Rómverja saga : an introduction and a translation.

Rómverja saga (‘The Saga of the Romans’) is an Old Icelandic translation of three Latin works by Sallust and Lucan on historical themes from the classical period. In this thesis, I provide the first English translation of this little-known text in the hope that it might prove a tool for scholars interested in the reception of Latin literature in the medieval period. The saga is a free rendition of its models, and as such it gives us a glimpse into what elements a culture removed in both time and place valued and appropriated from Classical Rome. In the introduction, I will start by placing Rómverja saga in its literary context. I will then review the modern scholarship on the saga, focusing on its two different versions. Following that, I will list features and key terms that show how the redactor has adapted the text to his native context. The introduction ends with an overview of my translation choices. The translation of the second version of Rómverja saga followsArts, Faculty ofClassical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department ofGraduat