The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature

The essay traces how Old Norse sagas, eddic and skaldic poetry, and medieval Scandinavian narratives entered English letters from the eighteenth century onward, showing channels of reception through Latin intermediaries, scholarly editions and direct translations. It surveys early mediators such as Gray and antiquarians, nineteenth-century translators and critics including Carlyle, Laing, Longfellow and Dasent, and devotes extended attention to William Morris as the most sustained poetic heir of Norse verse. The author outlines the corpus of Old Norse literature, documents successive translations and critical responses, and concludes by noting persistent echoes of Icelandic themes and rhythms in later English poetry and modern translations.