II. The Variants of the Myth The variant accounts of the abduction by Theseus of Ariadne, daughter of the Cretan king·Minos, at first appear to be not only numerous but confusing as well. The oral tradition has been in this case most prolific. Indeed, Plutarch was prompted to write: Πολλοὶ δὲ λόγοι καὶ περὶ τούτων ἔτι λέγονται καὶ περὶ τῆς Ἀριάδνης, οὐδὲν ὁμολογούμενον ἔχοντες. There… Read more
5. The Same Event in More Than One Saga The previous chapter looked at how particular characters from the sagas of the east of Iceland are presented in sources that appear unlikely to be directly related to each other on a written level, i.e. through literary relations. It emerged that there is discernable variation in the personal characteristics ascribed to Víga-Bjarni in different sagas, while those of… Read more
6. Conclusions to Part II The sagas of the east of Iceland contain a large number of passages with parallels of subject matter or theme with other sagas within the group or with written works from other parts of the country. Of the examples considered in the previous two chapters, the only cases where it seems, on the grounds of shared diction, that the relationship can be… Read more
7. The Saga Map of Vínland As has become clear in the preceding chapters, the relationship between the written sagas and oral tradition is not simple and uniform. There are no clear-cut answers to the questions facing us. And, as if the part of orality in the composition of the written sagas were not in itself fraught with uncertainties, the position we take on this affects how… Read more
8. Implications for Saga Research The overall conclusion to emerge from this study is that, by assuming the existence of a living oral tradition in Icelandic society in the 12th and 13th centuries, the perspective of our research shifts fundamentally. This change applies equally to how we interpret both the historical facts and the individual texts themselves. For instance, in Part I reasons were given for thinking… Read more
Bibliography Published Editions of Works Referenced by Page Number Wherever possible, all references are to the editions in the Íslenzk fornrit (ÍF) series (Reykjavík, 1933-). (For an English translation of the sagas of Icelanders see: The Complete Sagas of Icelanders. Ed. Viðar Hreinsson. Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson Publishing 1997). Other editions used are listed below. In some cases, e.g. where these are diplomatic texts or editions using… Read more
Pronunciation Guide The information given here should help non-Icelandic speakers to make a recognizable attempt at pronouncing the words and names that occur in this book. It does not aim to give comprehensive details of Icelandic pronunciation. It gives only the main rules and ignores the numerous refinements to these rules. In addition, though very good, our knowledge of the pronunciation of Old Icelandic is by no… Read more
Series Foreword This new series is dedicated to the empirical study of oral traditions in their historical contexts. The rigorous methods of investigation developed by Milman Parry and Albert Lord, as documented in Lord’s The Singer of Tales (Harvard University Press 1960; Harvard Studies in Comparative Literature 24. Second edition 2000, with Introduction [vii-xxix] by Stephen Mitchell and Gregory Nagy) serve as a model for the books included in the… Read more
Foreword In 1935 Professor Milman Parry, of the Department of Classics, Harvard University, as part of his wider survey of oral literature, was engaged in recording epic poetry in Gacko, on the border between Herzegovina and Montenegro in the former Yugoslavia. He took advantage of the abundant tradition of “women’s songs” in that area and recorded a great number of them, along with the heroic epics or “men’s songs.” He… Read more
Acknowledgements The path leading to the completion of this book involved many scholars, friends, and family members to whom I wish to express my gratitude. I am indebted to Mary Louise Lord, who generously shared with me her knowledge of her late husband’s fieldwork and of the materials held in the Parry Collection. Her meticulous criticism of the manuscript resulted in numerous improvements. Very special thanks go also to Gregory… Read more
