essay
History and the sagas: the effects of nationalism
from sagas to society : comparative approaches to early iceland • Enfield Lock, Middlesex, Uk • Published In 1992 • Pages: 43-59, 305-328
By: Byock, Jesse L..
Abstract
Byock discusses the controversy among scholars as whether or not the Icelandic family sagas are works of fiction or are historically oriented toward actual events which took place in medieval times. Generally the sagas '… have been treated almost entirely as literary fictions. So deply ingrained has this narrow approach to saga studies become that, until recently, the impact of social and historical research has scarcely been felt. Through a series of theoretical arguments advanced in the first half of the twentieth century, the validity of historical and social analysis of the text was not simply denied; it was virtually banned' (p. 43). In this work the author concentrates on the effects of nationalism, a prime factor in shaping both academic and popular views of the sagas; its influence upon the current tradition of family saga research embedded as it is in a belief system rooted in political expediency, and the manner in which it has led to the stunting of intellectual growth in a whole field of study.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2004
- Region
- Europe
- Sub Region
- Scandinavia
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Humanist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle ; 2002
- Field Date
- no date
- Coverage Date
- seventeenth-mid twentieth centuries
- Coverage Place
- Iceland
- Notes
- Jesse L. Byock
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 305-328)
- LCCN
- 93150093
- LCSH
- Icelanders