The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (11801280) - 9780801477829

The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (11801280)Author(s): Theodore M. Andersson\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cornell University Press, United States\nImprint: Cornell University Press\nISBN-13: 9780801477829, 978-0801477829\nSynopsis\nIn this book, Theodore M. Andersson, a leading scholar of the Norse sagas, introduces readers to the development of the Icelandic sagas between 1180 and 1280, a crucial period that witnessed a gradual shift of emphasis from tales of adventure and personal distinction to the analysis of political and historical propositions. Beginning with the first full-length sagas and culminating in the acknowledged masterpiece Njls saga, Andersson emphasizes a historical perspective, establishing a chronology for seventeen of the most important sagas and showing how they evolve thematically and stylistically over the century under study.\n\n Revisiting the long-standing debate about the oral and literary components of the sagas, Andersson argues that there is.