author
Conrad Hjalmar Nordby
1867–1900
A Norwegian-born American scholar of English literature, he is best remembered for a careful early study of how Old Norse writing shaped English literary tradition. His work was published around the time of his death, giving his single major book an especially poignant place in literary scholarship.
1 Audiobook
The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature
by Conrad Hjalmar Nordby
About the author
Born in Christiania, Norway, on September 20, 1867, he moved to New York as a small child and was educated in the city's public schools. He graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1886 and began his career as a teacher before returning to his alma mater as a tutor in English.
He later continued his studies at Columbia, where he developed the research that became The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature. The book explores the ways Norse legend, poetry, and storytelling traditions echoed through later English writing, and it remains the work most closely associated with his name.
His life was brief—he died in 1900—but his scholarship reflects serious learning and a clear interest in literary connections across languages and cultures. Even with a small body of published work, he stands out as a thoughtful early voice in the study of Old Norse influence on English literature.