Descrizione

Hardback, xii + 439 pages, Size:156 x 234 mm, Illustrations:8 b/w, 1 tables b/w., Language: English. ISBN 9782503579023. Summary This multi-disciplinary volume draws on the combined expertise of specialists in the history and literature of medieval Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland to shed new light on the interplay of Norse and Gaelic literary traditions. Through four detailed case-studies, which examine the Norwegian Konungs skuggsj , the Icelandic Nj ls saga and Landn mab k, and the Gaelic text Baile Suthach Sith Emhna, the volume explores the linguistic, cultural, and political contacts that existed between Norse and Gaelic speakers in the High Middle Ages, and examines the impetus behind these texts, including oral tradition, transfer of written sources, and authorial adaption and invention. Crucially, these texts are not only examined as literary products of the thirteenth century, but also as repositories of older historical traditions, and the authors seek to explore these wider historical contexts, as well as analyse how and why historical and literary material was transmitted. The volume contains English translations of key extracts and also provides a detailed discussion of sources and methodologies to ensure that this milestone of scholarship is accessible to both students and subject-specialists. 'This is a brilliant and genuinely ground-breaking book, representing a significant step forward in literary and historical analysis of the Norse-Gaelic interface'. (Professor Ralph O'Connor, University of Aberdeen). TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents List of Illustrations Note on Orthography of Names Preface Chapter 1: Norse-Gaelic Contacts in a Viking World: Concept and Context Chapter 2: The 'Wonders of Ireland' in Konungs skuggsj : Text, Sources, Context Chapter 3: Baile Suthach S th Emhna, a?Poem to Raghnall, King of Man: Text and Context Chapter 4: The Battle of Clontarf in Icelandic Sources Chapter 5: Kjarvalr rakonungr and Gaelic Ancestry in Iceland Chapter 6: Textual Reflexes of Norse-Gaelic Contacts Works Cited Index