Knowra Old Norse Old Norse Old Norse was the North Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia and its settlements during the Viking Age and medieval period. Its dialects gave rise to the modern North Germanic languages.
Old West Norse : The western branch of Old Norse, spoken chiefly in Norway and its Atlantic settlements. Its Icelandic and Norwegian forms preserve much of the surviving Old Norse literature.
Poetic Edda : A collection of mythological and heroic poems preserved chiefly in the medieval Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius. Its poems preserve Old Norse verse, vocabulary, and stories about gods and heroes.
Proto-Germanic : The reconstructed ancestor of the Germanic languages, spoken before their historical diversification. Old Norse inherited core vocabulary and grammatical patterns through the North Germanic branch.
Old English : The earliest recorded form of English, used in England from about the fifth to the eleventh century. Contact between Old English and Old Norse reshaped vocabulary and grammar in both communities.
Old East Norse : The eastern branch of Old Norse, spoken chiefly in Denmark and Sweden. Its regional forms show how Old Norse differed across Scandinavia.
Prose Edda : A medieval Icelandic handbook of mythology and poetic technique written by Snorri Sturluson. It explains the poetic language and mythological references used in Old Norse verse.
North Germanic languages : The branch of Germanic languages that includes Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese. Old Norse is the historical ancestor of this language family.
Old High German : The earliest recorded stage of High German, used in central Europe from about the eighth to the eleventh century. It offers a contemporary West Germanic comparison to Old Norse.
Old Gutnish : A medieval North Germanic language variety spoken on the Baltic island of Gotland. Its distinctive features mark a regional branch alongside western and eastern varieties.
Íslendingasögur : Medieval Icelandic prose narratives about families and events in Iceland, often set around the settlement period. These sagas demonstrate Old Norse prose in its best-known literary form.
Show all 22