Kings' sagas and Norwegian history : problems and perspectives
This title is an examination of some of the principal issues arising from the study of the kings' sagas, the main narrative sources for Norwegian history before c.1200
Northern world, v. 54
History
xv, 253 pages ; 25 cm.
9789004209893, 9004209891
738347747
Acknowledgements... ix Abbreviations... xiii 1. Introduction... 1 Medieval Norwegian History and the Problem of Sources ... 1 The Kings' Sagas (konungasogur)... 4 Skaldic Verse... 18 2. Skaldic Verse and Saga Prose: Transmission and Reliability... 25 The Authenticity of Skaldic Verse ... 25 The Relationship of Verse and Prose ... 70 Summing Up: The Historical Value of the Kings'Sagas ... 95 Appendix: Tormodr Kolbrunarskald after the Battle of Stiklarstadir ... 101 3. Non-Native Sources and Influence ... 111 The Anglo-Norman Background ... 111 The Broader Context of the Growth of Historical Writing in Iceland... 131 Appendix: Parallel Narratives in Scandinavian and Foreign Sources... 152 4. The Uses of the Past... 177 Chronology... 203 Bibliography... 209 Concordance of Cited Passages from the 1932 and 2011 Editions of Morkinskinna ... 239 Index of Modern Scholars Cited... 241 General Index... 246