Medievalists.net » Njal’s Saga http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 23:06:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 Can Statistics show if the Icelandic Sagas were true? http://www.medievalists.net/2014/01/07/can-statistics-show-if-the-icelandic-sagas-are-true/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/01/07/can-statistics-show-if-the-icelandic-sagas-are-true/#comments Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:27:29 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=46447 The Icelandic sagas of the Norse people are thousand-year-old chronicles of brave deeds and timeless romances, but how true to Viking life were they?

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/01/07/can-statistics-show-if-the-icelandic-sagas-are-true/feed/ 0 The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia http://www.medievalists.net/2013/08/23/the-protocol-of-vengeance-in-viking-age-scandinavia/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/08/23/the-protocol-of-vengeance-in-viking-age-scandinavia/#comments Fri, 23 Aug 2013 12:57:09 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=43112 Violence, even murder, perpetuated this cycle of revenge. This code of retribution can be broken down further into the following dimensions: the individuals involved, the appropriate actions as deemed by Viking society, and any extenuating circumstances, such as supernatural strength or the wronged party’s reluctance to seek revenge.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/08/23/the-protocol-of-vengeance-in-viking-age-scandinavia/feed/ 0 Blood Vengeance and the Depiction of Women in La leyenda de los siete infantes de Lara, The Nibelungenlied and Njal’s Saga http://www.medievalists.net/2013/05/18/blood-vengeance-and-the-depiction-of-women-in-la-leyenda-de-los-siete-infantes-de-lara-the-nibelungenlied-and-njals-saga/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/05/18/blood-vengeance-and-the-depiction-of-women-in-la-leyenda-de-los-siete-infantes-de-lara-the-nibelungenlied-and-njals-saga/#comments Sun, 19 May 2013 02:06:55 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=41181 Despite countless manifestations in literature of many traditions and cultures, the archetype of vengeance as a theme is a common and current one

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/05/18/blood-vengeance-and-the-depiction-of-women-in-la-leyenda-de-los-siete-infantes-de-lara-the-nibelungenlied-and-njals-saga/feed/ 0 Lawyers in the Old Icelandic Family Sagas: Heroes, Villains, and Authors http://www.medievalists.net/2013/03/24/lawyers-in-the-old-icelandic-family-sagas-heroes-villains-and-authors/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/03/24/lawyers-in-the-old-icelandic-family-sagas-heroes-villains-and-authors/#comments Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:22:18 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=40054 Along with the accomplishments of skill in arms and verse-making, many a saga hero is credited with a knowledge of law and legal procedure. Many of these heroes are shown duelling with their enemiesin a series of legal disputes forming a series of chapters.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/03/24/lawyers-in-the-old-icelandic-family-sagas-heroes-villains-and-authors/feed/ 0 The Wilderness of Dragons: The reception of dragons in thirteenth century Iceland http://www.medievalists.net/2013/01/13/the-wilderness-of-dragons-the-reception-of-dragons-in-thirteenth-century-iceland/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/01/13/the-wilderness-of-dragons-the-reception-of-dragons-in-thirteenth-century-iceland/#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2013 05:56:27 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=38657 In thirteenth century Iceland, however, the dragon consists of more than the mere imagining of man; it is a creature that is imbued with centuries of history, biology, theology, and mythology synthesized into an oftentimes wholly logical and other times completely fantastical beast.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/01/13/the-wilderness-of-dragons-the-reception-of-dragons-in-thirteenth-century-iceland/feed/ 0 TROUBLESOME CHILDREN IN THE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/28/troublesome-children-in-the-sagas-of-icelanders/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/28/troublesome-children-in-the-sagas-of-icelanders/#comments Sat, 29 Dec 2012 04:37:40 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=38387 It must be stressed that the concept of childhood is certainly not an easy one. One is tempted to ask whether any generalisations about medieval or modern attitudes to childhood might not pose problems.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/28/troublesome-children-in-the-sagas-of-icelanders/feed/ 0 INTERVIEW: Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/13/interview-song-of-the-vikings-snorri-and-the-making-of-norse-myths/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/13/interview-song-of-the-vikings-snorri-and-the-making-of-norse-myths/#comments Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:31:31 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=37981 An interview with author Nancy Brown on her latest medieval offering: "Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths".

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/13/interview-song-of-the-vikings-snorri-and-the-making-of-norse-myths/feed/ 0 Gender Roles and Symbolic Meaning in Njáls Saga http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/08/gender-roles-and-symbolic-meaning-in-njals-saga/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/08/gender-roles-and-symbolic-meaning-in-njals-saga/#comments Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:24:56 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=36992 There are many examples in Njáls saga of characters who fail to adhere to their assigned gender role and as a result perpetuate the chain of events that leads the saga to its grisly conclusion.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/08/gender-roles-and-symbolic-meaning-in-njals-saga/feed/ 0 “Ek Skal Hér Ráða”: Themes of Female Honor in the Icelandic Sagas http://www.medievalists.net/2012/05/25/ek-skal-her-rada-themes-of-female-honor-in-the-icelandic-sagas/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/05/25/ek-skal-her-rada-themes-of-female-honor-in-the-icelandic-sagas/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 18:11:52 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=32128 A major goal of this thesis is to not only interpret the representations of women from these sagas, but also to place these representations in the context of the time and the writers. Icelanders wrote these sagas a couple centuries after the Viking age ended and are based nearly entirely on oral tradition.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/05/25/ek-skal-her-rada-themes-of-female-honor-in-the-icelandic-sagas/feed/ 0 Njáls saga as a novel: four aspects of rewriting http://www.medievalists.net/2011/12/28/njals-saga-as-a-novel-four-aspects-of-rewriting/ http://www.medievalists.net/2011/12/28/njals-saga-as-a-novel-four-aspects-of-rewriting/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:35:39 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=28246 Inspired by Njáls saga and Laxdæla saga, the novel Fire in the Ice by American novelist Dorothy James Roberts is one of numerous modern rewritings of classical and medieval literature.

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