SCANDINAVIAN-CANADIAN STUDIES/ÉTUDES SCANDINAVES AU CANADA
Vol. 26 (2019) pp.320-325.

Title: “The lore of skalds, warrior ideals, and tales of ancient kings”: A Bibliography on Gerpla

Author: Alec Shaw
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Marked up by
Martin Holmes
Statement of responsibility:
Guest Editor/Rédacteur invité
Dustin Geeraert University of Manitoba
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Journal Editor/Rédactrice du journal
Helga Thorson University of Victoria
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Technical Editor
Martin Holmes University of Victoria

Marked up to be included in the Scandinavian-Canadian Studies Journal
Source(s): Shaw, Alec. 2019. “The lore of skalds, warrior ideals, and tales of ancient kings”: A Bibliography on Gerpla. Scandinavian-Canadian Studies Journal / Études scandinaves au Canada 26: 320-325.
Text classification:
Keywords:
article-themed
Keywords:
  • saga reception
  • textual scholarship
  • Laxness, Halldór
  • translation studies
  • literary criticism
  • MDH: entered correction punctuation in title 20th January 2020
  • MDH: Entered final proofing corrections 3rd September 2019
  • MDH: Added French abstract 5th July 2019
  • MDH: added shortened abstract 30th April 2019
  • MDH: started markup 15th April 2019

“The lore of skalds, warrior ideals, and tales of ancient kings”: A Bibliography on Gerpla

Alec Shaw

ABSTRACT: This bibliography takes its title from a passage in Gerpla, which occurs when the protagonist, Skald Þormóður, arrives in Norway after nearly freezing to death in Greenland. Bereft of wealth, health, and companions, Þormóður still proudly praises the literary traditions of Iceland, in defiance of the skeptical locals. Considering Gerpla’s editions, translations, reviews, and scholarship allows for an overview of the sizable impact of Halldór’s “little book.”
RÉSUMÉ: Cette bibliographie tire son titre d’un passage de Gerpla, lors duquel le protagoniste, le scalde Þormóður, arrive en Norvège après avoir failli mourir de froid au Groenland. Privé de richesse, de santé et de compagnons, Þormóður continue à louer fièrement les traditions littéraires de l’Islande, au mépris des habitants sceptiques. Considérer les éditions, traductions, critiques et études de Gerpla permet d’avoir un aperçu de l’impact considérable du « petit livre » de Halldór.
Höfðum vér á brott við oss úr Noregi eigi fé, heldur skáldment og garpskap og sögur fornkonúnga; vér færðum til Íslands höfuð Mímis og Boðnarker; en þér sitjið daufir eftir, skáldum sneyddir, bögumæltir og án frægðar af sjálfum yður. Mun Noregur ekki frægð hljóta um aldur utan þá er hann þiggur að íslendíngum. (Gerpla, first edition, 379)
[We took no possession from Norway apart from the lore of skalds, warrior ideals, and tales of ancient kings. To Iceland, we brought Mímir’s head, and Boðn, the vessel of the mead of poetry, yet here you remain, dull-witted, bereft of skalds, and speaking a corrupt language, with no glory of your own making. Norway will never have any glory, apart from what Icelanders bestow on it.] (Wayward Heroes, 402)

Editions

  • Laxness, Halldór. 1952. Gerpla. 1st ed. Reykjavik: Helgafell.
  • ⸻. 1952. Gerpla. 2nd ed. Reykjavik: Helgafell.
  • ⸻. 1956. Gerpla. 3rd ed. With a commentary by Helgi Jósep Halldórsson. Reykjavik: Helgafell.
  • ⸻. 1983. Gerpla. With a commentary by Helgi Jósep Halldórsson. Skólaútgafan. Reykjavik: Helgafell.
  • ⸻. 1988a. Gerpla. 4th ed. Reykjavik: Helgafell.
  • ⸻. 1998. Gerpla. 5th ed. Reykjavik: Vaka–Helgafell.
  • ⸻. 2010. Gerpla. 6th ed. Íslenskklassík. Reykjavik: Forlagið.
  • ⸻. 2011. Gerpla. 7th ed. Reykjavik: Vaka–Helgafell.

