This work is a translation of a classic study in Icelandic culture and civilization by the great Icelandic scholar, literary critic and philosophical writer, Sigurdur Nordal (1886-1974).
First published in 1942, in the original, "Íslenzk menning" offers a comprehensive interpretation of the religious beliefs, the laws, the public mores and personal conduct in the old commonwealth of Iceland. It begins by tracing the origins of the Icelanders and gives a fascinating account of the political development of the country from the time of the settlement in the late 9th and early 10th centuries till the tragic disintegration of the republic in the 13th century. A special section of much interest deals with the social and cultural institution of skaldic or court poetry.
For his task Professor Nordal was singularly well equipped. Not only was he a man of wide culture and manifold interests but a literary artist as well. The result is a deeply personal work which combines great if unobtrusive learning with humane understanding and imaginative vigor.
This fine translation by the late Vilhjálmur Bjarnar, curator of the Fiske Icelandic Collection at Cornell University, is both meticulous and highly readable; it is supplemented with copious references and notes.