This volume contains 17 articles written by Lars Lonnroth about the sagas, Eddic poetry, and other Icelandic or Old Norse texts. The book begins with excerpts from Lonnroth's controversial doctoral dissertation - European Sources of Icelandic Saga Writing (1965) - in which he challenged the established views of the time about the origins of the sagas. Other papers from Lonnroth's early career include studies in the narrative art of sagas, in which he questioned the prevailing opinion that sagas are realistic, "objective," and devoid of ideology or Christian morality. Additional articles deal with the application of the oral-formulaic theory to Eddic poetry, the interpretation of the enigmatic inscription on the Swedish Rok-Stone, and the reception of Old Norse texts in Western literary tradition from Snorri Sturluson's in the 13th century to Richard Wagner's in the 19th century. Each of the papers has been supplemented in the book by a post scriptum, in which Lonnroth comments on the reception and further discussion of his scholarly work, occasionally revising his former opinions. (Series: The Viking Collection - Vol. 19)