Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures , or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing . However, it differs most notably from poetry , in which language is organized by a rhythmic metre , a rhyme scheme , writing formatted in verse , or other more intentionally artistic structures.
41-744: Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia . The most famous saga-genre is the Íslendingasögur (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between Icelandic families. However, sagas' subject matter is diverse, including pre-Christian Scandinavian legends ; saints and bishops both from Scandinavia and elsewhere; Scandinavian kings and contemporary Icelandic politics ; and chivalric romances either translated from Continental European languages or composed locally. Sagas originated in
82-612: A genre of novels telling stories spanning multiple generations, or to refer to saga-inspired fantasy fiction. Swedish folksaga means folk tale or fairy tale , while konstsaga is the Swedish term for a fairy tale by a known author, such as Hans Christian Andersen . In Swedish historiography, the term sagokung , "saga king", is intended to be ambiguous, as it describes the semi-legendary kings of Sweden , who are known only from unreliable sources. Norse sagas are generally classified as follows. Kings' sagas ( konungasögur ) are of
123-406: A greater or lesser extent influenced by saga-style, in the widespread genres of hagiography and episcopal biographies. The genre seems to have begun in the mid-twelfth century. Icelandic sagas are based on oral traditions and much research has focused on what is real and what is fiction within each tale. The accuracy of the sagas is often hotly disputed. Most of the medieval manuscripts which are
164-498: A label that can describe both speech and writing. In writing, prose is visually formatted differently than poetry. Poetry is traditionally written in verse : a series of lines on a page, parallel to the way that a person would highlight the structure orally if saying the poem aloud; for example, poetry may end with a rhyme at the end of each line, making the entire work more melodious or memorable. Prose uses writing conventions and formatting that may highlight meaning—for instance,
205-589: Is Þiðreks saga , translated/composed in Norway; another is Hjalmars och Hramers saga , a post-medieval forgery composed in Sweden. While the term saga is usually associated with medieval texts, sagas — particularly in the legendary and chivalric saga genres — continued to be composed in Iceland on the pattern of medieval texts into the nineteenth century. Icelanders produced a high volume of literature relative to
246-404: Is aware of the man's difficult character and reputation. Ospak proves to be a good worker and Odd lets him have a lot of control over the estate. Things go well until Odd wants to make a trading voyage. He talks Ospak into becoming his steward. Ospak woos a rich woman named Svala and moves to her estate after falling out with Odd over his stewardship. Odd's livestock start to go missing. Váli, who
287-722: Is considered relatively unimportant, definitions of prose may be narrower, including only written language (but including written speech or dialogue). In written languages, spoken and written prose usually differ sharply. Sometimes, these differences are transparent to those using the languages; linguists studying extremely literal transcripts for conversation analysis see them, but ordinary language-users are unaware of them. Academic writing (works of philosophy , history , economics , etc.), journalism , and fiction are usually written in prose (excepting verse novels etc.). Developments in twentieth century literature, including free verse , concrete poetry , and prose poetry , have led to
328-460: Is invariably Eddaic verse . Some legendary sagas overlap generically with the next category, chivalric sagas. Chivalric sagas ( riddarasögur ) are translations of Latin pseudo-historical works and French chansons de geste as well as Icelandic compositions in the same style. Norse translations of Continental romances seem to have begun in the first half of the thirteenth century; Icelandic writers seem to have begun producing their own romances in
369-406: Is normally more systematic or formulaic, while prose is closer to both ordinary, and conversational speech. In Molière 's play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme the character Monsieur Jourdain asked for something to be written in neither verse nor prose, to which a philosophy master replies: "there is no other way to express oneself than with prose or verse", for the simple reason that "everything that
410-407: Is not prose is verse, and everything that is not verse is prose". American novelist Truman Capote , in an interview, commented as follows on prose style: I believe a story can be wrecked by a faulty rhythm in a sentence— especially if it occurs toward the end—or a mistake in paragraphing, even punctuation. Henry James is the maestro of the semicolon. Hemingway is a first-rate paragrapher. From
