Old Norse-Icelandic Philology and National Identity in the Long Nineteenth Century

Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-90-04-49965-2
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 28, 478 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 936 g

Reihe: National Cultivation of Culture

For centuries, the literary heritage preserved in Icelandic medieval manuscripts has played a vital role in the self-image of the Icelandic nation. From the late eighteenth century, Icelandic scholars had better opportunities than previously to study and publish this material on their own terms. Throughout the long nineteenth century they were intensely engaged in philological work on it. This coincided with an increasing awareness among Icelanders of a separate nationality and their growing demand for autonomy. What was the connection between the two developments? This literature was also important for the shaping of identities among other Northern European nations. The twelve chapters of this collection explore the interplay between various national discourses that characterized the scholarly reception of this heritage during the period.

Contributors are: Alderik H. Blom, Clarence E. Glad, Matthew James Driscoll, Gylfi Gunnlaugsson, Simon Halink, Hjalti Snær Ægisson, Jon Gunnar Jørgensen, Annette Lassen, and Ragnheiður Mósesdóttir.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Gunnlaugsson, Gylfi

Glad, Clarence E.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Skandinavische Literaturen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Rezeption, literarische Einflüsse und Beziehungen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments

Notes on Contributors

Introduction

Gylfi Gunnlaugsson

1 Whose Cultural Heritage?

Icelandic Philological Research and Its Repercussions before 1830

Gylfi Gunnlaugsson

2 “Sacred Isle! Mightiest Temple of Remembrance!”

Rasmus Rask, Iceland and the Icelandic Language

Alderik H. Blom

3 Müller’s Method

The Resurrection of Danish Saga Translations

Annette Lassen

4 Icelandic-Danish Cooperation and Disputes 1816–1858

Clarence E. Glad

5 Sveinbjörn Egilsson

Philologist, Translator and Teacher

Clarence E. Glad

6 Rudolf Keyser and His Use of Old Norse Texts in the Norwegian National Initiative

Jon Gunnar Jørgensen

7 Jón Sigurðsson

A Philologist Captive in the Image of a National Hero

Clarence E. Glad

8 The Invigorating Childhood Memories of the North

On Grímur Thomsen’s Scholarly Work and Poetry

Gylfi Gunnlaugsson

9 National Liberty and Its Shortcomings

Benedikt Gröndal’s De studiis classicis and the Dichotomizing of Icelandic and French Identities

Hjalti Snær Ægisson

10 Guðbrandur Vigfússon

An Icelandic Philologist in Oxford

Ragnheiður Mósesdóttir

11 Finnur Jónsson, Editor of Everything

Matthew James Driscoll

12 Between Hekla and Dofrafjall

Björn M. Ólsen, Finnur Jónsson and the Origins of the Eddic Poems

Simon Halink

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Gylfi Gunnlaugsson, cand. mag. (1990), University of Iceland, is a researcher at the Reykjavik Academy. He has taught at the University of Kiel and the University of Iceland. He has published extensively on the reception of Old Norse literature in later periods.

Clarence E. Glad, Ph.D. (1992), Brown University, is a researcher at the Reykjavik Academy. He has published monographs and articles on nineteenth century Icelandic cultural nationalism and on the Pauline heritage in Early Christianity, including Paul and Philodemus (Brill, 1995).