Ulf
01-02-2009, 12:28 AM
A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature
PREFACE
In the literature of Old Scandinavia we meet with something unique in mediaeval Europe: a great and rich literature composed before the thirteenth century; clear incisive prose, and poetry whose stormy music can deal fittingly with the tales of gods and heroes; and a remarkable clarity of vision, showing itself in understanding of human strength and weakness and full awareness of the greatness of the issues involved. Comparison with the literature of Ancient Greece is not unfitting; the mingling of humour and tragedy in the Icelandic Sagas recalls the world of Homer while it foreshadows Shakesperian drama. But the appreciation of mighty issues in the lives of simple folk which we find in them is something as new as the perfect mastery of a narrative prose style; neither was to appear again in Europe for centuries.
The Road to Hel (.pdf) (http://www.runewebvitki.com/Road_To_Hel.pdf)
PREFACE
In the literature of Old Scandinavia we meet with something unique in mediaeval Europe: a great and rich literature composed before the thirteenth century; clear incisive prose, and poetry whose stormy music can deal fittingly with the tales of gods and heroes; and a remarkable clarity of vision, showing itself in understanding of human strength and weakness and full awareness of the greatness of the issues involved. Comparison with the literature of Ancient Greece is not unfitting; the mingling of humour and tragedy in the Icelandic Sagas recalls the world of Homer while it foreshadows Shakesperian drama. But the appreciation of mighty issues in the lives of simple folk which we find in them is something as new as the perfect mastery of a narrative prose style; neither was to appear again in Europe for centuries.
The Road to Hel (.pdf) (http://www.runewebvitki.com/Road_To_Hel.pdf)