author
Conrad Hjalmar Nordby
1867–1900
An early scholar of Old Norse literature, he traced how sagas and mythic poetry echoed through English writing. His best-known work, published after his death at just 33, still speaks to readers curious about the meeting of Nordic and English literary traditions.
1 Audiobook
The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature
by Conrad Hjalmar Nordby
About the author
Born in Christiania, Norway, in 1867, he was brought to New York as a small child and educated in the city’s public schools. He graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1886 and built his career as a teacher and scholar of English.
After teaching in Grammar School No. 55, he returned to his alma mater in 1893 as a tutor in English and was promoted to instructor in 1897. He died in St. Luke’s Hospital in 1900, only 33 years old.
He is remembered for The Influence of Old Norse Literature upon English Literature (1901), a study issued after his death by Columbia University Press. In it, he explored how Norse legend, poetry, and saga tradition helped shape English literary imagination.