Translations

  • Laxness, Halldór. 1954. Gerpla. Translated by Ingegerd Nyberg Fries. Stockholm: Litteraturfrämjandet.
  • ⸻. 1958. The Happy Warriors. Translated by Katherine John. London: Methuen.
  • ⸻. 1962. Gerpla: Hrdinská sága. Translated by Nina Neklanová. Jiskry: Nová beletristická knihovna 37. Prague: Nakladatelství politické literatury.
  • ⸻. 1977. Gerpla: Eine Heldensage. Translated by Bruno Kress. Berlin: Aufbau.
  • ⸻. 1988b. Gerpla: Sága o hrdinoch. Translated by Jaroslav Kaňa. Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ.
  • ⸻. 2016. Wayward Heroes. Translated by Phillip Roughton. New York: Archipelago Books.

Reviews

  • Andrésson, Kristinn E. 1972. “Gerpla.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. Tímarit Máls og menningar 33 (3–4): 273–91.
  • Bergsveinsson, Sveinn. 1952. “GERPLA. Halldór Kiljan Laxness. Helgafell 1952.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. Menn og menntir 2 (3): 104–7.
  • Björnsson, Björn. 1953. “Halldór Kiljan og Gerpla hans.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. Morgunblaðið, March 17, no. 63, 11.
  • Cowdery, Stephen, and Darien Fisher-Duke. “The Happy Warriors.” Review of The Happy Warriors, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Katherine John. In Laxness in Translation: A Celebration of Halldór Laxness, Icelandic Author and Nobel Laureate. 2010-2019. Accessed 23 July 2018. https://laxnessintranslation.blogspot.com/2010/07/the-happy-warriors.html.
  • Duffy, Tyson. 2017. “The Slighted, the Neglected, the Sufferers of Injustice, and Sheep.” Review of Wayward Heroes, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Phillip Roughton. Cleaver. Accessed 20 July 2018. https://www.cleavermagazine.com/wayward–heroes-anovel-by-halldor-laxness-reviewed-by-tyson-duffy/.
  • “Gerpla—ný bók Kiljans.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. 1952. Morgunblaðið. December 5, no. 279, 2.
  • “Gerpla, ný skáldsaga um efni úr fornsögunum, eftir Laxness.” 1952. Alþýðublaðið. Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. December 5, no. 274, 8.
  • Halldórsson, Helgi Jósep. 1953. “Gerpla.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. Þjoðviljinn, April 14– 15, nos. 83–84, 7, 11.
  • Haraldsson, Helgi. 1953. “Gerpla Halldórs Kiljans.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. Tíminn, February 26–27, nos. 46–47, 4.
  • Jónsson, Þorsteinn M. 1953. “Gerpla.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. Eimreiðin 59 (1): 73–74.
  • Lowenstern, Beau. 2016. “Wayward Heroes, by Halldór Laxness, tr. Philip Roughton. Archipelago Books.” Review of Wayward Heroes, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Phillip Roughton. Asymptote Blog. September 8. Accessed 20 July 2018. https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2016/09/08/forthcoming–autumn-translations-inreview/.
  • “Skáldsaga Kiljans um garpa fornaldarinnar komin út.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. 1952. Tíminn. December 5, no. 277, 1.
  • Taylor, Justin. 2016. “Flesh and Blood: The Saga of Halldór Laxness.” Review of Wayward Heroes, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Phillip Roughton. Harper’s Magazine. Accessed 20 July 2018. https://harpers.org/archive/2016/11/flesh–and-blood/.
  • “Viðtal við Halldór Kiljan Laxness: Gerpla, hin nýja skaldsaga Halldórs Laxness, kemur út ídag.” Review of Gerpla, by Halldór Laxness. 1952. Þjóðviljinn. December 5, no. 276, 1.
  • Whitehouse, Gary. 2016. “Halldór Laxness’s Wayward Heroes.” Review of Wayward Heroes, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Phillip Roughton. The Green Man Review. Accessed 20 July 2018. http://thegreenmanreview.com/wordpress1/books/halldor–laxnesss-wayward-heroes/.

