A New Introduction to Old Norse Part II: Reader, Fourth Edition
The Reader has been expanded by the addition of six new texts. It is designed to be used, alongside the Glossary (NION III), for individual or classroom use. The aim is to present examples of all the main genres of Old Norse literature, in extracts of varying difficulty, for readers at undergraduate level and beyond. The first text is accompanied by a comprehensive grammatical commentary as an introduction for the beginning reader. Each text is accompanied by annotations and bibliographical references. The texts are preceded by an Introduction to the study of Old Icelandic.
In addition the Reader contains facsimiles of two pages of the manuscript of the extract from Kormaks saga, with transcription and commentary, and an illustrated selection of runic inscriptions.
Extracts from the following texts are included:
- Hrólfs saga kraka
- Snorri Sturluson: Edda (Skáldskaparmál)
- Sturla Þórðarson: Íslendinga saga
- Kormaks saga
- Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa
- Fagrskinna
- Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla (including 'The art and craft of the skaldic stanza')
- Ari Þorgilsson: Íslendingabók
- Þrymskviða
- Völundarkviða
- Þi ðreks saga
- Saga af Tristram ok Ísönd
- Maríu saga
- Jóns saga helga
- Laxdœla saga
- Auðunar þáttr
- Runic inscriptions
- Möðruvallabók
In the new edition, besides the same 18 texts that were in the third edition, now corrected, and the same 2 facsimiles in color, there are 9 new texts, comprising the eddic poem Hamdismál and the Rhyme of St Óláfr, and extracts from the Book of Settlements, the Saga of Eric the Red, Njáls saga, the Norwegian King's Mirror, the Icelandic law code Grágás, and a learned treatise on Physiognomy; and four short extracts from East Norse texts (Old Swedish and Old Danish law codes, the Old Swedish verse Eirik's Chronicle and the Old Danish Mariager Book of Legends). There is also a completely new general introduction to the book by Alison Finlay. The Reader now contains one or more extracts, if not complete texts, from works representing each of the main genres of Old Norse literature, and together with the Grammar in part I and the Glossary in part 3 (now also available in the fourth edition, covering all the texts in the new edition of the Glossary) provides a comprehensive introduction to the language and whole range of literature in all the major dialects of medieval Scandinavia.
