Sigurður Nordal

Sigurður Nordal (September 14, 1886–September 21, 1974) was an Icelandic scholar, writer and ambassador. He was influential in forming the theory of the Icelandic sagas as works of literature composed by individual authors.

Nordal studied Scandinavian Philology in Copenhagen where he received his MA in 1912. In 1914 he completed his doctoral thesis. He then went on to study philosophy in Berlin and Oxford. In 1918 he became Professor of Icelandic Language and Literature at the University of Iceland. He retained this position until his death but was exempted from teaching duties in 1945. From 1931-1932 Nordal held the Charles Eliot Norton professorship at Harvard University. From 1951 til 1957 he was the Icelandic ambassador in Copenhagen. He was the editor-in-chief of the Íslenzk fornrit series from 1933 to 1951.

Some of Sigurður Nordal's most influential works are:

• Völuspá: A treatise on the Eddic poem Völuspá, regarding the poem as a coherent work by one poet.
• Íslenzk menning ("Icelandic Culture"): Often considered Nordal's greatest work, this book was used as a standard text in Icelandic colleges.
• Hrafnkatla: A treatise on Hrafnkels saga, aiming to establish that the saga was a fictional work of art.
• Samhengið í íslenzkum bókmenntum ("The Continuity of Icelandic Literature").
• Fyrirlestrar um íslenzka bókmenntasögu 1350-1750 ("Lectures on the History of Icelandic Literature 1350-1750"): This and the essay above aimed to establish that there was no gap in Icelandic literature, between the medieval literature and the 19th century romantic works.

References

• Ármann Jakobsson. 2002. "Nordal, Sigurður". Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 21:269-271. Walter de Gruyter.
• Sigurður Nordal (1886-1974) - Æviágrip. The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.