Beowulf is much more than a poem. It is more than just literature. It is an emblematic statement of nationhood. One of the defining documents of Anglo-Saxon England, it remains – a thousand years after it was written – an iconic narrative of emergent English identity. Yet for all its importance and significance, no book introducing this foundational epic text, in all its violent complexity, has been attempted for over forty years. Heather O’Donoghue here remedies that neglect. Seamlessly melding history, literature and reception, she addresses the poem’s provenance and background; its setting in an imagined region of sixth-century pagan Denmark; its innovative narrative devices, including flashbacks and flash-forwards; its ideas and ideals of heroism; its sinister monsters (whether homicidal Grendel, Grendel’s terrifying mother or the fatal dragon and eventual nemesis of the tale’s eponymous Geatish hero); and its rich meanings, legacy and afterlives. Shedding fresh light on the poem’s unique alliterative style, this is the most complete portrait yet written of a story whose lasting appeal is matched only by its genius.

From Asgard to Valhalla takes readers deep inside Odin’s cavernous hall and tells of the adventures, tragedies and lessons of the Viking Gods. Here, Heather O’Donoghue skillfully uncovers both the history and legacy of these myths to provide the authoritative student text on Old Norse mythology. From the magnificent tales of A Song of Ice and Fire and the supernatural wonders of Valkyries to Tolkien’s Riders of Rohan and Marvel’s mighty Thor, Norse mythology is a fundamental part of western culture. Drawing from a wealth of sources and scholarly debates, this fully-updated and expanded 2nd edition offers both an engaging survey of the Old Norse myths and an accessible introduction to how such strange and fragmentary material has been seized, repurposed and at times abused throughout the centuries. Notably, this important and timely study explores how Old Norse mythology has been – and continues to be – weaponized by far right movements across the world. Containing 2 brand new chapters on post-medieval reception, 30 illustrations for a stronger visual context and pedagogical updates throughout to aid further study, this new edition of From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths is a vital resource for all students of Old Norse mythology.

An exciting new collection of essays exploring the startling variety of transformations of Old Norse texts, and their legacy in later literary cultures. The "Viking Age" of medieval Scandinavia, with its heathen religion and heroic literature, continues to fascinate readers, writers, students, scholars, poets, artists, and creators of all kinds around the world. This cultural legacy is preserved in Old Norse literature, much of it composed and produced in Iceland, an island with a unique position in relation to the ebb and flow of religions, institutions, and empires. The chapters in this book examine many topics in Old Norse literature: the mysterious personas of the god Odin, the strange origins of poetry and scholarship, the cryptic lore of the elusive dwarfs, the fame of the dragon-slayer Sigurd and the defiant "Sworn Brothers", the early settlement of Iceland, trade in the medieval north, and the history of literary production. Several contributors upend traditional interpretations of their topics, while others offer new insights into the rich modern artistic reception of Norse myth. These studies reveal the striking resilience and adaptability of Old Norse narrative traditions, which retain their timeless appeal through a startling variety of contexts and changes in form.

The essays here engage with the ways in which the Anglo-Saxons and their literature have been received, confronted, and re-envisioned in the modern imagination. An excellent collection... breaks new ground in many areas. Should make a substantial impact on the discussion of the contemporary influence of Anglo-Saxon Culture. Conor McCarthy, author of Seamus Heaney and the Medieval Imagination Britain's pre-Conquest past and its culture continues to fascinate modern writers and artists. From Henry Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader to Seamus Heaney's Beowulf, and from high modernism to themusclebound heroes of comic book and Hollywood, Anglo-Saxon England has been a powerful and often unexpected source of inspiration, antagonism, and reflection. The essays here engage with the ways in which the Anglo-Saxons and their literature have been received, confronted, and re-envisioned in the modern imagination. They offer fresh insights on established figures, such as W.H. Auden, J.R.R. Tolkien, and David Jones, and on contemporary writers such asGeoffrey Hill, Peter Reading, P.D. James, and Heaney. They explore the interaction between text, image and landscape in medieval and modern books, the recasting of mythic figures such as Wayland Smith, and the metamorphosis of Beowulf into Grendel - as a novel and as grand opera. The early medieval emerges not simply as a site of nostalgia or anxiety in modern revisions, but instead provides a vital arena for creativity, pleasure, and artistic experiment. Contributors: Bernard O'Donoghue, Chris Jones, Mark Atherton, Maria Artamonova, Anna Johnson, Clare A. Lees, Sian Echard, Catherine A.M. Clarke, Maria Sachiko Cecire, Allen J. Frantzen, John Halbrooks, Hannah J. Crawforth, Joshua Davies, Rebecca Anne Barr

Beowulf is the longest and finest literary work to have come down to us from Anglo-Saxon times, and one of the world's greatest epic poems. Set in the half-legendary, half historical Scandinavian past, it tells the story of the hero Beowulf, who comes to the aid of the Danish king Hrothgar by killing first the terrifying, demonic monster Grendel, and then Grendel's infuriated and vengeful mother. A lifetime later, Beowulf's own kingdom, Geatland, is threatened by a fiery dragon; Beowulf heroically takes on this challenge, but himself dies killing the dragon. The poem celebrates the virtues of the heroic life, but Hrothgar and Beowulf are beacons of wisdom and courage in a dark world of feuds, violence and uncertainty, and Beowulf's selfless heroism is set against a background of ruthless power struggles, fratricide and tyranny. This acclaimed translation is complemented by a critical introduction and substantial editorial apparatus. `The poem has at last found its translator . . .supremely well done' Charles Causley ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Representative of a unique literary genre and composed in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Icelandic Family Sagas rank among some of the world's greatest literature. Here, Heather O'Donoghue skilfully examines the notions of time and the singular textual voice of the Sagas, offering a fresh perspective on the foundational texts of Old Norse and medieval Icelandic heritage. With a conspicuous absence of giants, dragons, and fairy tale magic, these sagas reflect a real-world society in transition, grappling with major new challenges of identity and development. As this book reveals, the stance of the narrator and the role of time - from the representation of external time passing to the audience's experience of moving through a narrative - are crucial to these stories. As such, Narrative in the Icelandic Family Saga draws on modern narratological theory to explore the ways in which saga authors maintain the urgency and complexity of their material, handle the narrative and chronological line, and offer perceptive insights into saga society. In doing so, O'Donoghue presents a new poetics of family sagas and redefines the literary rhetoric of saga narratives.