451-420: Is one of the sagas of Icelanders . It is the only saga in this category that takes place exclusively after the adoption of Christianity in the year 1000. The oldest surviving manuscript containing Bandamanna saga is the mid-14th century manuscript known as Möðruvallabók (AM 132). The mid-15th-century manuscript GKS 2845 4to also contains a complete text of the saga. There are significant differences in
SECTION 10
#1732765543909492-432: Is skaldic verse. According to historian Jón Viðar Sigurðsson, "Scholars generally agree that the contemporary sagas are rather reliable sources, based on the short time between the events and the recording of the sagas, normally twenty to seventy years... The main argument for this view on the reliability of these sources is that the audience would have noticed if the saga authors were slandering and not faithfully portraying
533-476: The Middle Ages , but continued to be composed in the ensuing centuries. Whereas the dominant language of history-writing in medieval Europe was Latin , sagas were composed in the vernacular: Old Norse and its later descendants, primarily Icelandic . While sagas are written in prose, they share some similarities with epic poetry , and often include stanzas or whole poems in alliterative verse embedded in
574-429: The case if he is paid what Odd would have paid anybody else who fixed things. Ofeig gets the jurymen to agree to do what they want to do: condemn the infamous Ospak, and get paid into the bargain. The bribe is suspected by Thorarin, father of Ospak's wife, and his friend Styrmir. They form a band of six men known as the banded men ( bandamenn ) who swear an oath to take Odd to court and seek to have him fined. The rest of
615-530: The continental kings of Europe and that those kings could therefore not ban subversive forms of literature. Because new principalities lacked internal cohesion, a leader typically produced Sagas "to create or enhance amongst his subjects or followers a feeling of solidarity and common identity by emphasizing their common history and legends". Leaders from old and established principalities did not produce any Sagas, as they were already cohesive political units. Later (late thirteenth- and fourteenth-century) saga-writing
656-420: The description of the items of clothing mentioned in the sagas concludes that the authors attempted to create a historic "feel" to the story, by dressing the characters in what was at the time thought to be "old fashioned clothing". However, this clothing is not contemporary with the events of the saga as it is a closer match to the clothing worn in the 12th century. It was only recently (start of 20th century) that
697-491: The earliest surviving witnesses to the sagas were taken to Denmark and Sweden in the seventeenth century, but later returned to Iceland. Classical sagas were composed in the thirteenth century. Scholars once believed that these sagas were transmitted orally from generation to generation until scribes wrote them down in the thirteenth century. However, most scholars now believe the sagas were conscious artistic creations, based on both oral and written tradition. A study focusing on
738-414: The early Icelanders were. Pragmatic explanations were once also favoured: it has been argued that a combination of readily available parchment (due to extensive cattle farming and the necessity of culling before winter) and long winters encouraged Icelanders to take up writing. More recently, Icelandic saga-production has been seen as motivated more by social and political factors. The unique nature of
779-427: The eighteenth century to refer to Old Norse prose narratives. The word continues to be used in this sense in the modern Scandinavian languages: Icelandic saga (plural sögur ), Faroese søga (plural søgur ), Norwegian soge (plural soger ), Danish saga (plural sagaer ), and Swedish saga (plural sagor ). It usually also has wider meanings such as 'history', 'tale', and 'story'. It can also be used of
820-419: The idea of poetry and prose as two ends on a spectrum rather than firmly distinct from each other. The British poet T. S. Eliot noted, whereas "the distinction between verse and prose is clear, the distinction between poetry and prose is obscure." Latin was a major influence on the development of prose in many European countries . Especially important was the great Roman orator Cicero (106–43 BC). It
861-493: The kings' sagas. Like kings' sagas, when sagas of Icelanders quote verse, as they often do, it is almost invariably skaldic verse. Contemporary sagas ( samtíðarsögur or samtímasögur ) are set in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Iceland, and were written soon after the events they describe. Most are preserved in the compilation Sturlunga saga , from around 1270–80, though some, such as Arons saga Hjörleifssonar are preserved separately. The verse quoted in contemporary sagas
