II.

Norwegian-Icelandic Period

Old Norse (early Norwegian and Icelandic) literature is essentially a product of the Viking age. The deeds, beliefs, history, and lore of the Norwegian Vikings who settled Iceland at the end of the 9th century found expression in poems, tales, and legends. These were transmitted orally but not written down until the 13th century, chiefly in Icelandic manuscripts. See Icelandic Literature.

The oldest-known written Old Norse work is the group of poems called the Poetic Edda. These famous poems tell the tales of Norse and Germanic gods and human heroes. Another type of poetry more complex and metaphorical, known as the skaldic poetry, was composed to be performed by skalds (bards or court poets). The earliest known skald was a Norwegian, Bragi Boddason, who lived in the first half of the 9th century. When skaldic poetry ceased in Norway, it continued in Iceland. A somewhat later development of Old Norse literature is the saga, a prose epic or narrative. The sagas were told by the Icelanders but were not concerned solely with Icelandic events. For example, the renowned Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson is a 13th-century history of Norwegian kings. In general, the sagas are built on and carry forward Norwegian traditions. Scandinavian Mythology.

In the 13th century the religious and courtly literature of continental Europe reached Norway through translations and adaptations of homilies, legends of saints, and tales of such heroes as Arthur, Charlemagne, and Theodoric. The courtly circles of the Middle Ages generally turned their backs on the native forms of the Viking age and sought the new learning of Catholic Europe. King Håkon IV had French lais (epic ballads) and chansons de geste (“songs of great deeds”) translated into Old Norse. Of prime importance as a Norwegian literary creation was “The King’s Mirror,” a textbook in verse on etiquette, geography, trade, and other worldly wisdom for the education of princes. Ballads on native themes also entered the literary tradition in the 13th century. One of the most impressive was the Dream Ballad, a vision of the hereafter embodying ideas similar to those used by Italian poet Dante Alighieri in The Divine Comedy. Ballads had flourished in Norway centuries before they were put in writing. They included stories of ogres and maidens in distress, courtly love, and tragic heroism.