Old Norse literature the literature of the Northmen, or Norsemen, c.850-c.1350. It survives mainly in Icelandic writings, for little medieval vernacular literature remains from Norway, Sweden, or Denmark. The Norwegians who settled Iceland late in the 9th cent. brought with them a body of oral mythological poetry that flourished there in a sturdy, seafaring world removed from the warring mainland. The first great period, which lasted until c.1100, was oral, as writing was not introduced until well after the establishment of Christianity (c.1000). From c.1100 to c.1350 both the oral poetry and new compositions were set down. The conscious, clear prose style that developed for both saga and history antedates that of all other modern European literatures except Gaelic. In the later 13th cent., with Iceland's loss of independence to Norway, literary activity declined and had virtually disappeared a century later. The surviving body of literature can best be discussed as consisting of several types. Eddic writings (see Edda ) were condensations of ancient lays, in alliterative verse (see alliteration ), on old gods and heroes. Many of the heroic lays involve the legend of Siegfried and Brunhild ; the mythological lays, focusing on Norse gods, include "The Lay of Thrym," a narrative about Thor, and "The Seeress' Prophecy," which begins with creation and anticipates the gods' demise. Also composed in alliterative verse, but more complex and artificial in form,...
Old Norse literature the literature of the Northmen, or Norsemen, c.850-c.1350. It survives mainly in Icelandic writings, for little medieval vernacular literature remains from Norway, Sweden, or Denmark. The Norwegians who settled Iceland late in the 9th cent. brought with them a body of oral mythological poetry that flourished there in a sturdy, seafaring world removed from the warring mainland. The first great period, which lasted until c.1100, was oral, as writing was not introduced until well after the establishment of Christianity (c.1000). From c.1100 to c.1350 both the oral poetry and new compositions were set down. The conscious, clear prose style that developed for both saga and history antedates that of all other modern European literatures except Gaelic. In the later 13th cent., with Iceland's loss of independence to Norway, literary activity declined and had virtually disappeared a century later. The surviving body of literature can best be discussed as consisting of several types. Eddic writings (see Edda ) were condensations of ancient lays, in alliterative verse (see alliteration ), on old gods and heroes. Many of the heroic lays involve the legend of Siegfried and Brunhild ; the mythological lays, focusing on Norse gods, include "The Lay of Thrym," a narrative about Thor, and "The Seeress' Prophecy," which begins with creation and anticipates the gods' demise. Also composed in alliterative verse, but more complex and artificial in form,...