Representative of a unique literary genre and composed in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Icelandic Family Sagas rank among some of the world's greatest literature. Here, Heather O'Donoghue skilfully examines the notions of time and the singular textual voice of the Sagas, offering a fresh perspective on the foundational texts of Old Norse and medieval Icelandic heritage. With a conspicuous absence of giants, dragons, and fairy tale magic, these sagas reflect a real-world society in transition, grappling with major new challenges of identity and development. As this book reveals, the stance of the narrator and the role of time - from the representation of external time passing to the audience's experience of moving through a narrative - are crucial to these stories. As such, Narrative in the Icelandic Family Saga draws on modern narratological theory to explore the ways in which saga authors maintain the urgency and complexity of their material, handle the narrative and chronological line, and offer perceptive insights into saga society. In doing so, O'Donoghue presents a new poetics of family sagas and redefines the literary rhetoric of saga narratives.

From Asgard to Valhalla takes readers deep inside Odin’s cavernous hall and tells of the adventures, tragedies and lessons of the Viking Gods. Here, Heather O’Donoghue skillfully uncovers both the history and legacy of these myths to provide the authoritative student text on Old Norse mythology. From the magnificent tales of A Song of Ice and Fire and the supernatural wonders of Valkyries to Tolkien’s Riders of Rohan and Marvel’s mighty Thor, Norse mythology is a fundamental part of western culture. Drawing from a wealth of sources and scholarly debates, this fully-updated and expanded 2nd edition offers both an engaging survey of the Old Norse myths and an accessible introduction to how such strange and fragmentary material has been seized, repurposed and at times abused throughout the centuries. Notably, this important and timely study explores how Old Norse mythology has been – and continues to be – weaponized by far right movements across the world. Containing 2 brand new chapters on post-medieval reception, 30 illustrations for a stronger visual context and pedagogical updates throughout to aid further study, this new edition of From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths is a vital resource for all students of Old Norse mythology.

This title tells from deep within Odin's cavernous halls: the stories of the Viking Gods.From Viking-age stories of ice and fire to the epic poetry of "Beowulf", from the warrior Valkyries to Tolkien's "Riders of Rohan" and from Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" to Marvel's "Mighty Thor", Norse mythology arguably offers something for everyone. "From Asgard to Valhalla" is unique in showing how these myths have impacted on and continue powerfully to resonate across the fields of literature, art, music and politics. In her sparkling new book, Heather O'Donoghue ranges from the high culture of "The Poetic Edda" and the Romantic sublime to popular manifestations of Norse mythology, such as the fantasy novels of Neil Gaiman and Diana Wynne Jones. Distinguishing the myths in their original form from a host of later accretions, the book tells the gripping story of how such strange and fragmentary material was seized and remodelled throughout the centuries: whether by the volkisch fantasies of the Third Reich or the modern-day cult appeal of Viking Metal.

Skaldic Verse and the Poetics of Saga Narrative is a study of the varying relationships between verse and prose in a series of Old Norse-Icelandic saga narratives. It shows how the interplay of skaldic verse, with its metrical intricacy and cryptic diction, and saga prose, with its habitual spare clarity, can be used to achieve a wide variety of sophisticated stylistic and psychological effects. In sagas, there is a fundamental distinction between verses which are ostensibly quoted to corroborate what is stated in the narrative, and verses which are presented as the speech of characters in the saga. Corroborative verses are typical of, but not confined to, historical writings, the verses acting as a footnote to the narrative. Dialogue verses, with their illusion that saga characters break into verse at crucial points in the story, belong to the realm of fiction. This study, which focuses on historical writings such as Agrip and Heimskringla, and three of the major family sagas, Eyrbyggja saga, Gisla saga and Grettis saga, shows that a close reading of the prosimetrum in the narrative can be used to chart the complex and delicate boundaries between history and fiction in the sagas. When skaldic stanzas are presented as the dialogue of saga characters, the characteristic naturalism of these narratives is breached. But some saga authors, as this book shows, extend still further the expressiveness of saga narrative, presenting skaldic stanzas as the soliloquies of saga characters. This technique enables the direct articulation of emotion, and hence dramatic focalization of the narrative and the creation of psychological climaxes. As an epilogue, Heather O'Donoghue considers the absence ofsuch effects in Hrafnkels saga--a highly literary narrative without verses.

The origins of many of the Icelandic sagas have long been the subject of critical speculation and controversy. This book demonstrates that an investigation of the relationship between verse and prose in saga narrative can be used to reconstruct how Icelandic sagas were composed; to this end it provides a detailed analysis of Kormaks saga, whose hero Kormakr is one of the most celebrated of Icelandic poets. Over sixty of his passionate, cryptic skaldic stanzas are quoted in the saga, and the way they and the saga prose are fitted together reveals that Kormaks saga, far from being a seamless narrative of either pre-Christian oral tradition or later medieval fiction, is in fact a patchwork of different kinds of literary materials. This book offers an original and productive way of understanding not only the compositional method and distinctive aesthetic qualities of Kormaks saga, but also the genesis of many other Icelandic saga narratives.