Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...
Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...
Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...
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<strong>Scand<strong>in</strong>avian</strong> History <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Vik<strong>in</strong>g Age<br />
[B234] G. Karlsson, (ed.), Kilderne til den tidlige middelalders historie: rapporter til den XX nordiske<br />
historikerkongres, Reykjavík 1987, I, Ritsafn Sagnfræðist<strong>of</strong>nunar 18 (1987) [UL 592:1.d.95.3]<br />
[B235] M. Clunies Ross, Old Icelandic literature and society, Cambridge studies <strong>in</strong> medieval literature<br />
42 (2000) [UL 752:16.c.200.1]. See <strong>in</strong> particular D. Whaley, ‘A useful past: historical writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
medieval Iceland’, 161-202<br />
[B236] H. ‘Donoghue, Old Norse-Icelandic literature: a short <strong>in</strong>troduction, Blackwell <strong>in</strong>troductions to<br />
literature (2004).<br />
And for weed<strong>in</strong>g out all those puzzl<strong>in</strong>g ahistorical motifs and topoi:<br />
[B237] I.M. Boberg, Motif-<strong>in</strong>dex <strong>of</strong> early Icelandic literature, Biblio<strong>the</strong>ca Arnamagnæana 27 (1966) [UL<br />
S752:01.b.1.22]<br />
For more detailed surveys <strong>of</strong> chronology and <strong>the</strong> earliest historians:<br />
[B240] Ó. E<strong>in</strong>arsdóttir, Studier i kronologisk metode i tidlig islandsk historieskrivn<strong>in</strong>g, Biblio<strong>the</strong>ca<br />
historica Lundensis 13 (1964) [UL 531:01.c.14.13] (E.s.)<br />
[B241] S. Ellehøj, Studier over den ældste norrøne historieskrivn<strong>in</strong>g, Biblio<strong>the</strong>ca Arnamagnæana 26<br />
(1965) [UL S752:01.b.1.21] (E.s.)<br />
[B242] G. Lange, Die Anfänge der isländisch-norwegischen Geschichts-schreibung, StI 47 (1989) [UL<br />
599:01.c.1.26]<br />
See also:<br />
[B245] K. Hastrup, ‘Text and context: cont<strong>in</strong>uity and change <strong>in</strong> medieval Icelandic <strong>history</strong> as “said” and<br />
“laid down”’, (O40):9-25<br />
[B246] G.W. Weber, ‘Intellegere historiam: typological perspectives <strong>of</strong> Nordic pre<strong>history</strong> (<strong>in</strong> Snorri,<br />
Saxo, Widuk<strong>in</strong>d and o<strong>the</strong>rs)’, (O46):95-141<br />
[B247] S. Tómasson, Formálar íslenskra sagnaritara á miðöldum: rannsókn bókmenntahefðar, SÁMÍ rit<br />
33 (1988) [UL 752:1.c.5.37]; a classic study on authorial <strong>in</strong>tentions as revealed through prologues<br />
[B248] B. and P. Sawyer, ‘Adam and <strong>the</strong> Eve <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scand<strong>in</strong>avian</strong> <strong>history</strong>’, (O68):37-51<br />
The Icelandic historians<br />
Many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> references above such as (B231) or (B240-42) are <strong>the</strong> most useful places to start for <strong>the</strong><br />
orig<strong>in</strong>s and development <strong>of</strong> early Icelandic historiography. While <strong>the</strong> family sagas (B350 ff.) are largely<br />
anonymous, <strong>the</strong> authors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>gs’ sagas (B290 ff.) produced <strong>in</strong> Iceland are <strong>of</strong>ten known to us.<br />
Anthologies<br />
[B250] G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell, Orig<strong>in</strong>es Islandicae: a collection <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> more important sagas<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r native writ<strong>in</strong>gs relat<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> settlement and early <strong>history</strong> <strong>of</strong> Iceland, 2 vols (1905) [UL<br />
752:34.c.90.4-7]; almost anyth<strong>in</strong>g relat<strong>in</strong>g to Iceland can be found here, <strong>in</strong> both Old Norse and<br />
(idiosyncratically) translated form<br />
Sæmund Sigfússon<br />
The first Icelandic historian known to us, Sæmund seems to have composed various works <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong>;<br />
although none <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m survive, he is cited as an authority by some later sources, most notably <strong>the</strong> Nóregs<br />
konungatal (B560). He was also responsible for <strong>the</strong> foundation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluential school at his ancestral<br />
seat <strong>of</strong> Oddi.<br />
[B252] H. Hermannsson, Sæmund Sigfússon and <strong>the</strong> Oddaverjar, Islandica 22 (1932) [UL 752:4.c.1.22]<br />
For works produced at <strong>the</strong> school at Oddi:<br />
[B253] E.Ó. Sve<strong>in</strong>sson, Sagnaritun Oddaverja: nokkrar athuganir, StI 1 (1937) [UL 599:01.c.1.1] (E.s.)<br />
Ari Þorgilsson <strong>the</strong> wise<br />
Ari’s only preserved work is <strong>the</strong> Libellus Islandorum or Íslend<strong>in</strong>gabók ‘Book <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Icelanders’, a short<br />
but authoritative <strong>history</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Icelandic Commonwealth down to <strong>the</strong> early twelfth century, with a heavy<br />
emphasis on religious <strong>history</strong>. Like Sæmundr, Ari also composed material on <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> Norway (as<br />
21