The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga

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.

Includes chapters on medieval Icelandic society and on different features of the sagas as texts
Explains the technical features of the surviving manuscripts, with a glossary of relevant terms
Takes a fresh look at the reception of the sagas in modern times

Reviews & endorsements

'Clunies Ross manages to provide just the sort of introduction to the sagas that any teacher of Old Norse (among those whose interest in the subject transcends the merely linguistic, at least) would wish their students to read, in a compact, accessible and attractively priced volume.' Saga-Book

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