Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas

by Jesse Byock, Randall Gordon

Overview

Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction is a modern "primer" for learning to read the Icelandic sagas in their original language. This straightforward, easy-to-use primer requires no previous language knowledge. It is designed for self-learning, in-class use, and distance learning. Starting with the first page, students read Old Norse passages from Icelandic sagas as well as episodes from Scandinavian myth and medieval sources. The language and thought of the Viking Age come alive in these critical, Old Norse reading segments. Old Norse - Old Icelandic is divided into 17 short lessons. Each lesson opens with a passage in Old Icelandic drawn from sagas or mythological sources. Lessons focus on the grammar and vocabulary necessary to master the reading(s). In this way, original texts determine the instruction, and students master grammatical elements as they are needed. To speed the learning, each lesson contains a short vocabulary of new words and phrases, as well as practice exercises, reinforcing the grammatical explanations. For a free Answer Key to the exercises, visit our website: oldnorse.org.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781953947093
Publisher:	Jules William Press
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Series:	Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic , #3
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.46(d)

About the Author

JESSE BYOCK is distinguished research professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian at UCLA. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and specializes in the Viking World: its language, sagas, history, and archaeology. He is professor at the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. In Iceland, he directs the Mosfell Archaeological Project (MAP) and teaches at the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) in the Department of History and the programs of Medieval Icelandic and Viking Studies.

RANDALL GORDON is a specialist in historical linguistics of Celtic and Germanic Languages, with concentrations on the development and grammar of Old Norse and Old Irish. He received his Ph.D. in Indo-European Studies from UCLA.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS for Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas

The Alphabet, Spelling, and Vowels

Abbreviations

LESSON 1

From the Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue, Chap. 1

LESSON 2

From the Saga of Hrafnkel the Priest of Frey, Chap. 2

LESSON 3

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 50

From The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck, Chap. 1

LESSON 4

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 36

From the Saga of Magnus Erlingsson, Chap. 16

LESSON 5

From Snorri's Edda [The Prose Edda], 'The Beguiling of Gylfi,' Chap. 6

LESSON 6

From the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, Chap. 3

From the Saga of the Families of Weapon's Fjord, Chap. 1

LESSON 7

From Snorri's Edda [The Prose Edda], 'The Beguiling of Gylfi,' Chap. 22

LESSON 8

From the Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue, Chap. 9

From the Book of Settlements [Sturla's Book], Chap. 112

From the Saga of Egill Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 55

LESSON 9

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 32

From the Saga of Gisli Sursson, Chap. 5

From the Saga of Havard, Chap. 1

From Snorri's Edda [The Prose Edda], Chap. 10

LESSON 10

From the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason, Chap. 108

LESSON 11

From the Saga of the Foster-Brothers, Chap. 23

LESSON 12

From the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, Chap. 7 'About the Sons of Ragnar'

From Heimskringla or The History of the Kings of Norway, Chap. 1

LESSON 13

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 25

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 25

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 57

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 66

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 25

From the Saga of the Ynglings, Chap. 29

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 36

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 77

LESSON 14

From the Saga of the Ynglings, Chap. 3 'About Odin's Brothers'

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 59

From Njal's Saga, Chap. 146

LESSON 15

From the Saga of Egil Skalla-Grimsson, Chap. 81

LESSON 16

From Njal's Saga, Chap. 58

LESSON 17

From Snorri's Edda, Chaps. 15, 17

From The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck, Chap. 3

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Pronunciation Guide to Old Icelandic (With Discussion of Modern Icelandic Pronunciation)