The Reality Of The Fantastic

Beskrivelse

A detailed exploration of a fifteenth-century Icelandic manuscript reveals how seemingly fantastical stories can reflect real historical concerns. This study bridges literature, history, and manuscript analysis.

Uncovering real-world insights through the lens of medieval Icelandic tales.

The reality of the fantastic offers a ‘new philological’ close reading of AM 343a 4to, a fifteenth-century Icelandic manuscript containing fifteen fornaldarsögur and riddarasögur. By combining this meticulous textual study with a historically grounded examination of the manuscript’s diverse contents, the book shows how stories that appear largely unrealistic can still provide valuable perspectives on the interests and issues faced by fifteenth-century Icelanders. This approach and its findings are relevant to readers across multiple disciplines, including literature, history, and manuscript studies.