The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature

English writers found fresh material in Icelandic sagas, and Conrad Hjalmar Nordby follows that exchange through poems, translations and literary scholarship. His study begins with Thomas Gray and gives particular attention to William Morris, whose use of Norse sources supplies the essay with its fullest examples. Chapters distinguish knowledge transmitted through Latin from later work with the original sources, placing translators and poets within a history of changing literary taste.

The discussion of Morris turns to The Earthly Paradise and its retelling of the Laxdæla Saga in The Lovers of Gudrun. Nordby compares the saga's family relationships and characterization with the English poem, showing how old narratives become material for new writing. Published after his death, the essay is accompanied by a prefatory account of his teaching and studies. Readers interested in comparative literature can follow its specific links between Icelandic storytelling and English verse.