Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature
- The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Contexts
- Part II The Distant Past
- Part III The Saga Age
- Part IV The New Christian World
- PART V Beyond Iceland
- 19 Kings’ Sagas
- 20 Diaspora Sagas
- 21 Riddarasögur
- 22 Rímur
- Part VI Compilations
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
21 - Riddarasögur
from PART V - Beyond Iceland
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 February 2024
- The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature
- The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Contexts
- Part II The Distant Past
- Part III The Saga Age
- Part IV The New Christian World
- PART V Beyond Iceland
- 19 Kings’ Sagas
- 20 Diaspora Sagas
- 21 Riddarasögur
- 22 Rímur
- Part VI Compilations
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter provides an overview of the riddarasögur as a genre, beginning with the first transmission of romance material to Norway in the thirteenth century. It describes how this material was translated, adapted and reworked in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, giving rise to a blossoming literary tradition in Iceland which drew on the translated riddarasögur but featured a uniquely local perspective and narrative emphasis. The chapter discusses the relationship of the translated and indigenous romances to other genres within the Old Norse-Icelandic literary corpus, and argues that the romances introduced an ‘emotive script’ which offered a means of exploring concepts such as masculinity, femininity, honour and identity in a different way from existing genres. It surveys current scholarly interest in the sagas, looking in particular at their attitude to emotion, gender and agency – focusing on the so-called maiden king romances – as well as the geographic expansionism of the works, which offered their readers a vision of the world far beyond the borders of Iceland, informed by contemporary cosmographical learning.
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- Information
- The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature , pp. 435 - 451Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024