Popular Romance in Iceland: The Women, Worldviews, and Manuscript Witnesses of Nta saga [Hardcover]

A late medieval Icelandic romance about the maiden-king of France, the Nítíða saga was well received in its day and grew in popularity throughout post-Reformation Iceland. It has not, however, received the comprehensive scholarly analysis it deserves, or that other Icelandic sagas have received. Sheryl McDonald Werronen corrects that here, offering a detailed study of the saga and its presentation of women and the Icelandic worldview, including questions of identity, gender, female solidarity, and the romance genre itself.

 

Sheryl McDonald Werronenis a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellow at the Arnamagnæan Institute in Copenhagen.

Manuscript Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
      Synopsis
      Women and Worldviews
      Manuscript Witness
      Organization and Conventions
Part I Romance Contexts

1. Manuscript Witnesses

Different Versions, Different Worldviews
Different Versions
JS 166 fol.
Add. 4860 fol.
Lbs 3941 8vo
Conclusions

1. Intertextuality

Communicating with Other Romances
Shared Motifs in Sigurðar saga þ?gla, Gibbons saga, and Nítíða saga
Nítíða saga Drawing on Clari saga
Nikulás saga leikara Drawing on Nítíða saga
Conclusions

1. Setting the Scene

Geography and Space
Global Space
Social Space
Conclusions
Part II Romance Characters

1. The Hero and her Rivals

Heroes
Livorius and Nítíða
Rivals
Conclusions

1. Women Helping Women, and Other Minor Characters

Conclusions

1. Romance through the Eyes of the Narrator

Conclusions
Conclusion
Appendix Nítíða saga Text lóS