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A classic book on Old Norse grammar that any student of the language will find useful.
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An Introduction to Old Norse
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The first edition of this standard work was published in 1927 and has been reprinted several times. This second edition has been revised and reset and the saga Hrafnkels saga freysgooa is now included in its entirety. The work is now available for the first time in paperback.
412 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,1927
This edition
- Format
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412 pages, Paperback
- Published
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July 23, 1981 by Clarendon Press
- ISBN
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9780198111849
- ASIN
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0198111843
- Language
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English
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It is a really interesting edition to introduce yourself in the world of the Norse literature and the history of the vikings (especially the preface and introduction). I find myself delighted when historical figures such as Ragnar Loðbrók, Floki (the viking who gave name to the country that we know today as Iceland) or Rollo are mentioned (they are main characters in the TV series 'Vikings').
The only thing to improve here, if we are talking about an introductory book, is the display of the Old Norse literature and poetry, written in Old Norse. Of course, if you don't know Icelandic or Old Norse, you are not going to understand anything, so providing the reader with a parallel translation of the text, he/she will be guided and not lost with an indecipherable text. I know this book is quite old, but thinking of the target audience is an important matter, and this suggestion can be taken for more contemporary pieces of work.
The only thing to improve here, if we are talking about an introductory book, is the display of the Old Norse literature and poetry, written in Old Norse. Of course, if you don't know Icelandic or Old Norse, you are not going to understand anything, so providing the reader with a parallel translation of the text, he/she will be guided and not lost with an indecipherable text. I know this book is quite old, but thinking of the target audience is an important matter, and this suggestion can be taken for more contemporary pieces of work.
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This book is completely surpassed by Anthony Faulkes' New Introduction To Old Norse, but is still interesting for its historical value and is one of those quirky old oddities that must be owned.
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My junior year of college I did a study abroad at Oxford, primarily because they offered Old Norse, and I wanted to translate an Icelandic Saga as my senior project. I took a tutorial on ON with professor Clarington, and spent many hours huddled over this text, slowly deciphering "Hrafnkells Saga", and it was the beginning of the many years I would spend labouring over icelandic dictionaries - translating "Ragnars Saga Lodbrokar" my senior year, a year in Reykjavik, and now my slow laborious work on Olafur Gunnarssons "Vetrarferdin." I'd say there is no better place to start than Gordan's tome, but really, I don't think there IS any other place to start.
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Gordon's introduction to Old Norse remains a standard in the field. A well-selected anthology of prose and poetry (including Skaldic verse), with detailed notes, and a comprehensive grammar and glossary make this an ideal choice for beginning and intermediate readers. Check out the acknowledgements for a shout-out to Oxford don J. R. R. Tolkien!
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Increasingly my most well-worn book; the glossary is thumbed brown. Perhaps I should eat less barbecue and practice better manual hygiene.
It is an old-fashioned approach to the language, there is no doubt about that! However, upon returning to it, I find that I was an impatient college student, and this dense little fellow is increasingly making himself apparent to me. The fault, as it turns out, is not in the stars, or the book, for that matter.
It is an old-fashioned approach to the language, there is no doubt about that! However, upon returning to it, I find that I was an impatient college student, and this dense little fellow is increasingly making himself apparent to me. The fault, as it turns out, is not in the stars, or the book, for that matter.
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I really just picked this up because I saw it in my college library and thought it would be a good read. It definitely is interesting if you're a linguistics person like me since it details the history behind old norse, gives you some stories in old norse (that I didn't read because I can't read old norse), and even tells you how to speak it. Like some other people are saying, it's not a book to teach you how to speak/read old norse, but it's more like a reference or a summarization of how to read it. Very interesting and well worth the time to read it even casually if you enjoy this kind of literature.
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Not really a "teach yourself" kind of book - more of a text reference for a course with an experienced tutor. Nevertheless, some of my first real experience with my ancestral language came from this book, which was a Yuletide gift from Heather.
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