The medieval Norse-Icelandic saga is one of the most important European vernacular literary genres of the Middle Ages. This Introduction to the saga genre outlines its origins and development, its literary character, its material existence in manuscripts and printed editions, and its changing reception from the Middle Ages to the present time. Its multiple sub-genres - including family sagas, mythical-heroic sagas and sagas of knights - are described and discussed in detail, and the world of medieval Icelanders is powerfully evoked. The first general study of the Old Norse-Icelandic saga to be written in English for some decades, the Introduction is based on up-to-date scholarship and engages with current debates in the field. With suggestions for further reading, detailed information about the Icelandic literary canon, and a map of medieval Iceland, this book is aimed at students of medieval literature and assumes no prior knowledge of Scandinavian languages.

An introduction to Old Norse, runes, Icelandic sagas, and the culture of the Vikings. The 15 graded lessons include vocabulary and grammar exercises, 35 readings, pronunciation, 15 maps, 45 illustrations, and 180 exercises. Journey through Viking Age Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Britain, Russia, and Byzantium with original Old Norse readings of Vikings, Norse mythology, heroes, sacred kingship, blood feuds, and daily life.

From the translator of the bestselling Poetic Edda (Hackett, 2015) comes a gripping new rendering of two of the greatest sagas of Old Norse literature. Together the two sagas recount the story of seven generations of a single legendary heroic family and comprise our best source of traditional lore about its members—including, among others, the dragon-slayer Sigurd, Brynhild the Valkyrie, and the Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok.

This is the first book in English to deal with the twin subjects of Old Norse poetry and the various vernacular treatises on native poetry that were a conspicuous feature of medieval intellectual life in Iceland and the Orkneys from the mid-twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. Its aim is to give a clear description of the rich poetic tradition of early Scandinavia, particularly in Iceland, where it reached its zenith, and to demonstrate the social contexts that favoured poetic composition, from the oral societies of the early Viking Age in Norway and its colonies to the devout compositions of literate Christian clerics in fourteenth-century Iceland. The author analyses the two dominant poetic modes, eddic and skaldic, giving fresh examples of their various styles and subjects; looks at the prose contexts in which most Old Norse poetry has been preserved; and discusses problems of interpretation that arise because of the poetry's mode of transmission. She is concerned throughout to link indigenous theory with practice, beginning with the pre-Christian ideology of poets as favoured by the god ódinn and concluding with the Christian notion that a plain style best conveys the poet's message. Margaret Clunies Ross is McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Sydney.

Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction is a modern "primer" for learning to read the Icelandic sagas in their original language. This straightforward, easy-to-use primer requires no previous language knowledge. It is designed for self-learning, in-class use, and distance learning. Starting with the first page, students read Old Norse passages from Icelandic sagas as well as episodes from Scandinavian myth and medieval sources. The language and thought of the Viking Age come alive in these critical, Old Norse reading segments. Old Norse - Old Icelandic is divided into 17 short lessons. Each lesson opens with a passage in Old Icelandic drawn from sagas or mythological sources. Lessons focus on the grammar and vocabulary necessary to master the reading(s). In this way, original texts determine the instruction, and students master grammatical elements as they are needed. To speed the learning, each lesson contains a short vocabulary of new words and phrases, as well as practice exercises, reinforcing the grammatical explanations. For a free Answer Key to the exercises, visit our website: oldnorse.org.

2nd upgraded edition of Viking Language 1 in new smaller book size. Everything necessary to learn Old Norse, the language of the Iceland and Old Scandinavia. For beginner to advanced, graded lessons, saga readings, runes, myths, old Icelandic, grammar exercises, pronunciation, vocabulary and study guides. www.oldnorse.org and vikinglanguage.com