A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture

by Rory McTurk (Editor)

This major survey of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and culture demonstrates the remarkable continuity of Icelandic language and culture from medieval to modern times.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Language, Medieval, Scandinavian Literature

592 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2004

Reviews

[Alatea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best companion to Old Norse literature I have read so far. Topics vary from skaldic poetry to legal works and, considering the time span of the book, all significantly important subjects in Old Norse - Icelandic literature corpus are discussed.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew Wawn - Explores the reception of Old Norse themes more widely in Europe drawing links between both British and German nationalism. He concludes that ‘The romantic nationalism which fuelled the reception of the old north in many European countries during the nineteenth century played a less significant role in Britain, though brittle triumphalism sometimes explained imperial success in terms of the Viking blood still coursing in Victorian veins’

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very valuable research resource. Well-chosen essayists cover a sizable period in the Medieval-range era on a variety of topics with plenty of depth.

It's definitely more Icelandic than Norse in general in terms of content, but since that suited my needs I had no complaints.