Scholarship

  • Agnarsdóttir, Hlín. 2010. “Handan við leikaraskapinn: Um látalæti og veruleika í leikhúsinu í ljósi Der Theatermacher eftir Thomas Bernhard.” Master’s thesis, University of Iceland.
  • Benediktsson, Jakob. 1952. “Um Gerplu.” Tímarit Máls og menningar 13 (3).
  • Bjarnardóttir, Birna. 1992. “Hinn kvenlegi lesháttur.” Tímarit Máls og menningar 53 (2).
  • Boyer, Régis. 1972. “Essai sur la composition de Gerpla.” Scandinavica 11 (2): 5–20.
  • Cowdery, Stephen (Administrator). 2017 Laxness in Translation: A Celebration of Halldór Laxness, Icelandic Author and Nobel Laureate. Accessed 20 July 2018. https://laxnessintranslation.blogspot.com/.
  • Earnest, Steve. 2013. “Clash with the Vikings: Gerpla and the Struggle for National Identity in Iceland.” Theatre Symposium 21: 69–77.
  • Fjalldal, Magnús. 2006. “Aðföng og efnistök í Englandsþætti Gerplu.” Ritið 6 (3): 131–52.
  • Friese, Wilhelm. 1995. Halldór Laxness die Romane: Eine Einführung. Vol. 24. Basel: Helbing and Lichtenhahn.
  • Gissurarson, Hannes Hólmsteinn. 2005. Laxness. Reykjavik: Bókafélagið.
  • Guðmundsdóttir, Guðrún Hrefna. 1989. Halldór Laxness in Deutschland: Rezeptionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen. Vol. 8. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
  • Guðmundsson, Halldór. 2008. The Islander: A Biography of Halldór Laxness. Translated by Philip Roughton. Quercus: Maclehose Press.
  • Hallberg, Peter. 1968. “Halldór Laxness’ Gerpla: Einige Bemerkungen über Sprache und Tendenz.” Scientia Islandica 1:31–40.
  • ⸻. 1971. “Gerpla.” In Hús skáldsins: Umskáldverk Halldórs Laxness frá Sölku Völku til Gerplu, translated by Helgi Jósep Halldórsson, 2: 163–78. Reykjavik: Mál og menning.
  • ⸻. 1982. “Halldór Laxness and the Icelandic Sagas.” Leeds Studies in English 13: 1–22.
  • Keel, Aldo. 1981. Innovation und Restauration: Der Romancier Halldór Laxness seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Vol. 10. Basel: Helbing and Lichtenhahn.
  • Kormákur, Baltasar. 2010. “Gerpla.” Unpublished dramatic text.
  • Kress, Helga. 2018. “Harmþrungnasta bókin: Fóstbræðrasaga og Gerpla.” In Deutsch–isländische Beziehungen. Festschrift für Hubert Seelow zum 70. Geburtstag. Edited by Lena Rohrbach, and Sebastian Kürschner, 285–94. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Nordeuropa-Institut.
  • Kristjánsdóttir, Bergljót Soffía. 1987. “Romantechnik und Gesellschaftsbild in dem Roman Gerpla von Halldór Laxness.” PhD diss., Ernst–Moritz-Arndt Universität.
  • Kristjánsdóttir, Dagný. 1988. “Um beinfætta men og bjúgfætta, kiðfætta, kríngilfætta og tindilfætta.” Tímarit Máls og menningar 49 (3): 283–300.
  • Magnússon, Sigurður A. 1992. “The World of Halldór Laxness.” World Literature Today 66 (3): 457–63.
  • Mari Catani, Alessandro. 1982. Ivichinghi di Jomsborg e alter saghe del Nord. Firenze: Sansoni.
  • Neijmann, Daisy L., ed. 2006. A History of Icelandic Literature. History of Scandinavian Literatures 5. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
  • Norðfjörð, Björn Ægir. 2010. “Adapting a Literary Nation to Film: National Identity, Neoromanticism and the Anxiety of Influence.” Scandinavian Canadian Studies / Études scandinaves au Canada 19: 12–40.
  • Ólason, Vésteinn. 1992. “Halldór Laxness og íslensk hetjudýrkun.” Tímarit Máls og menningar 52 (3): 31–41.
  • Pétursson, Hannes. 1957. “Þorgeir Hávarsson í Fóstbræðrasögu og Gerplu.” Tímarit Máls og menningar 18 (1): 23–51.
  • Shimizu, Makoto. 2010. “Hokuou Aisurando bungaku no rekishi (3): Harudouru Rahasunesu kara 20 seikimatsu made.” Hokkaidou daigaku bungaku kenkyuuka kiyou 130: 69–124. https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/42726/1/ARCS130_003.pdf.
  • Stevens, Patrick J., ed. 2004. Icelandic Writers. Dictionary of Literary Biography 293. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.