SECTION 20
#1732765543909902-570: The late thirteenth century, with production peaking in the fourteenth century and continuing into the nineteenth. While often translated from verse, sagas in this genre almost never quote verse, and when they do it is often unusual in form: for example, Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns contains the first recorded quotation of a refrain from an Icelandic dance-song, and a metrically irregular riddle in Þjalar-Jóns saga . Saints' sagas ( heilagra manna sögur ) and bishops' sagas ( biskupa sögur ) are vernacular Icelandic translations and compositions, to
943-549: The lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. A pre-eminent example is Heimskringla , probably compiled and composed by Snorri Sturluson . These sagas frequently quote verse, invariably occasional and praise poetry in the form of skaldic verse . The Icelanders' sagas ( Íslendingasögur ), sometimes also called "family sagas" in English, are purportedly (and sometimes actually) stories of real events, which usually take place from around
984-431: The medieval corpus — seem to have been composed in the thirteenth century, with the remainder in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. These sagas usually span multiple generations and often feature everyday people (e.g. Bandamanna saga ) and larger-than-life characters (e.g. Egils saga ). Key works of this genre have been viewed in modern scholarship as the highest-quality saga-writing. While primarily set in Iceland,
1025-457: The past." Legendary sagas ( fornaldarsögur ) blend remote history, set on the Continent before the settlement of Iceland, with myth or legend. Their aim is usually to offer a lively narrative and entertainment. They often portray Scandinavia's pagan past as a proud and heroic history. Some legendary sagas quote verse — particularly Vǫlsunga saga and Heiðreks saga — and when they do it
1066-500: The point of view of ear, Virginia Woolf never wrote a bad sentence. I don't mean to imply that I successfully practice what I preach. I try, that's all. Many types of prose exist, which include those used in works of nonfiction , prose poem , alliterative prose and prose fiction . Prose is divided into two main divisions: Bandamanna saga Bandamanna saga ( Old Norse : [ˈbɑndɑˌmɑnːɑ ˈsɑɣɑ] ; Modern Icelandic : [ˈpantaˌmanːa ˈsaːɣa] listen )
1107-678: The political system of the Icelandic Commonwealth created incentives for aristocrats to produce literature, offering a way for chieftains to create and maintain social differentiation between them and the rest of the population. Gunnar Karlsson and Jesse Byock argued that the Icelanders wrote the Sagas as a way to establish commonly agreed norms and rules in the decentralized Icelandic Commonwealth by documenting past feuds, while Iceland's peripheral location put it out of reach of
1148-481: The sagas follow their characters' adventures abroad, for example in other Nordic countries , the British Isles, northern France and North America. Some well-known examples include Njáls saga , Laxdæla saga and Grettis saga . The material of the short tales of Icelanders ( þættir or Íslendingaþættir ) is similar to Íslendinga sögur , in shorter form, often preserved as episodes about Icelanders in
1189-473: The settlement of Iceland in the 870s to the generation or two following the conversion of Iceland to Christianity in 1000. They are noted for frequently exhibiting a realistic style. It seems that stories from these times were passed on in oral form until they eventually were recorded in writing as Íslendingasögur , whose form was influenced both by these oral stories and by literary models in both Old Norse and other languages. The majority — perhaps two thirds of
1230-648: The size of the population. Historians have proposed various theories for the high volume of saga writing. Early, nationalist historians argued that the ethnic characteristics of the Icelanders were conducive to a literary culture, but these types of explanations have fallen out of favor with academics in modern times. It has also been proposed that the Icelandic settlers were so prolific at writing in order to capture their settler history. Historian Gunnar Karlsson does not find that explanation reasonable though, given that other settler communities have not been as prolific as
1271-628: The sources: the author of King Sverrir 's saga had met the king and used him as a source. While sagas are generally anonymous, a distinctive literary movement in the 14th century involves sagas, mostly on religious topics, with identifiable authors and a distinctive Latinate style. Associated with Iceland's northern diocese of Hólar , this movement is known as the North Icelandic Benedictine School ( Norðlenski Benediktskólinn ). The vast majority of texts referred to today as "sagas" were composed in Iceland. One exception
