This book questions the established view that the writing of prose fiction in Iceland had effectively lain dormant between the end of the classic saga-writing period and the 19th century national romantic revival. Focusing on ten romantic sagas attributed to the clergyman and poet Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín (1749-1835), the author examines the style and structure of the sagas in relation to the older literary tradition and more modern ideas of the enlightenment, and aspects of their transmission and reception.
Author(s): Matthew James Driscoll
Publisher: Hisarlik Press
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 396
City: Enfield Lock
Preface vii
On the Origin of Elves xii
I. Popular romance in post-Reformation Iceland: works and responses 1
II. Social textuality: the 'lygisaga' in context 35
III. A parson's pleasure: The life and literary activity of Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín 75
IV. The structure and style of the sagas attributed to Jón Hjaltalín 133
V. The old and the new: Antiquarianism and Enlightenment in the sagas of Jón Hjaltalín 207
Notes 241
Appendices
1. The manuscripts of printed editions of the sagas attributed to Jón Hjaltalín and material derived from them 289
2. 'Rímur af Reimari og Fal enum sterka' 295
3. Plot summaries 301
Bibliography 343
Index 371
