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The Medieval Saga
Written in the thirteenth century, the Icelandic prose sagas, chronicling the lives of kings and commoners, give a dramatic account of the first century after the settlement of Iceland—the period from about 930 to 1050. To some extent these elaborate tales are written versions of traditional sagas passed down by word of mouth. How did they become the long and polished literary works that are still read today?
The evolution of the written sagas is commonly regarded as an anomalous phenomenon, distinct from contemporary developments in European literature. In this groundbreaking study, Carol J. Clover challenges this view and relates the rise of imaginative prose in Iceland directly to the rise of imaginative prose on the Continent. Analyzing the narrative structure and composition of the sagas and comparing them with other medieval works, Clover shows that the Icelandic authors, using Continental models, owe the prose form of their writings, as well as some basic narrative strategies, to Latin historiography and to French romance.
The evolution of the written sagas is commonly regarded as an anomalous phenomenon, distinct from contemporary developments in European literature. In this groundbreaking study, Carol J. Clover challenges this view and relates the rise of imaginative prose in Iceland directly to the rise of imaginative prose on the Continent. Analyzing the narrative structure and composition of the sagas and comparing them with other medieval works, Clover shows that the Icelandic authors, using Continental models, owe the prose form of their writings, as well as some basic narrative strategies, to Latin historiography and to French romance.
- GenresMedieval
260 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 15, 2019
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March 1, 2020
Well, this book was not what I expected. In some places it was interesting and some places it was "Who cares?" Apparently some people care if it was written this way or that way, and have to have a name for it. Obviously the one that finally put the stories down in book form took some freedom and changed a bit here and there to make it better as a book to read, and maybe he was influenced by the trends in Europe, but as I said "Who cares?" I definitely don't. For me it would be more interesting to know what deviations were made from the original oral stories, but I am not a professor, so I leave that problem to someone else to solve. I can give my 5 cents worth on that subject, but I guess that in the final analysis it is not worth even that.
And now we come to the point which I found somewhat interesting, digressions. There are different types of digressions and the Icelandic sagas are apparently full of them. The types of digressions have different names, which I will never remember, and I would definitely not care if I use this digression or that digression, I just digress.
And now we come to the point which I found somewhat interesting, digressions. There are different types of digressions and the Icelandic sagas are apparently full of them. The types of digressions have different names, which I will never remember, and I would definitely not care if I use this digression or that digression, I just digress.
Displaying 1 of 1 review