Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/88

70 Sverrsson. In addition to these religious stories there is a considerable number of Icelandic and Norwegian homilies or theological sermons, partly of a moral or dogmatic and partly of a legendary character. Some of them are original, while others are translations. The most prominent theological work is the Lucidarius, translated from the Latin, a presentation of the principal Christian doctrines in the form of a dialogue. The first attempt at a Bible translation, the so-called, is from the fourteenth century, and is a free retelling of the historical books of the Old Testament, with many additions from Josephus, the church fathers, etc.

One branch of literature, highly appreciated by the inhabitants of the North and probably put in writing earlier than any other, a branch wonderfully developed by oral tradition even before writing came into general use, was that which embraced and. All northern law-books handed down from antiquity are of the greatest importance in the study of the history of civilization and in the study of philology, and they furnish the most satisfactory evidence of the keen sense of justice developed among the inhabitants of the several northern countries in harmony with their social conditions. The mediæval Danish and Swedish laws will be discussed in connection with the literatures of these countries, and we shall here speak only of the Norwegian and Icelandic laws, these being both in respect to language and substance most immediately related to the olden time.

The code of laws for Iceland during the republic bears the strange name (gray goose—wild goose). It is based on the laws and institutions which the Icelander, after the island had become thoroughly settled and the need of a common law for the whole land was fully appreciated, brought with him from Norway, whither he had gone to study the institutions of Norway at the feet of Thorleif the