THE EVENTS described in the saga of Gisli the Soursop reach from about the year AD930 to AD980, in a time when the law of Iceland had not yet been established. Men were ruled by their conscience and Gisli, a champion of Iceland, was outlawed for murder by the Chieftain Bork at the Thorsness Thing, or Council Meeting.But besides his sentence he was doomed, even before his birth. He and his kin were under a curse, for they had kept the broken bits of "Graysteel", bit...

This is a volume of 59 Scandinavian folk tales collected over time by Asbjörnsen and Moe and translated into English by Sir George Webbe-Dasent. This is not a volume of Norse mythology per se; so if you are looking for tales of Odin, Thor, Loki, etc., we would refer you to a volume entitled The Children of Odin. Rather, this volume is more fairy and far less Viking in nature. This is an anthology of 59 Norse-themed folk and fairy tales, similar to those collected by the G...

Sagas are stories mostly about ancient Nordic and Germanic history, early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages and migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families. They were written in the Old Norse language, mainly in Iceland. Kings' sagas are of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries. The Icelanders' sagas, a.k.a. Family Sagas, are stories of real events, passed in oral form till they eventually were record...

The collection includes various traditional stories from Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore, featuring tales of gods, heroes, giants, trolls, and other mythical creatures. These narratives often reflect the cultural heritage and beliefs of the Nordic people, offering readers insights into the rich oral tradition of the region.Sir George Webbe Dasent's translation of "Popular Tales from the Norse" is celebrated for its accessibility and readability, capturing the essence and charm of...

THE first edition of these Tales being exhausted, and a demand having arisen for a second, the Translator has thought it right to add thirteen tales, which complete the translation of MM. Asbjörnsen and Moe's Collection, and to strengthen the Introduction by working in some new matter, and by working out some points which were only slightly sketched in the first edition. The favour with which the book was welcomed makes it almost a duty to say a word here on the many kind and able notices ...

ONCE on a time there were two brothers; one was called True, and the other Untrue. True was always upright and good towards all, but Untrue was bad and full of lies, so that no one could believe what he said. Their mother was a widow, and hadn’t much to live on; so when her sons had grown up, she was forced to send them away that they might earn their bread in the world. Each got a little scrip with some food in it, and then they went their way. Now, when they had walked till evening, they...

Sir George Webbe Dasent (1817-1896), Doctor of Civil Law, was a British lawyer, translator of folk tales and contributor to The Times.He was educated at Westminster School, King's College London, and Oxford University, where he befriended classmate John Thadeus Delane, future editor of The Times. After graduating from university in 1840 with a degree in Classical literature, he was appointed secretary to Thomas Cartwright on a diplomatic post in Stockholm, Sweden. ...

What is a Saga? A Saga is a story, or telling in prose, sometimes mixed with verse. There are many kinds of Sagas, of all degrees of truth. There are the mythical Sagas, in which the wondrous deeds of heroes of old time, half gods and half men, as Sigurd and Ragnar, are told as they were handed down from father to son in the traditions of the Northern race. Then there are Sagas recounting the history of the kings of Norway and other countries, of the great line of Orkney Jarls, and of the ...

The original works of foreign classics, including the most representative literary masters and the most influential representative works.

The most careless reader can hardly fail to see that many of the Tales in this volume have the same groundwork as those with which he has been familiar from his earliest youth. They are Nursery Tales, in fact, of the days when there were tales in nurseries—old wives' fables, which have faded away before the light of gas and the power of steam. It is long, indeed, since English nurses told these tales to English children by force of memory and word of mouth. In a written shape, we have long...

The most careless reader can hardly fail to see that many of the Tales in this volume have the same groundwork as those with which he has been familiar from his earliest youth. They are Nursery Tales, in fact, of the days when there were tales in nurseries-old wives' fables, which have faded away before the light of gas and the power of steam. It is long, indeed, since English nurses told these tales to English children by force of memory and word of mouth. In a written shape, we have long...

East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon is a beautifully illustrated collection of Norwegian fairy stories—including the tale of that name—by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, translated by Sir George Webbe Dasent. It is widely considered to be the best and happiest rendering of the tales that has appeared in the English language and will make a wonderful addition to any book collection.