Without wishing to be greedy, I just hope that they’ll also decide to digitize the first fifty-two volumes in the series as well!

The Nordic internet project “Heimskringla”, also known as “Old Norse texts and poetry”, expands its collection of texts and opens a new database today. The new database uses the wiki technology, and the project has got a clearer and a more user-friendly layout. The project, that aims to provide Old Norse literature on the internet is based on voluntary collaborations and is developed without official support.

In addition to source texts in the original language readers will find several texts translated into the later Scandinavian languages, classical scholarly works and other background material, in particular from before 1900. The project has a digital mailbox where the public can place relevant questions. New projects under development are, among others, Finnur Jónsson’s «Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning» and a Norwegian translation of the Eddic poems published by Gustav Antonio Gjessing in 1899, together with a biographic overview. Already present in the project are both the Prose Edda and the Eddic poems in several Scandinavian translations, in addition to an important assortment of Old Norse skaldic poems, rímur, sagas of the Icelanders, sagas of ancient times and the king’s sagas. Nearly 1700 unique texts. The database contains also rich overview over external web resources, a so-called e-library.

One of the new features of the site is a series of brief biographies of some of the great scholars who produced the editions and translations of the texts in the Heimskringla collection, which I think is a great idea. I’m pretty sure I’d never seen a picture of Albert Ulrik Bååth before!

Many thanks to all those involved in producing this wonderful resource.

• Old Norse Texts Online

At present, it simply takes the form of an alphabetical list of texts, drawn from the Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, with links to all the online editions and translations that I’ve found of each. At some point in the future, I hope to convert this data into a properly searchable format. It excludes poetry, pretty much all of which is available at the Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages project website.

The list will grow over time; at present I can’t pretend it’s anything like comprehensive, but I hope people will find it useful to have a one-stop central location to help them find the texts and translations they need to consult.

Do let me know what you think … all suggestions gratefully received. And, of course, I’ll be particularly pleased to hear about any online texts that are currently missing from the directory.

http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/

Among the highlights now available in this new open-access repository are:

The full list is a testament to the variety, depth, and quality of the Viking Society’s publications over the past century. And naturally it seems that its decision to go along the open-access route of dissemination can only be good for the field.

Please note: many of the files available from http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/ are still in copyright, and should not be distributed without the consent of the Society and (where applicable) the author.

Coming soon to Old Norse News: While I’m on the subject of online editions, I shall advertise our plan to publish a directory of all Old Norse texts available on the Web (to make sure that I do it!). So, if you’re away from libraries, but still online, and you need to find a text of Lúcíu saga, for example, you’ll be just a couple of clicks away. I think I’ve gathered most of the data, and just need to turn it into a usable format. Watch this space!

Like Septentrionalia, which we featured last week, Heimskringla (“Norrøne Tekster og Kvad” (Old Norse Prose and Poetry)) is a major private initiative that aims to make a wide selection of texts and relevant scholarly material available, free of charge, on the internet. As the site itself says:

The purpose of the project “Norrøne Tekster og Kvad” (Old Norse Prose and Poetry) is to make Old Norse literature freely accessible on the internet. In addition to source texts in the original language readers will find several texts translated into the later Scandinavian languages, classical scholarly works and other background material, in particular from before 1900.

Their collection so far consists of the following collections of primary sources:

• Dróttkvæði
• Cronica Guthilandorum
• Edda Snorra Sturlusonar
• Eddukvæði
• Fernir forníslenskir rímnaflokkar
• Flateyjarbók
• Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda
• Heimskringla eða Sögur Noregs konunga
• Íslendingasögur
• Málshættir og orðtök
• Rímnasafn – Samling af de ældste islandske rimer
• Ýmsar sögur af Noregs- og Danakonungum, Færeyingum og Orkneyjajörlum

Like all initiatives of this type, the choice of texts is determined by their availability and copyright status, so the editions offered are often rather ancient: but in many cases, they’re still the only ones available.

What I also like in particular about Heimskringla are its added extras: the bookshop is a good place to find recent publications from mainland Scandinavia that you might not come across otherwise, and there’s a discussion forum. It’s an extremely attractive and well-designed site, and is presented in several languages. Heimskringla is run by Jón Július Sandal.

Selected highlights from the Septentrionalia library:

• The complete 4 volume series of Finnur Jónsson’s Skjaldedigtning (the standard edition of Norse skaldic poetry)
• Editions of Heimskringla, Fagrskinna, Morkinskinna and Hauksbók
• Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie
• Meissner’s Die Kenningar der Skalden
• The Lewis and Short Latin Dictionary, and Bosworth and Toller’s Anglo-Saxon one

And much more … it’s an excellent resource and long may it continue.

Sagananet, meanwhile, is a major international project run by The National and University Library of Iceland in collaboration with Cornell University. Its aim is simple and grandiose. It will eventually make available as high-quality digital images all the Icelandic manuscripts and printed books up to 1900 that are held by the National Library, the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar and the Fiske Collection at Cornell.

The Sagnanet database already contains a wide range of manuscripts, and the quality of the photography is impeccable. I’m not alone in finding the navigation controls — both around the site and within each manuscript — somewhat frustrating and unintuitive, and it would be great if the project’s managers could look at changing this aspect in the future. That notwithstanding, Sagnanet is a phenomenal resource for anybody interested in Icelandic manuscripts, and when it’s completed will make us the envy of less fortunate disciplines!