Norse-Gaelic Contacts in a Viking World (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9782503579023)

This multi-disciplinary volume draws on the combined expertise of specialists in the history and literature of medieval Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland to shed new light on the interplay of Norse and Gaelic literary traditions. Through four detailed case-studies, which examine the Norwegian Konungs skuggsja, the Icelandic Njals saga and Landnamabok, and the Gaelic text Baile Suthach Sith Emhna, the volume explores the linguistic, cultural, and political contacts that existed between Norse and Gaelic speakers in the High Middle Ages, and examines the impetus behind these texts, including oral tradition, transfer of written sources, and authorial adaptation and invention. Crucially, these texts are not only examined as literary products of the thirteenth century, but also as repositories of older historical traditions, and the authors seek to explore these wider historical contexts, as well as analyse how and why historical and literary material was transmitted. The volume contains English translations of key extracts and also provides a detailed discussion of sources and methodologies to ensure that this milestone of scholarship is accessible to both students and subject-specialists.

Author: Colman Etchingham,Jon Vidar Sigurdsson,Maire Ni Mhaonaigh
ISBN-10: 2503579027
ISBN-13: 9782503579023
Publisher: Brepols Publishers
Language: English
Published: 06/13/2019
Pages: 439
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.95lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.50w x 1.30d