Old Icelandic Literature and Society (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature)

Fromtheperiodofsettlement(870–930)totheendofthefourteenthcentury,IcelandersproducedoneofthemostvariedandoriginalliteraturesofmedievalEurope.ThisisthefirstbooktoprovideacomprehensiveaccountofOldIcelandicliteraturewithinitssocialsettingandacrossarangeofgenres.AninternationalteamofspecialistsexaminesthewaysinwhichtheuniquesocialexperimentinIceland,akinglesssocietywithoutanestablishedauthoritystructure,inspiredawealthofinnovativewritingcomposedintheIcelandicvernacular.Icelandersexploredtheiruniquenessthroughpoetry,mythologies,metricaltreatises,religiouswriting,andthroughsaga,anewliterarygenrewhichtextualisedtheirhistoryandincorporatedoraltraditionsinawrittenform.ThebookshowsthatIcelandersoftenusedtheirtextualabilitiestogainthemselvespoliticalandintellectualadvantage,notleastintheperiodwhenthestate'sfreedomcametoanend.