--- In norse_course@..., "Steven T. Hatton" <hattons@...> wrote:
> Are there still coppies of this available? How would I order?
Steven (and others),
The book is available. Send an e-mail to Eiríkur
Hrafn Thorarensen at Boksala Studenta (The University
Bookstore, Iceland). His e-mail address is:
eirikur@...
I would also like to point out that Boksala Studenta
carries a wide selection of materials of interest to
the members of this list. The bookstore's website is:
http://www.boksala.is
and their stock is searchable.
As an example, here is some information about two books
you might want to know about. They are both in English,
but published in Iceland, and therefore not much known:
Jónas Kristjánsson
ICELANDIC MANUSCRIPTS - SAGAS, HISTORY AND ART
The Icelandic Literary Society, 1993
ISBN 9979-804-82-3 (paperback) - ISK 3490
145 pages, approx. 70 illustrations (half in colour)
[Also available in Icelandic]
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword
New Land
Gods and Heroes
Quill and Vellum
A Wealth of Lore
Chroniclers of Kings
Iceland's Heroic Age
The Age of the Sturlungar
A Thousand Years of Living Literature
Iceland's Treasure Chest
FROM THE BACK COVER:
>Icelandic Manuscripts - Sagas, History and Art<
presents the treasury of Iceland's mediaeval
literature against a background of the country's
history and political development, from the
settlement of the country by Vikings in the 9th
century, through the Middle Ages and on into modern
times. The discovery of Iceland in the turmoil of
the Viking Age; the settlement of the country in
the 9th and 10th centuries and the establishment
of a relatively democratic state; the Nordic pagan
myths; the conversion to Christianity; techniques
of book production and the influence of foreign
literary models; the role of Icelandic scalds in
preserving early Scandinavian history; the evolution
of the unique native saga tradition; the civil strife
of the 13th century, which coincided with the flowering
of literary activity; the changing literary fashions
of later times, and finally the story of how the
manuscripts themselves were saved from oblivion and
gave a vital impetus to the struggle towards modern
statehood - these are the themes of >Icelandic Manuscripts<.
The vigour and beauty of the manuscripts is amply revealed
in a wealth of colour and monochrome photographs, and
choice translated excerpts from the sagas and poems give
the reader tantalizing samples of the works themselves.
Professor Jónas Kristjánsson, the author, is Director of
the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, which is
responsible for the preservation and study of most of
the manuscripts. A leading authority on Old Icelandic
literature, he has published numerous scholarly articles,
prepared editions and lectured on Icelandic literature in
many parts of the world. His >Eddas and Sagas<, a more
detailed survey of Old Icelandic literature, is also
published by the Icelandic Literary Society.
-------------------------------------------------------
Jónas Kristjánsson
EDDAS AND SAGAS - ICELAND'S MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
The Icelandic Literary Society, 1997 (3. edition)
ISBN 9979-66-025-2 (paperback) - ISK 2615
445 pages, illustrations (some colour), maps, index
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface
A new land
The major periods
Eddaic poetry
The name. Circumstances of preservation
When and where the eddaic poems were composed
German and English heroic poetry
Metres
Poems about the gods
Heroic Poems
Scaldic poetry
Metres
Scaldic diction
Origins
Preservation
Poems addressed to kings and great men
Lausavísur
Scaldic poets
Christian poetry
An age of learning
Foreign currents
Grágás. Early Icelandic law
Ari the Wise
Genealogies and Landnámabók
"Sacred exposition"
Learning of many kinds
Hagiography. Saints' lives
Matter and characteristics
Style
Sagas of apostles. Sagas of saints
Individual works
Kings' sagas
Origins
The first saga
Abbot Karl Jónsson
Synoptic histories
Royal saints and Icelandic authors
Morkinskinna and Fagrskinna
Sagas of rulers outside Norway
Snorri Sturluson
Contemporary sagas
Bishops' sagas
Sturlunga saga
Sagas of Icelanders
Introductory
Saga origins. Fact and fiction
Subject-matter and narrative method. Characterisation.
Language and style. Dialogue.
Verse in sagas
When were the sagas written?
Individual sagas
Íslendinga þættir
Characteristics. Sources.
Individual þættir
Sagas of chivalry
Origin
Individual works
Icelandic sagas of chivalry
Heroic sagas
Character and date
Oral narrative
Poems
Individual sagas
Jónsbók
New forms
Ballads
Rímur
Religious verse
Secular poetry
Bibliography
Index
FROM THE BACK COVER:
This book presents the history of Icelandic literature
from the earliest times to the Reformation. Because no
comparable work has hitherto been published in a major
international language, it fulfills a pressing need.
For Icelanders the Eddas and Sagas are still an accessible
body of living literature. They were a high point in the
literary achievement of the European Middle Ages and are
Scandinavia's most important contribution to world literature.
The author, Dr. Jónas Kristjánsson, is an internationally
recognized scholar and author. He is Director of the Árni
Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, which is responsible for
the study and preservation of Old Icelandic manuscripts.
The translator, Dr. Peter Foote, Professor Emeritus at
University College, London, a distinguished scholar and
writer, is widely known for >The Viking Achievement<,
written in collaboration with Sir David Wilson, Director
of the British Museum.
FROM THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE:
This book was originally written as part of a general
history of Iceland, intended for the Icelandic reading
public and published to commemorate the eleven hundredth
anniversary of the settlement of Iceland in 874. The
present translation is slightly augmented, and certain
passages have been rewritten, but otherwise there is little
change from the Icelandic version. As a consequence the
book occasionally presupposes an Icelander's knowledge
of the subject or gives a different emphasis than would
have been the case if it had been originally intended for
foreign readers. But if there is a slight disadvantage in
the fact that it was written >for Icelanders<, there ought
to be a decided advantage in the fact that it was written
>by an Icelander<, for none but Icelanders can fully
participate in this unique national literature. Only we
speak the ancient language and only we have the setting
of the sagas in our daily view. Thus it ought to be of
benefit for foreigners to be led through this landscape
by an Icelandic guide.