Saga - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-428: The tale is about Ofeig's cunning and guile in his handling of the case and its outcome. Ofeig wins over two of the six men with even more bribes and promises one of them that Odd will marry one of his daughters. Ofeig then convinces the court to let him select two of the six jurymen who will decide the case and levy punishment. The two men are duly chosen and find Odd guilty, but they impose only an insignificant fine. Thus
1353-487: The tales of the voyages to North America (modern day Canada) were authenticated. Most sagas of Icelanders take place in the period 930–1030, which is called söguöld (Age of the Sagas) in Icelandic history. The sagas of kings, bishops, contemporary sagas have their own time frame. Most were written down between 1190 and 1320, sometimes existing as oral traditions long before, others are pure fiction, and for some we do know
1394-561: The text. The main meanings of the Old Norse word saga (plural sǫgur ) are 'what is said, utterance, oral account, notification' and the sense used in this article: '(structured) narrative, story (about somebody)'. It is cognate with the English words say and saw (in the sense 'a saying', as in old saw ), and the German Sage ; but the modern English term saga was borrowed directly into English from Old Norse by scholars in
1435-546: The two versions of the saga contained in these manuscripts in terms of style, syntax, and variant poetic verses. Still, the two versions may share a common point of origin, which can perhaps be dated to the late-13th century. Odd son of Ofeig ( Oddr Ófeigsson ) leaves home, and becomes a wealthy merchant and landowner. Ospak son of Glum ( Óspakr Glúmsson ) asks to live with Odd at the latter's home at Mel in Miðfjörður . Odd agrees because of Ospak's connections, even though he
1476-576: The use of a new paragraph for a new speaker in a novel —but does not follow any special rhythmic or other artistic structure. The word "prose" first appeared in English in the 14th century. It is derived from the Old French prose , which in turn originates in the Latin expression prosa oratio (literally, straightforward or direct speech ). In highly-literate cultures where spoken rhetoric
1517-1099: The Íslenzk fornrit edition is usually the standard one. The standard edition of most of the chivalric sagas composed in Iceland is by Agnete Loth. A list, intended to be comprehensive, of translations of Icelandic sagas is provided by the National Library of Iceland 's Bibliography of Saga Translations . Many modern artists working in different creative fields have drawn inspiration from the sagas. Among some well-known writers, for example, who adapted saga narratives in their works are Poul Anderson , Laurent Binet , Margaret Elphinstone , Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué , Gunnar Gunnarsson , Henrik Ibsen , Halldór Laxness , Ottilie Liljencrantz , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , George Mackay Brown , William Morris , Adam Oehlenschläger , Robert Louis Stevenson , August Strindberg , Rosemary Sutcliff , Esaias Tegnér , J.R.R. Tolkien , and William T. Vollmann . Primary: Other: In Norwegian: Prose Ordinary conversational language and many other forms of language fall under prose,
1558-499: Was motivated by the desire of the Icelandic aristocracy to maintain or reconnect links with the Nordic countries by tracing the ancestry of Icelandic aristocrats to well-known kings and heroes to which the contemporary Nordic kings could also trace their origins. The corpus of Old Norse sagas is gradually being edited in the Íslenzk fornrit series, which covers all the Íslendingasögur and a growing range of other ones. Where available,
1599-461: Was raised by Odd's father and now lives with Odd, promises to find out if Ospak stole them, as Odd suspects. Váli tells Ospak that he is suspected, and he is killed when he and Odd visit Ospak's home. Odd tries to bring Ospak to trial at the Thingvellir ( Þingvellir ), but he makes a legal error and the lawsuit fails. Going home disappointed, Odd meets his father, Ofeig, who promises to take on
1640-437: Was replaced by French from the 17th.- to the mid-20th century, i.e. until the uptake of English: Prose usually lacks the more formal metrical structure of the verses found in traditional poetry . It comprises full grammatical sentences (other than in stream of consciousness narrative), and paragraphs, whereas poetry often involves a metrical or rhyming scheme. Some works of prose make use of rhythm and verbal music. Verse
1681-472: Was the lingua franca among literate Europeans until quite recent times, and the great works of Descartes (1596–1650), Francis Bacon (1561–1626), and Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) were published in Latin. Among the last important books written primarily in Latin prose were the works of Swedenborg (d. 1772), Linnaeus (d. 1778), Euler (d. 1783), Gauss (d. 1855), and Isaac Newton (d. 1727). Latin's role