Damnation and salvation in Old Norse literature / Haki Antonsson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Antonsson, Haki, author.

Series:

Studies in Old Norse literature ; 3.

Studies in Old Norse literature, 2514-0701 ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Salvation in literature.

Old Norse literature--History and criticism.

Old Norse literature.

Physical Description:

xiii, 257 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; Rochester, NY, USA : D.S. Brewer, 2018.

Summary:

The hope of salvation and the fear of damnation were fundamental in the Middle Ages. Surprisingly, however, this topic, as reflected in Old Norse literature, has received limited critical attention.This book addresses this lacuna in the scholarship, from two major perspectives. Firstly, it examines how the twin themes of damnation and salvation interact with other more familiar and better explored topoi, such as the life-cycle, the moment of death, and the material world. Secondly, it looks at how issues relating to damnation and salvation influence the structure of texts, with regard both to individual scenes and poems and sagas as a whole. The author argues that comparable features and patterns reoccur throughout the corpus, albeit with individual variations contingent on the relevant historical and literary context. A broad range of the literature is considered, including Sagas of Icelanders, Kings' sagas, Contemporary Sagas, Legendary sagas and poems of Christian instruction.

Notes:

Series numbering inferred from series listing on page 258.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781843845072

1843845075

OCLC:

1049585896