3 Anacrusis and catalexis 4 Resolution 5 The cadence 6 Alliteration 7 The stanza Part II. Málaháttr Introduction 8 The prototype of málaháttr: Atlamál in grœnlenzco 9 A peripheral variant of fornyrðislag/málaháttr 1: Atlaqviða in grœnlenzca 10 A peripheral variant of fornyrðislag/málaháttr 2: Hamðismál 11 A peripheral variant of fornyrðislag/málaháttr 3: Hárbarðzlióð Part III. Ljóðaháttr Introduction 12 The a-verse and the b-verse 13 The c-verse 14 The stanza 15 Conclusion Appendix 1: Catalogue of verse types Appendix 2: Dróttkvætt and the eddic meters References Index of scansion Index of authors Index of subjects Index of verses A formal and functional study of the three meters of Old Norse eddic poetry, fornyrðislag, málaháttr, and ljóðaháttr, this book provides their systematic account (synchronic, diachronic, and from a comparative Germanic perspective). With thorough data presentation, detailed philological analysis, and sophisticated linguistic explanation, it will be of interest to Germanic philologists/linguists, medievalists, and metrists of all persuasions. A formal and functional study of the three meters of Old Norse eddic poetry, fornyrdislag, malahattr, and ljodahattr, this book provides their systematic account (synchronic, diachronic, and from a comparative Germanic perspective). It is of interest to Germanic philologists/linguists, medievalists, and metrists of all persuasions. Biographical note: Seiichi Suzuki, Kansai Gaidai University, Hirakata, Japan