THE HIES OPEN LIBRARY

Origines Islandicae

Guðbrandur Vigfússon & F. York Powell • 1905

CATEGORY: SOURCE COLLECTION

About This Work

Origines Islandicae: A Collection of the More Important Sagas and Other Native Writings Relating to the Settlement and Early History of Iceland is a two-volume collection of Old Norse and Icelandic historical sources edited and translated by Guðbrandur Vigfússon and F. York Powell.

The collection brings together material concerning the settlement of Iceland, early settlers and genealogies, constitutional and legal traditions, conversion and the early Icelandic church, sagas and shorter narratives, exploration, and other writings relevant to the development of medieval Icelandic society.

About This Edition

This Open Library entry uses the original two-volume edition of Origines Islandicae, published by Clarendon Press in Oxford in 1905.

The collection represents an important historical contribution to the editing, translation, and organization of Icelandic source material. Its translations, textual decisions, classifications, terminology, and scholarly commentary reflect the scholarship of its period and should therefore be evaluated critically alongside modern editions and contemporary scholarship.

Areas of Study

Settlement of Iceland

Icelandic History

Law & Constitution

Saga Literature

Religion & Conversion

Genealogy & Kinship

Exploration & Cultural Contact

Historical Sources

Use at HIES

Origines Islandicae provides an advanced collection of historical and literary sources for the study of medieval Iceland at Hákonarætt Institute of Eddic Studies.

It is especially relevant to advanced study involving Icelandic settlement, saga literature, law and governance, social organization, conversion and religious transition, genealogy, exploration, historical interpretation, and the critical use of translated primary-source collections.

Because this work was published in 1905, students should distinguish the underlying historical and literary source material from the editors' translations, textual decisions, classifications, and scholarly interpretations.

Inclusion in the Open Library does not mean that every text or section is assigned in every HIES course. Specific required readings are identified within individual courses on the HIES Learning Platform.

Access the Text

This edition is available online through Open Library.

Bibliographic Information

Title: Origines Islandicae

Subtitle: A Collection of the More Important Sagas and Other Native Writings Relating to the Settlement and Early History of Iceland

Editors and Translators: Guðbrandur Vigfússon & F. York Powell

Volumes: 2

Publication Year: 1905

Publisher: Clarendon Press

Publication Place: Oxford

Resource Type: Source Collection / Historical Scholarship

Languages: Old Norse / Icelandic / English