Record Nr.

UNINA9910367642203321

Autore

Clover Carol J. <1940->

Titolo

The Medieval Saga / Carol J. Clover

Pubbl/distr/stampa


Ithaca, N.Y. : , : Cornell University Press, , 1982
©1982

ISBN

1-5017-4051-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (219 p. :) : ill. ;

Disciplina

839/.63

Soggetti

Literature, Medieval - History and criticism

Sagas - History and criticism

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Bibliography: p. 205-211.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Open Composition -- 2. Stranding -- 3. Simultaneity -- 4. Toward the Classical Saga -- Editions Consulted -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Written in the thirteenth century, the Icelandic prose sagas, chronicling the lives of kings and commoners, give a dramatic account of the first century after the settlement of Iceland-the period from about 930 to 1050. To some extent these elaborate tales are written versions of traditional sagas passed down by word of mouth. How did they become the long and polished literary works that are still read today?The evolution of the written sagas is commonly regarded as an anomalous phenomenon, distinct from contemporary developments in European literature. In this groundbreaking study, Carol J. Clover challenges this view and relates the rise of imaginative prose in Iceland directly to the rise of imaginative prose on the Continent. Analyzing the narrative structure and composition of the sagas and comparing them with other medieval works, Clover shows that the Icelandic authors, using Continental models, owe the prose form of their writings, as well as some basic narrative strategies, to Latin historiography and to French romance.

Record Nr.

UNIORUON00342630

Autore

DEARLOVE, John