SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

27°
Saga-Book of the Viking Society
There are certain inconsistencies in headings. E. F. Halvorsen
appears once thus, and twice as Eyvind Fjeld Halvorsen (Nos.
135-37). S. Gutenbrunner appears twice with the simple initial,
and three times with his forename expanded to Siegfried (Nos.
124-27 and cross-reference). Other examples are T.M., and
Theodore M. Anderson (Nos. 8-9), and M., and Marlene Ciklarnini
(Nos. 68-69). If it was felt necessary to repeat the author's name
for every entry, instead of employing a dash or some other device,
it might have been preferable to give the expanded names in the
first entry (for information), and use the simple initials for
following entries.
The periodical Germanistik is rather oddly indexed, having
three entries under the three divisions mainly concerned with
Old Norse, i.e. Alinordische Literaturgeschichte (No.4), Nordgermanische
Sprachen (No. 236), and Nordische Altertumskunde
(No. 237), with references given only for pt. I of vol. 4. As this
is a regular quarterly publication, some sort of general reference
should have been given to it as a periodical, pointing out what the
relevant sections are, instead of indexing the only part that
happened to have come out when the bibliography was published.
In this connection it is good to see so many bibliographies listed
in the index, and it is good that the editors have tried to draw the
reader's attention to bibliographies that exist in books on the
subject. There are of course many secondary bibliographical
sources provided by journals, in the form of selective book lists
and reviews of reviews (such as are contained, for example, in
Scandinavica), apart from the primary sources, which are listed
in this bibliography (Nos. 5, 2IO, 278). It seems to me that it
would be useful to have a bibliographical article in some future
number surveying the tools provided by the various journals in
the field, and also the coverage in some of the larger, specialised
bibliographies, such as the Linguistic bibliography.
This itemised criticism should not in any way be taken as
intended to be a serious reflection on the bibliography. A lot of
it is, after all, a matter of opinion and my remarks are only
suggestions as to how an otherwise admirable work might be still
further improved. Early numbers are often experimental and it
takes time to discover the best and most expedient format,
although it is doubtless true that in the bibliographical field it is
never possible to please everyone at the same time. Finally,
I am sure that it will be the wish of all those who, like myself, have
for years hoped for a reference tool such as this, that the editors
will long be able to continue their work.
J. A. B. TOWNSEND