Barbarians in the Sagas of Icelanders

<p>This book explores accounts in the <i>Sagas of Icelanders </i>of encounters with foreign peoples both abroad and in Iceland who are portrayed according to stereotypes which vary depending on their origins. Notably inhabitants of the places identified in the sagas as <i>Írland</i> <i>Skotland </i>and <i>Vínland </i>are portrayed as being less civilized than the Icelanders themselves. This book explores the ways in which the <i>Íslendingasögur </i>emphasize this relative barbarity through descriptions of diet material culture style of warfare and character. These characteristics are discussed in relation to parallel descriptions of Icelandic characters and lifestyle within the <i>Íslendingasögur</i> and also in the context of a tradition in contemporary European literature which portrayed the Icelanders themselves as barbaric. Comparisons are made with descriptions of barbarians in classical Roman texts primarily Sallust but also Caesar and Tacitus showing striking similarities between Roman and Icelandic ideas about barbarians.</p>