Eirik The Red and Other Icelandic Sagas (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Gwyn Jones (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0192835300 | ISBN-13: 978-0192835307

Selected by Gwyn Jones--the eminent Celtic scholar--for their excellence and variety, these nine Icelandic sagas include "Hen-Thorir," "The Vapnfjord Men," "Thorstein Staff-Struck," "Hrafnkel the Priest of Frey," "Thidrandi whom the Goddesses Slew," "Authun and the Bear," "Gunnlaug Wormtongue," "King Hrolf and his Champions," and the title piece.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With its account of the Norse discovery of North America and its fine translation of Hrolfs Saga (indispensable for any serious study of the mythic Beowulf), this text remains the single best saga intro. in print."--Stephen Glosecki, University of Alabama

"I require my Beowulf students to read Hrolf Kraki's Saga, and GJ's translation in this book is both excellent . . . and readily available."--Marijane Osborn, University of California, Davis

"Still the best single-volume collection of Viking tales in English."--James Massengale, University of California, Los Angeles

"[Jones's] English has a yeasty Welshness in it that corresponds quite nicely to the idiomatic springiness of the original."--L. Michael Bell, University of Colorado

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Icelandic

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192835300
• ISBN-13: 978-0192835307
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,243,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Nice Compendium of Some of the Lesser Sagas, December 3, 2000

By 

Stuart W. Mirsky "swm" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eirik The Red and Other Icelandic Sagas (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Gwyn Jones here gives us his very smooth and stylish translations of some of the lesser, and lesser known, sagas in the Icelandic literary opus. From the title piece, "Eirik the Red's Saga", to his rendering of the Hrolf Kraki saga, these are all nicely wrought translations of some of the smaller gems in the old Norse literary tradition. Among my favorites are "The Vapnfjordmen" and the "Tale of Spike Helgi". These brilliantly demonstrate, in spare saga style, the way in which the best of these old Norse works capture and crystallize real people through an archaic and slightly clouded lense. But the images shining through are starkly real and resonate with our modern sensibility in a way which is surprising for such medieval fare. Of course, the title piece and the Hrolf Kraki piece which end the book go to the other extreme: the realm of legend and fantasy. Modern scholars tend to believe that the "Greenlanders' Saga" is an older and more reliable tale concerning the Norse excursions to Vinland than is the "Eirik's Saga" (this book's title piece) though "Eirik's Saga" is richer, by far, in literary motifs and more rife with fantastic elements, while yet being more literary overall than the plainer, sparer "Geenlanders' Saga" (which Jones did not choose to include here). And few will dispute that Hrolf Kraki's tale, this book's end-piece, is mainly one of myth and legend, albeit an exciting and well-told tale in its own right. In sum, Jones selected the most literary of the smaller sagas for this work, sandwiching in between two more legendary pieces, some more solidly realistic tales. But all with sufficient literary merit to warrant inclusion here. A nicely done collection for the saga aficionado!The King of Vinland's Saga