Heroic Sagas and Ballads PDF
Preview Heroic Sagas and Ballads
MYTH AND POETICS A series edited by GREGORY NAGY Heroic Sagas and Ballads BY STEPHEN A. MITCHELL Also in the series The Language of Heroes: Speech and Peiformance in the Iliad by Richard P. Martin Greek Mythology and Poetics by Gregory Nagy Homer and the Sacred City by Stephen Scully Poetry and Prophecy: The Beginnings of a Literary Tradition edited by James Kugel Epic Singers and Oral Tradition by Albert Bates Lord The Traffic in Praise: Pindar and the Poetics of Social Economy by Leslie Kurke The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun: Myth and Ritual in Ancient India by Stephanie W. Jamison HEROIC SAGAS AND BALLADS A. STEPHEN MITCHELL CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON Cornell University Press gratefully acknowledges a grant from Harvard University which aided in the publication of this book. Copyright © 1991 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts Place, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 1991 by Cornell University Press. International Standard Book Number 978-1-5017-0744-5 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 91-9899 Printed in the United States of America Librarians: Library of Congress cataloging information appears on the last page of the book. I§ The paper in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. To Kristine Contents Foreword by Gregory Nagy IX Preface XI Introduction 1 Definitions and Assessments 8 Genre Analysis and Old Norse Literature 9 The fornaldarsQgur and the Critics 32 Future Directions 43 2 Origins and Influences 44 Traditional Lore 49 Learned Lore 73 Forging Traditions 88 3 Uses and Functions 91 Sagnaskemtan and the Aesthetic Dimension 92 The Heroic Age and the Social Dimension I I4 The Value of Tradition I 3 5 4 The Legacy Renewed 137 Scandinavian Balladry I39 Icelandic rimur 163 SQgumaor, kvcroari, and rimari I75 Epilogue 178 Appendix 183 The fornaldarsQgur and Examples of Related Ballads and rimur I 8 3 (Probable) Lost fornaldarsQgur I85 Abbreviations 186 vm Contents Bibliography r88 English Translations of the Jornaldarsggur ISS Editions 190 Secondary Literature Cited 200 Index 2JI
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