This is a collection of papers originally published in various journals in the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden in 2005–11. No attempt has been made to impose an absolute uniformity on these reprinted articles. Thus, forms of citation, for example, may vary among them. Typographical errors have been silently corrected and bibliographical references updated when necessary. The orthography of the primary sources has not been harmonised but is, in each case, logical and should thus not be upsetting even to the educated reader. No attempt has been made to harmonise American and English spelling.
Author(s): Ármann Jakobsson
Publisher: University of Iceland Press
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 248
City: Reykjavík
Preface 9
Introduction: Saga Criticism 11
The Specter of Old Age: Nasty Old Men in the Sagas of Icelanders 47
Two Wise Women and their Young Apprentice: A Miscarried Magic Class 79
The Trollish Acts of Þorgrímr the Witch: The Meanings of 'Troll' and 'Ergi' in Medieval Iceland 93
The Fearless Vampire Killers: A Note about the Icelandic 'Draugr' and Demonic Contamination in 'Grettis Saga' 125
Beast and Man: Realism and the Occult in 'Egils saga' 139
'Egils saga' and Empathy: Emotions and Moral Issues in a Dysfunctional Saga Family 155
Laxdoela Dreaming: A Saga Heroine Invents Her Own Life 173
The Impetuousness of Þráinn Sigfússon: Leadership, Virtue and Villainy in 'Njáls saga' 191
Masculinity and Politics in 'Njáls Saga' 207
Acknowledgements 239
Index 241
