{"product_id":"beowulf-and-grettis-saga-from-england-to-iceland-1016-1219-9781843847632","title":"Beowulf and Grettis Saga: From England to Iceland, 1016-1219","description":"\u003cb\u003eInvestigates the relationship between two texts separated by hundreds of years and nearly two thousand miles.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the saga, Grettir fights a giant who wields a \u003ci\u003ehepti-sax\u003c\/i\u003e; in the poem, Beowulf uses a \u003ci\u003eh ft-mēce\u003c\/i\u003e on Grendel's mother. These two unique words for \"hafted blade\" appear to be related. Can the same be said for the works that surround them? This book says yes, arguing not that the weapons have a common origin, nor that their likeness is a coincidence, but that \u003ci\u003eGrettis saga\u003c\/i\u003e has borrowed from \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe case for a textual loan begins in the context of England's connection with Denmark in the reign of Cnut the Great (1016-35). This book argues that Cnut took an interest in Scyld and the Scyldings of \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e and that his skalds transformed these names into \"Skjǫldr\" and the \"Skjǫldungar\". The \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e manuscript is placed in Lichfield in 1017, with the suggestion that it was commissioned by Eadric Streona as a gift for Earl Thorkell of Skåne. It is proposed that in 1159 a copy of \u003ci\u003eBeowulf \u003c\/i\u003ewas brought from Lincoln to Iceland to serve the interests of a family that claimed descent from Skjǫldr, that in the 1180s the poem influenced \u003ci\u003eSkjǫldunga saga\u003c\/i\u003e, and that in the 1190s \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e went north to  ingeyrar abbey, where Oddr the Monk, author of \u003ci\u003eGrettis saga\u003c\/i\u003e, used it to enhance Grettir's fights with Glámr and the trolls of Bárðardalr. This is a daring book that sheds new light on the circulation of \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e, on questions of dating and patronage, and on the authorship of \u003ci\u003eGrettis saga\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNorth, Richard:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - RICHARD NORTH teaches Old and Middle English in UCL, where he has also taught Old Norse. He has published widely on all three literatures, but with a focus on Beowulf, particularly in The Origins of Beowulf: From Vergil to Wiglaf (Oxford, 2006).","brand":"Boydell \u0026 Brewer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52101667389714,"sku":"9781843847632","price":135.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ce805873-810a-437e-9269-1eb497ddd9b1.jpg?v=1773136124","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/beowulf-and-grettis-saga-from-england-to-iceland-1016-1219-9781843847632","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}