Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture

Rory McTurk is Professor of Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds. Previously he has taught at the Universities of Lund and Copenhagen and at University College, Dublin. He is the author of Studies in Ragnars saga loðbrókar and its Major Scandinavian Analogues (1991) and Chaucer and the Norse and Celtic Worlds (2005), and has translated Kormáks saga for the Penguin Sagas of Warrior-Poets (2002).

"In a series that already has a large number and wide range of excellent titles to its credit, I would venture opinion that this volume is one of its best...we have here a major publication of considerable value, not to mention its intrinsic interest. Obviously it will be a necessary acquisition for any specialist collection and for any academic collection where aspects of Old Norse literature and culture may be needed...this will also be a useful addition to major general collections." Reference Reviews"...its chapters are crammed full to bursting with facts and figures, references to primary and secondary sources, swift overviews of past scholarship, and (very importantly) present debates. This is ostensibly a reference book, to be consulted on particular issues and subjects. But as with all the best encyclopedias...browsing becomes addictive...Mc Turk's Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Studies is a great resource for the scholar or graduate student who may think, mistakenly, that he or she is familiar with this field."The Review of English Studies "No one could read the volume and not learn something, indeed a great deal"TLS “A comprehensive guide to Old Norse-Icelandic literature which functions as a basic reference work for scholars in neighboring disciplines, a reliable introduction for students, and an interesting and informative read for Old Norse scholars … a remarkable achievement and a valuable resource.”Carolyne Larrington, St John’s College, Modern Language Review

• Notes on Contributors viiiMaps xiiIntroduction 1Rory McTurk1 Archaeology of Economy and Society 7Orri Vésteinsson2 Christian Biography 27Margaret Cormack3 Christian Poetry 43Katrina Attwood4 Continuity? The Icelandic Sagas in Post-Medieval Times 64Jón Karl Helgason5 Eddic Poetry 82Terry Gunnell6 Family Sagas 101Vésteinn Ólason7 Geography and Travel 119Judith Jesch8 Historical Background: Iceland 870–1400 136Helgi Þorláksson9 Historiography and Pseudo-History 155Stefanie Würth10 Language 173Michael Barnes11 Late Prose Fiction (lygiso¨gur) 190Matthew Driscoll12 Late Secular Poetry 205Shaun Hughes13 Laws 223Gudmund Sandvik and Jón Viðar Sigurðsson14 Manuscripts and Palaeography 245Guðvarður Már Gunnlaugsson15 Metre and Metrics 265Russell Poole16 Orality and Literacy in the Sagas of Icelanders 285Gísli Sigurðsson17 Pagan Myth and Religion 302Peter Orton18 The Post-Medieval Reception of Old Norse and Old Icelandic Literature 320Andrew Wawn19 Prose of Christian Instruction 338Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir20 Rhetoric and Style 354Þórir Óskarsson21 Romance (Translated riddarasögur) 372Jürg Glauser22 Royal Biography 388Ármann Jakobsson23 Runes 403Patrik Larsson24 Sagas of Contemporary History (Sturlunga saga): Texts and Research 427Úlfar Bragason25 Sagas of Icelandic Prehistory (fornaldarsögur) 447Torfi H. Tulinius26 Short Prose Narrative (þáttr) 462Elizabeth Ashman Rowe and Joseph Harris27 Skaldic Poetry 479Diana Whaley28 Social Institutions 503Gunnar Karlsson29 Women in Old Norse Poetry and Sagas 518Judy QuinnIndex 536