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.
Author(s): Carol Jeanne Clover
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 220
City: Ithaca & London
Introduction 13
1. Open Composition 19
The Question of Unity 19
The European Context 42
2. Stranding 61
Stranded Narrative 65
The Language of Stranding 85
Material Art and Skaldic Poetry 90
The European Context 91
3. Simultaneity 109
Simultaneous Narration in the Sagas 112
The Language of Simultaneity 131
The European Context 135
4. Toward the Classical Saga 148
The Preclassical Texts 148
Literary Features 177
Romance and Saga 184
The Two Audiences 188
Editions Consulted 205
Index 213
