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It should not be hard for the general reader to understand that the influence which is the theme of thisdissertation is real and explicable. If he will but call the roll of his favorite heroes, he will find Sigurd there. Inhis gallery of wondrous women, he certainly cherishes Brynhild. These poetic creations belong to theEnglish−speaking race, because they belong to the world. And if one will but recall the close kinship of theIcelandic and the Anglo−Saxon languages, he will not find it strange that the spirit of the old Norse sagaslives again in our English song and story.
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The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature Conrad Hjalmar Nordby The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature Table of Contents The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature.......................................................................1 Conrad Hjalmar Nordby..........................................................................................................................1 PREFATORY NOTE..............................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTORY..................................................................................................................................3 I. THE BODY OF OLD NORSE LITERATURE...................................................................................4 II. THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF LATIN............................................................................................5 III. FROM THE SOURCES THEMSELVES.......................................................................................15 IV. BY THE HAND OF THE MASTER..............................................................................................23 V. IN THE LATTER DAYS.................................................................................................................48 RECENT TRANSLATIONS.................................................................................................................50 i The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature Conrad Hjalmar Nordby This page formatted 2004 Blackmask Online. http://www.blackmask.com • PREFATORY NOTE. • INTRODUCTORY. • I. THE BODY OF OLD NORSE LITERATURE. • II. THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF LATIN. • III. FROM THE SOURCES THEMSELVES. • IV. BY THE HAND OF THE MASTER. • V. IN THE LATTER DAYS. • RECENT TRANSLATIONS. E−text prepared by David Starner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team THE INFLUENCE OF OLD NORSE LITERATURE UPON ENGLISH LITERATURE by CONRAD HJALMAR NORDBY 1901 Deyr fe deyja fraendr, deyr sialfr it sama; en orethstirr deyr aldrigi hveim er ser goethan getr. Havamal, 75. Cattle die, kindred die, we ourselves also die; but the fair fame never dies of him who has earned it. Thorpe's Edda. PREFATORY NOTE. The present publication is the only literary work left by its author. Unfortunately it lacks a few pages which, as his manuscript shows, he intended to add, and it also failed to receive his final revision. His friends have The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature 1 The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature nevertheless deemed it expedient to publish the result of his studies conducted with so much ardor, in order that some memorial of his life and work should remain for the wider public. To those acquainted with him, no written words can represent the charm of his personality or give anything approaching an adequate impression of his ability and strength of character. Conrad Hjalmar Nordby was born September 20, 1867, at Christiania, Norway. At the age of four he was brought to New York, where he was educated in the public schools. He was graduated from the College of the City of New