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 Spirit of the Vikings gathers saga narrative, mythic tradition, historical chronicle, and later interpretive prose into a capacious portrait of Norse life and imagination. Its materials range from the stark, economical drama of medieval Icelandic writing to explanatory retellings shaped for modern readers, illuminating warfare, kinship, law, exploration, kingship, and the unstable traffic between human fate and divine power. Standout episodes of heroic endurance and political calculati...

Saga Six Pack 4 presents a sizzling sextet of Scandinavian super-sagas:In The Days of Giants - A Book of Norse Tales by Abbie Farwell Brown.Saga of Halfdan the Black by Snorri SturlusonTrue and Untrue by George Webbe DasentSaga of Sigurd the Crusader and his Brothers Eystein and Olaf by Snorri SturlusonKing Alfred's Viking - A Story of the First English Fleet by Char...

The Story of Burnt Njal, or Njáls saga, is a monumental Icelandic family saga tracing the intertwined lives of the lawman Njáll Þorgeirsson, the warrior Gunnar Hámundarson, and the feuding families whose loyalties, marriages, lawsuits, and acts of vengeance shape the narrative. Set largely in tenth- and eleventh-century Iceland, it moves from intimate domestic conflicts to the burning of Njáll and his household, then toward retribution and uneasy reconciliation. Its restrained prose, preci...

'The Essence of Viking Mythology: Norse Eddas, Sagas & Ballads' captures the sweeping grandeur of ancient Norse culture, distilled into a single, powerful collection. This anthology spans versatile literary forms from the poetic to the epic, assembling works that reflect the vast spectrum of Norse life, gods, and mortal destinies. Within its covers lie classic compositions, ranging from the mythic contemplations in the Eddas to the heroically threaded narratives in the Sagas, and the poign...

The Story of Norsemen gathers saga narrative, medieval historiography, mythic tradition, and modern historical interpretation into a capacious portrait of the Scandinavian world. Its materials range from accounts of voyages, settlement, kinship, and conflict to reflections on language, place-names, belief, and kingship. Heroic episodes and Icelandic prose histories stand beside explanatory scholarship, allowing the volume to illuminate both the imaginative force of Norse storytelling and t...

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...

Meet gullible trolls, enterprising princesses and nefarious wizards in this treasury of 25 Norse fairy tales.Collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in the 19th century, these Norwegian stories are described by Jacob Grimm as "surpassing nearly all others." They include such well-loved tales as 'The Three Billy Goat's Gruff' and 'Taming the Shrew' and open a window into the beautiful landscapes of Norway.These funny and fantastical stories wil...

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 ...

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. ...

The Junior Classics (Vols. 1–9) assembles a capacious library of tales, myths, poems, fables, adventures, histories, and dramatic excerpts designed to introduce younger readers to enduring traditions of world literature. Its range moves from classical epic and biblical-inflected allegory to fairy tale, folklore, romance, satire, and nineteenth-century children's writing. Familiar narratives of transformation, quest, wit, and moral testing stand beside legends gathered from Asian, European,...