Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Critical Guide

MART: The Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching #42

by Carol J. Clover (Editor), John Lindow (Editor), Theodore M. Andersson (Preface)

In the past few decades, interest in the rich and varied literature of early Scandinavia has prompted a great deal of interest in its background: its origins, social and historical context, and relationship to other medieval literatures. Until the 1980s, however, there was a distinct lack of scholarship in the area, so in 1985, Carol J. Clover and John Lindow brought together some of the most ambitious and distinguished Old Norse scholars to contribute essays for a collection that would finally fill the void of a comprehensive guide to the field.

The contributors summarize and comment on scholarly work in the major branches of the field: eddic and skaldic poetry, family and kings' sagas, courtly writing, and mythology. Taken together, their judicious and well-written essays, each with a full bibliography, make up this vital survey of Old Norse literature in English - a basic reference work that has stimulated much research and helped to open up the field to a wider academic readership.

This volume has become an essential text for instructors, and twenty years later, is now being republished as part of the Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching (MART) series with a new preface that discusses more recent contributions to the field.

Genres: Medieval, Nonfiction

390 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though more than 20 years old now, this is still an incredible overview of the "state of the field" for the major divisions of Norse Literature. I haven't read the new edition, so I don't know how much it has been updated, but things move slowly enough in our field that these essays are still required reading for anyone in the field, in my opinion. The essays do not cover the entire history of the field, but limit themselves to I believe about a 20-30 year period of research for which there was at the time no other summary or bibliographic essay. And the comprehensive bibilographies are extremely helpful! Even if they haven't been updated for the last 20 years, you need look no further for lists of the major publications in the field from the 50s through the mid 80s.

[Kathleen McKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly scholarly, second edition, collection of critical essays of Old Norse - Icelandic Lit. Do not look for the actual stories of gods or heroic sagas, but rather explanations of how these came to be, how they came to be re-told, what happened when the stories were put down on paper. My favorite essay concerned the impact of courtly literature and Christianity on the later period of Norse literature. Very interesting from a historical perspective. Definitely a college-level text, and I would recommend it as a valuable secondary source should I ever teach an advanced course on Norse myth and saga. It also comes in handy if you want to understand some of the Norse influence in the work of Tolkien or George RR Martin. That's right, GoT fans, an understanding of both Norse and Celtic myth will help you make predictions for Seasons 7 and 8!

[Védís · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful for beginners in the field although a bit dated. Some of the chapters were in my opinion too narrowly focused on the opinion of the scholar writing them and their personal beliefs colored the writing, to the point of some issues not being supported by proper evidence. Reminds me of the saying: "It is known" from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.

The bibliography is a useful start for someone wanting to study the field - although personally I find the Internet a lot more useful...

A decent beginners book but not really helpful for a person moderately well versed on the subject.