Þáttr

The Þáttr (pl. Þættir ; literally Thousand ) means a "short story" in the figurative sense and is a term for a literary genre in Old-West Norse literature that describes a form of short prose in which the story of an Icelandic is usually told. Another form of the Þáttr is the designation of a section in the sagas , the content of which has a larger text volume and in which this represents a secondary element of the plot.

The þættir appear, in addition to the great Icelandic sagas , in other genres of saga literature such as the king sagas or, for example, in the bishop's sagas ("Biskupasögur"). In contrast to the þættir of the Icelandic sagas, in which the characters mostly come from noble families, the protagonists in the þættir of the short prose handed down independent of the saga come from broader social classes. The transitions or the genre-compliant demarcation between Þáttr and saga are often fluid, a recognizable feature compared to the sagas is the simpler structure. Þáttr are also clearly determined by a motif of the journey. This motif is characterized in such a way that an Icelander usually travels to Norway, endures different situations there or proves himself in challenges and returns to Iceland.

literature

• Else Mundal: saga literature. In: Odd Einar Haugen (Ed.): Old Norse Philology. Iceland and Norway. Translated from Norwegian by Astrid van Nahl , de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-089895-8 .
• Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of Old Norse Literature (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). Kröner, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-520-49001-3 .