Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland

Front Cover
Penguin UK, Mar 7, 2013 - Fiction - 368 pages
Comic Sagas and Tales brings together the very finest Icelandic stories from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, a time of civil unrest and social upheaval. With feuding families and moments of grotesque violence, the sagas see such classic mythological figures as murdered fathers, disguised beggars, corrupt chieftains and avenging sons do battle with axes, words and cunning. The tales, meanwhile, follow heroes and comical fools through dreams, voyages and religious conversions in medieval Iceland and beyond. Shaped by Iceland's oral culture and their conversion to Christianity, these stories are works of ironic humour and stylistic innovation.
 

Selected pages

Contents

Introduction
A Note on the Translations
The Saga of the Sworn Brothers
Olkofris Saga
The Saga of the Confederates
The Saga of Havard of Isafjord
The Saga of Ref the
Hreidars Tale
The Tale of Thorleif the Earls Poet
The Tale of Thorstein Shiver
Notes
Further Reading
Outline of Medieval Icelandic Literature
Acknowledgements
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
Vidar Hreinsson
No preview available - 2013

Common terms and phrases

Ale-hood Althing ashore asked assembly Atli Bard Bersi boat booth Broddi Butraldi called chieftains companions composed earl Egil Einar Eyjolf farm farmhands father fjord Flateyjarbók Gellir Gest godi Greenland greeted Grettir Grettir the Strong Grima Gunnar Hakon Hallgrim Halli happened Havard heard Helgi Hermund horse Hreidar Illugi Isafjord killed King Harald King Olaf kinsman Kolbak land Laugabol lawspeaker legendary sagas lived livestock Ljot look main room Morkinskinna named Narfi night Norway Ofeig Ospak outlawed poem poet replied Reykjaholar Reykjavík rode rowed Sagas of Icelanders sail seems settlement ship Sigrid Sigurd Skafti Skuf and Bjarni Snorri spear spoke stay Steinthor Strandir struck Styrmir summer sword Sworn Brothers talk things Thjodolf Thorarin Thorbjorn Thordis Thorgeir Thorgils Thorgrim Thorhall Thorir Thorkel Thorleif Thormod answered Thorstein thought told took Torfi Trondheim Vali verse walked warrior winter woman wounded

About the author (2013)

Viðar Hreinsson grew up on a farm in Northern Iceland and studied Icelandic and literary theory in Iceland and Copenhagen. He is an independent literary scholar at the Reykjavik Academy and has taught and lectured on various aspects of Icelandic literary and cultural history both in Iceland and abroad, in Canada, USA and Scandinavia. General Editor of The Complete Sagas of Icelanders I-V (1997), he has also authored an award-winning two-volume biography of Icelandic Canadian poet Stephan G. Stephansson (2002-3). More recently, he has been an environmental activist, written two additional biographies and served as director of the Reykjavík Academy.

Bibliographic information

TitleComic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
ContributorViðar Hreinsson
Editionillustrated
PublisherPenguin UK, 2013
ISBN0141975520, 9780141975528
Length368 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Fiction / Classics
Fiction / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
Fiction / Sagas
History / Europe / Nordic Countries
Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical
  
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