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Abstract. Rather than a general history of Icelandic culture in the neglected fifteenth century, this dissertation instead approaches the period with a microhistorical lens, with its central object of investigation a small handful of sögubækur ('saga-books') produced and used by small communities around Iceland, c. 1400-1500. How did these communities or manuscript patrons make space for themselves in a turbulent fifteenth-century, as the stockfish trade boomed and Icelanders soon found themselves playing a game much larger than ever before? In this line of inquiry, the material manuscript takes center stage, interpreted as an historical process in-and-of itself, rather than a mere vehicle of a textual tradition. Methodologically, this endeavor realizes a truly interdisciplinary approach to medieval cultural history, in dialogue with trends in media studies and material philology. Hence, one goal is to write history in such a way that fully accepts and understands the nature of its source material, which so far has proved challenging for Icelandic cultural historians. Another goal is to reappraise and rethink fifteenth century Icelandic culture, correcting the long-lived narrative of complete societal decline that many scholars still cite or subscribe to. The end result shall show that the fifteenth century was not in fact a period of cultural, literary, or codicological degradation, but instead a sweeping landscape of vibrant cultural innovation. During this period, English and German interest in Iceland afforded local communities and powerful individuals new opportunities and stimulating cultural contacts, through which Icelanders could interrogate their own anthropological uniqueness and their perceived sense of marginality via the manuscript medium. Different manuscripts shall highlight how different communities, with varied access to resources, foreign contacts, and the Danish court, responded in their own ways to the challenges and opportunities brought by an eventful and difficult century.
