Gaelic Influence in Iceland: Historical and Literary Contacts. A Survey of Research

Scholars of Old Icelandic generally agree that Icelandic literature was influenced by the Gaelic world where oral literature was highly developed and written prose sagas were produced in the vernacular. Ireland and Iceland are the only countries in NW Europe where sagas of this kind were written down. The problem arises however when the importance of the influence on Icelandic culture has to be assessed. In this book, the author looks at the possible channels by which Gaelic influence could have reached Iceland and looks at the nature of the numerous parallels in different genres of Old Icelandic literature with Gaelic literature, especially Old Irish. The intention is twofold: first, to provide a comprehensive bibliography of the subject, and second, to assess what these parallels can tell us about the importance of Gaelic influence for Icelandic literary tradition. This is the 2nd revised edition, with a new preface, and new general introduction.