Atlantic Outlooks on Being at Home: Gaelic Place-Lore and the Construction of a Sense of Place in Medieval Iceland

Much of both Icelandic and medieval Irish literature is, in one way or another, storytelling about places, reflecting a deep engagement with the concept of 'place' and the creation of a 'sense of place'. This book takes as its starting point the shared interest that Icelandic and Irish storytelling have in 'place' and asks whether the medieval Icelandic sense of place, as reflected in Icelandic narrative culture, has been influenced by the close contacts that existed during the Viking Age between Iceland and the Gaelic-speaking world of Ireland and Scotland. In attempting to answer this question, the book contributes to the long-standing debate about Gaelic influences in Icelandic culture, the much more recent discourse on the spatiality of medieval Icelandic literature and storytelling, and the cultural history of the Icelandic Settlement Period. Obliquely, the findings of the book may even shed light on the origins of Icelandic saga literature. Along the way, it also offers insights on a number of general points of spatial theory as well as, in particular, on two medieval Icelandic texts that are especially place-focused: 'Landnámabók', the 'Book of Settlements', and 'Eyrbyggja saga', the 'Saga of the Inhabitants of Eyr'.