Minor Characters in Icelandic Sagas A Narratological Study

This book focuses on minor characters in fiction, primarily nameless and unimportant figures found within medieval Icelandic sagas but weaving in examples from Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, and the Pet Shop Boys. Jakobsson examines minor characters and their role, as well as their absence, through narratology. He also studies the sagas as literature, arguing that few elements open up sagas as much as how minor characters function.

About the author

Ármann Jakobsson is Professor of Old Icelandic Literature at the University of Iceland.

Summary

This book focuses on minor characters in fiction, primarily nameless and unimportant figures found within medieval Icelandic sagas but weaving in examples from Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, and the Pet Shop Boys. Jakobsson examines minor characters and their role, as well as their absence, through narratology. He also studies the sagas as literature, arguing that few elements open up sagas as much as how minor characters function.

Product details

• Authors: Ármann Jakobsson
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Content: Book
• Product form: Hardback
• Publication date: 05.01.2026
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies
• EAN: 9783032111869
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3211186-9
• Pages: 147
• Illustrations: VII, 147 p. 1 illus.
• Dimensions (packing): 14.8 x 21 cm
• Series: The New Middle Ages
• Subjects: Literaturtheorie, Europa, Literatur: Geschichte und Kritik, Sagas, Narratology, Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft, Comparative Literature, European Literature, Medieval Literature, Icelandic sagas, literary characters, Icelandic Literature, Minor Characters, Supporting Characters