Having sworn to disgrace Gunnlaugur, Hrafn returns to Iceland to ask for Helga in marriage as the three years she was to wait have passed. Delayed in his travels, Gunnlaugur returns the day of the wedding but can not stop it. Gunnlaugur challenges Hrafn to the last duel ever fought in Iceland, but kinsmen and friends of both prevent the fight. The two travel to Sweden where they meet and fight. Both die as foretold in Thorsteinn's dream. Dreaming of Gunnlaugur, Helga dies in the arms of her second husband, a third poet, as the dream foretold. There the saga ends. In addition to the translation of the saga, this book contains an anthropological analysis of the saga and saga writing in medieval Iceland. Beyond relating events, this saga, like others of its genre, is an expression of the totemic system of the primitive society that produced it, a stratified society without the institutions of a state.
While the study of the history of rhetoric has expanded to include an ever-growing range of rhetorical traditions, lesser-known figures, and under- and un-studied texts, it has continued to exist in the hermetically sealed binary of West and Rest. Rhetorical scholars have begun uncovering the many marginalized rhetorical traditions silenced by the homogenous nature of our histories themselves, reading and writing new histories of the rhetorical tradition through frames from gender to geography. Despite these substantial challenges to the traditionally received history of rhetoric, many voices are still silenced and many spaces are still excluded—voices speaking within the spaces of the less-than-monolithic West itself. This silencing and excluding continues, perhaps, because of assumptions that no texts exist from these marginalized voices or that substantial rhetorical activity was not conducted in these marginalized spaces—regardless of already extant evidence of rhetorical activity as diverse as rural civic ethos in Classical Greece and Etruscan influences on Roman rhetoric or long-standing passive knowledge of scholarly activity in Medieval Andalusia and Ireland. Rhetoric in the Rest of the West attempts to expand the conversation in those gaps in the history of rhetoric by examining the traditions that lost the cultural competition and have been shrouded in the shadow of the rhetorical tradition.
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 .
Accomplished historical author James Reston, Jr., presents the enthralling saga of how the Christian kingdoms converted, conquered, and slaughtered their way to dominance in Europe as the year 1000 approached. Through Reston's brilliant narrative and engaging portraits of the unforgettable historical characters who embodied the struggle for the soul of Europe, students are introduced to a pivotal period in history during which an old order was crumbling, and terrifying, confusing new ideas were gaining hold in the populace. From the righteous fury of the Viking queen Sigrid the Strong-Minded, who burned unwanted suitors alive; to the brilliant but too-cunning Moor, al-Mansur the Illustrious Victor; to the aptly named English king Ethelred the Unready; to the abiding genius of the age, Pope Sylvester II—warrior kings and concubine empresses, maniacal warriors and religious zealots bring this stirring period to life.
Icelandic Spiritualism is an engaging social anthropological study of the place of spiritualism in Icelandic church and society during the first half of the twentieth century. Challenging standard theoretical approaches to the study of religion, the book contributes a wealth of data on the history of religion and psychical research, presenting it in a vivid descriptive narrative. The authors trace the role of the spirit world in Icelandic culture, giving particular attention to the distinctive history of Iceland's "conversion" to Christianity. They focus on the appearance of "modern" spiritualism as a distinct phenomenon in Icelandic life. The book studies the interaction between various groups in fin-de-siecle Icelandic society, not least in the state church, as mediumistic phenomena became widely reported through the newspapers. To some, Icelandic spiritualism may be considered a deviant case of Protestantism. What makes this book interesting, however, is that the spiritualism is seen as integral to Iceland's transition to modernity. While Icelandic Spiritualism concentrates mainly on the first half of the twentieth century, it also provides a summary of the continuation of spiritualist phenomena up to the current period. This intriguing study will be of interest to theologians, philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists.
Are you looking for • A Scandinavian name for your baby? • The names of Norse gods and heroes? • The history and meaning of Scandinavian first names? • Variations and alternate spellings for common Scandinavian names? • Naming traditions and customs in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark? A Handbook of Scandinavian Names includes a dictionary of more than fifteen hundred given names from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, plus some from Iceland and Finland. Each entry provides a guide to pronunciation and the origin and meaning of the name. Many entries also include variations and usage in the Scandinavian countries and famous bearers of the name. Adding engaging context to the dictionary section is an extensive comparative guide to naming practices. The authors discuss immigration to North America from Scandinavia and the ways given names and surnames were adapted in the New World. Also included in the book is a history of Scandinavian names, information on “Name Days,” and discussion of significant names from mythology and history, including naming traditions in royal families. Winner, Reference Book of the Year, Midwest Book Awards Finalist, USA Best Books Award for Parenting/Family Reference
The Republic of iceland, situated near the Arctic Circle, comprises one large island and numerous smaller ones. Iceland became independent in 1944 and is a founder-member of the Nordic Council, and a member of NATO and the Council for Europe. Iceland is the most geologically active country in the world, with geysers, volcanoes, hot springs, glaciers, and spectacular waterfalls. This descriptive, annotated bibliography provides an updated listing of significant books and articles about Iceland.
Making the Middle Ages Making the Middle Ages is series of monographs, and occasionally of collections, which aims to open up the rapidly growing and relatively newly recognised field of medievalism - the post-medieval construction of the Middle Ages in scholarship and the arts - to a readership of academics, graduate students and , in the case of some volumes, undergraduates or the general reader. The series is devoted to scholarship in the cultural influence of the Middle Ages on England, mainland Europe, and North America from the sixteenth century to the present day. It focuses on two perspectives of medievalism: (i) Mediavistik the origings and history of medieval studies, both inside and outside the academy; and (ii) Mediavismus, the creation and recreation of the Middle Ages in post-medieval art, history, literature and popular culture. Few speakers of English have ever been able to read the Icelandic sagas in the original language, and published saga translations have played a major role in shaping attitudes towards Viking-Age Scandinavia and the great literary achievements of medieval Iceland in the English-speaking world. This book is the first publication to provide an extended examination of the history and development of Icelandic saga translations into English from their beginnings in the eighteenth century to today. It explores reasons for undertaking saga translation, and the challenges confronting translators. Chapters are devoted to the pioneering saga translations, the later Victorian and Edwardian eras, the often-neglected period of the two World Wars and their aftermath, and the upsurge of saga translation in the second half of the twentieth century. The contributions of individual translators and teams are reviewed, from James Johnstone in the 1780s through major Victorians such as Samuel Laing, George Webbe Dasent, and William Morris, distinguished twentieth-century figures such as Lee M. Hollander, Gwyn Jones, Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Palsson, and George Johnston, and the great co-operative project which produced The Complete Sagas of Icelanders at the century's end. The book concludes with saga translation facing interesting new possibilities and challenges, not least those generated by information technology. Book jacket.
Presents a tale of murder and revenge from late medieval Iceland, providing a window on the political economy and social order of the period. Includes an introduction on the political, economic, and cultural background of the saga. Distributed by ISBS. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
