Winsnes-“remarkable for her sure critical sense in the treatment of sources and, above all, for her ability to judge men and their conduct in relation to the age and society in which they lived.” During the ruinous years of World War II, Undset once “It takes more than a little while to part a nation from its history, and silence all the voices from a people’s past.” From its first appearance in 1934 to now, Saga of Saints has borne out this truth, evidencing the permanence of the past and the power of saintly witness as a fulcrum of civilization. As the product of Undset’s patriotic piety and native talent for storytelling, Saga of Saints is-in the words of her biographer A. From her magnificent opening essay, “The Coming of Christianity to Norway,” on through the stories of Sunniva, King Olav, and Eystein (and others), Undset proves herself a resourceful historian of both events and ideas. Saga of Saints, the account of Christianity’s introduction into Norway and those responsible for defending its development, shows the inspiration for that authenticity. Undset, one begins to understand both the reason for her vogue and the reason for its restriction. And justly so-for they achieve that hallmark of their authenticity. IN reading with some enthusiasm these two latest books by Mme. Sigrid Undset’s renown is almost exclusively the fruit of her masterworks of historical fiction, Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken. Religion and Literature sponsors and publishes the annual Religion and Literature lecture at the University of Notre Dame, hosts special issues with guest editors, and publishes forum sections dedicated to key topics and issues in religion and literature, broadly construed.įor more information visit our website at.

Abrams, Daniel Boyarin, Gerald Bruns, Lawrence Buell, Kenneth Burke, Donald Davie, Robert Detweiler, Denis Donoghue, Terry Eagleton, Caryl Emerson, René Girard, Geoffrey Hartman, Stanley Hauerwas, Peter Hawkins, David Jasper, John Milbank, Walter Ong, S.J., Alicia Ostriker, Barbara Packer, Chaim Potok, Stephen Prickett, Annemarie Schimmel, Regina Schwartz, and Nathan A. Religion and Literature is a scholarly journal that provides a forum for discussion of the relations between two crucial human concerns: the religious impulse and the literary forms of any era, place, or language.įirst published in 1984, the journal has featured articles by distinguished scholars including M.H. This is reflected in her Saga of Saints, a history of those saints who had helped shape Christianity in Norway, in which she permits holiness to shine through.

Saga of saints sigrid undset