ABSTRACT
Short prose narratives written in Old Norse are conventionally designated by the term þættir, but this is controversial for a number of reasons. First, the modern consciousness of ‘short prose narrative’ as a category of Old Norse-Icelandic literature has been shaped by editorial choices dating to the nineteenth century and is not the product of rigorous analysis. Second, scholarly attention to the textual units designated as þættir has been selective rather than comprehensive. Third, much of the scholarship has overlooked the possibility of change over time even though the usage of the term þattr evolved and the nature of short narratives in Old Norse-Icelandic literature arguably changed as well. The subject matter and structure of the skald þættir and dreamþættir are subsets of those of the Islendingasogur, so although these þættir are not short sagas, they should be studied alongside them.
