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Icelandic Literature
Icelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic works constitute most of Old Norse literature, Old Norse literature is often wrongly considered a subset of Icelandic literature. However, works by Norwegians are present in the standard reader ''Sýnisbók íslenzkra bókmennta til miðrar átjándu aldar'', compiled by Sigurður Nordal on the grounds that the language was the same. Early Icelandic literature The medieval Icelandic literature is usually divided into three parts: *Eddic poetry *Sagas *Skaldic poetry The ''Eddas'' There has been some discussion on the probable etymology of the term "Edda". Most say it stems from the Old Norse term ''edda'', which means great-grandmother, but some see a reference to Oddi, a place where Snorri Sturluson (the writer of the ''Prose Edda'') wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the PlayStation 2. The series is notable for its emphasis on open world exploration, non-linear branching plots, and occasionally unconventional gameplay. This distinguishes the games from most of Square's other franchises. Development The ''SaGa'' series was created by game designer Akitoshi Kawazu, whose contributions prior to the franchise's introduction include ''Final Fantasy'' and ''Final Fantasy II''. At a time when Nintendo's Game Boy was becoming popular worldwide due to the puzzle game '' Tetris'', then-Square president Masashi Miyamoto requested that a development team create a game for the handheld console. Kawazu and fellow designer Koichi Ishii suggested that the company develop a role-playing video game, thus making ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norse Mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities. Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with several other beings, such as humanity and the jötnar, beings who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of the gods. The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Ni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandra Ballif Straubhaar
Sandra Ballif Straubhaar is a Germanic studies scholar known for her work on women's poetry in Old Norse, and for her contributions to scholarship on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, in particular his use of the Nordic medieval. Biography Sandra Straubhaar obtained her bachelor's degree in German and English at Brigham Young University in 1972. She gained an MA in German at Stanford University in 1975, and then studied Old Norse and modern Icelandic at the University of Iceland until 1978. She obtained her PhD in German Studies and Humanities at Stanford University in 1982. She held positions as lecturer and assistant professor at Lansing Community College, the University of São Paulo, Michigan State University, and Brigham Young University before moving to the University of Texas at Austin in 1998; she became a distinguished senior lecturer there in 2013. Straubhaar is well known from her articles on Old Norse women's poetry as well as her popular entry on tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunnhildr Konungamóðir
Gunnhildr konungamóðir (''mother of kings'') or Gunnhildr Gormsdóttir, whose name is often Anglicised as Gunnhild (c. 910 – c. 980) is a quasi-historical figure who appears in the Icelandic Sagas, according to which she was the wife of Eric Bloodaxe (king of Norway 930–34, 'King' of Orkney c. 937–54, and king of Jórvík 948–49 and 952–54). She appears prominently in sagas such as ''Fagrskinna'', ''Egils saga'', ''Njáls saga'', and ''Heimskringla''. The sagas relate that Gunnhild lived during a time of great change and upheaval in Norway. Her father-in-law Harald Fairhair had recently united much of Norway under his rule. Shortly after his death, Gunnhild and her husband Eric Bloodaxe were overthrown and exiled. She spent much of the rest of her life in exile in Orkney, Jorvik and Denmark. A number of her many children with Eric became co-rulers of Norway in the late tenth century. Historicity Many of the details of her life are disputed, includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jórunn Skáldmær
Jórunn skáldmær ("poet-maiden") was a Norwegian skald active in the first half of the 10th century. Only two stanzas and three half-stanzas of her ''Sendibítr'' ("Biting message") were preserved, mostly in Snorri Sturluson's works, such as '' Saga of Harald Fairhair'' and ''Skáldskaparmál''. The ''Sendibítr'', which deals with a conflict between Harald Fairhair and his son Halfdan the Black, is the longest recorded skaldic poem composed by a woman.Borovsky, Zoe. 1999. "Never in public: Women and performance in Old Norse Literature". ''Journal of American Folklore''. 112 (443): 6–39. See also * Hildr Hrólfsdóttir * Gunnhildr konungamóðir Gunnhildr konungamóðir (''mother of kings'') or Gunnhildr Gormsdóttir, whose name is often Anglicised as Gunnhild (c. 910 – c. 980) is a quasi-historical figure who appears in the Icelandic Sagas, according to which she was ... * Steinunn Refsdóttir Notes External linksJórunn's ''Sendibítr'' in the ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hildr Hrólfsdóttir
Hildr or Ragnhildr Hrólfsdóttir was a 9th-century woman who is referenced in various Old Norse sources including ''Óláfs saga helga'', '' Orkneyinga saga'', and ''Landnámabók'' and is also one of the few female skalds from whom verses survive. According to the sagas, Hild was the daughter of Rolv Nefia (''Hrólfr nefja''), jarl at Trondhjem (modern Trondheim). In the ''Orkneyinga saga'', the daughter of Rolv Nefia is called Ragnhild, although in the ''Heimskringla'' she is called Hild. Her father used to go on viking expeditions. One summer he plundered in Vík. This aroused King Harald Fairhair's anger and he was banished. Hild appealed unsuccessfully for clemency for her father. On this occasion she composed a skaldic stanza (''lausavísa''), which is one of the few examples of skaldic poetry composed by a woman that have come down to us. She was married to Rognvald Eysteinsson, who was the jarl of Møre. They had three sons: Ivar (''Ívarr''), Thorir (''Þórir''), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, as well as the Karlsö Islands (Lilla and Stora) to the west. The population is 61,001, of which about 23,600 live in Visby, the main town. Outside Visby, there are minor settlements and a mainly rural population. The island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area. The county formed by the archipelago is the second smallest by area and is the least populated in Sweden. In spite of the small size due to its narrow width, the driving distance between the furthermost points of the populated islands is about . Gotland is a fully integrated part of Sweden with no particular autonomy, unlike several other offshore island groups in Europe. Historically there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9–22. They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, Volga Bulgaria, the Middle East, and North America. In some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a collective whole. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles, France, Estonia, and Kievan Rus'. Expert sailors and navigators aboard their characteristic longships, Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, and the Baltic coast, as wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Norse Language
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: ''Old West Norse'' or ''Old West Nordic'' (often referred to as ''Old Norse''), ''Old East Norse'' or ''Old East Nordic'', and ''Old Gutnish''. Old West Norse and Old East Norse formed a dialect continuu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
