The Matter of the North: The Rise of Literary Fiction in Thirteenth-Century Iceland

This study evaluates the role of legendary sagas in the lives of Icelanders from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It looks at the legendary sagas from the perspective of fictional prose narrative, and sheds light on the origin and nature of other genres that arose in Iceland, especially the Icelandic family saga Islendingasaga. The author wishes to point out the richness and complexity of these long-neglected sagas. Even though they were probably composed for amusement and recreation, they deserve to be taken seriously as works of the intellect.