The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun [Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

J. R. R. Tolkien (Author), Brian Cox (Reader), Christopher Tolkien (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2010

“Many years ago, J. R. R. Tolkien composed his own version—now published for the first time—of the great legend of Northern antiquity in two closely related poems to which he gave the titles 'The New Lay of the Völsungs' and 'The New Lay of Gudrún.' In the 'Lay of the Völsungs' is told the ancestry of the great hero Sigurd, the slayer of Fáfnir most celebrated of dragons, whose treasure he took for his own; of his awakening of the Valkyrie Brynhild who slept surrounded by a wall of fire, and of their betrothal; and of his coming to the court of the great princes who were named the Niflungs (or Nibelungs), with whom he entered into blood-brotherhood. In that court there sprang great love but also great hate, brought about by the power of the enchantress, mother of the Niflungs, skilled in the arts of magic, of shape-changing, and potions of forgetfulness. In scenes of dramatic intensity, of confusion of identity, thwarted passion, jealousy, and bitter strife, the tragedy of Sigurd and Brynhild, of Gunnar the Niflung, and of Gudrún his sister, mounts to its end in the murder of Sigurd at the hands of his blood-brothers, the suicide of Brynhild, and the despair of Gudrún. In the 'Lay of Gudrún' her fate after the death of Sigurd is told, her marriage against her will to the mighty Atli, ruler of the Huns (the Attila of history), his murder of her brothers the Niflung lords, and her hideous revenge. Deriving his version primarily from his close study of the ancient poetry of Norway and Iceland known as the Poetic Edda (and where no old poetry exists, from the later prose work the Völsunga Saga), J. R. R. Tolkien employed a verse-form of short stanzas whose lines embody in English the exacting alliterative rhythms and the concentrated energy of the poems of the Edda.”  —Christopher Tolkien

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. R. R. Tolkien is best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His books have sold more than 150 million copies in more than 40 languages worldwide. Christopher Tolkien, who edited his father’s book for publication, will read his own insightful introduction to the work. Appointed by J. R. R. Tolkien to be his literary executor, he has devoted himself to the publication of his father’s unpublished writings, notably The History of Middle-earth and The Silmarillion. Brian Cox is a BAFTA– and Emmy Award–winning and Golden Globe–nominated actor who has appeared in The Bourne Supremacy, Braveheart, Deadwood, L.I.E., and Rob Roy.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK Audio; Unabridged edition edition (June 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007318820
• ISBN-13: 978-0007318827
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,978,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892.1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

458 of 462 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tolkien turns Norse, May 8, 2009

By 

Michael B. Sullivan - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun (Hardcover)

A few corrections need to be made to the reviews already here.

First: This book is NOT a translation. It is a set of two original poems by Tolkien, with supplemental materials. The poems retell one of the most famous stories in Norse legend--the sources are the two Eddas, the Volsunga Saga, and others--but Tolkien gives here his own version. The poem is in the medieval Norse meter and style, but it is a new version, again, not a translation.

Second: These poems are not epics. I have already read a couple of reviews complaining that for epic poetry it isn't "epic" enough. But they aren't intended to be epic. As the introduction makes clear, Norse poetry had no epic mode (although Old English did). What epic verse does for some cultures the Saga did for the Norsemen. These poems are lays, which have a different intended effect, which is discussed in the introduction.

Who needs to read this book? Certainly people who like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but hated The Children of Hurin when it came out recently, and who never got through the Silmarillion, will most likely not want this. If, when you read The Lord of the Rings, you skip the poems and songs, you should definitely skip this. On the other hand, if the Tolkien's poetry is especially attractive to you this may interest you. If you're interested in Tolkien's other writings, though, you probably will want this. For instance, if you've read vol. 3 of The History of Middle Earth, The Lays of Beleriand, you will know the sort of thing you're in for. On the other hand, if you don't care or don't know much about Tolkien's own invented mythology, this book will still fascinate you if you have an interest in Old English or medieval Icelandic literature.

While this book is in general unconnected with Tolkien's own Middle-earth, it does shed some interesting light on it here and there. The Sigurd legend is, of course, related to Tolkien's legend of Turin Turambar. Seeing Tolkien in full heathen mode allows us to draw interesting contrasts with the "redeemed" paganism of his own mythology. Furthermore, Tolkien adds certain elements of his own to the traditional story of the Volsungs which are not irrelevant to the interpretation of his other writings. His interpretation of the heathen myth provides clues to his attitude to myth and its creation which are unique in his writings. This is not *merely* a retelling, but an artistic re-working of the old tale in light of his Tolkien's own insights, interests, and concerns, as well as a virtuoso display of versecraft in an authentic medieval style and meter which, to my knowledge, no other modern author has mastered so well.

This book, then, is not for everyone. But all the negative reviews I've seen blame it for not being something else. For what it is, it is excellent. For those interested in its content or its form, and for true lovers of Tolkien's work, it's a must-have.

94 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There is crying of ravens, cold howls the wolf, May 6, 2009

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun (Hardcover)

When J.R.R. Tolkien wasn't teaching philology at Oxford or penning classic fantasy novels, he did some retellings of old poetry. VERY old poetry.

"The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" is one such work: a verse working of the Norse legend of the hero Sigurd and his adventures, as well as the two doomed women who loved him. The wording is a bit awkward in places, and a good chunk of the book's content is commentary by his son Christopher Tolkien -- but the deep-rooted mythic story and Tolkien's vivid prose are gorgeous.

After exploring the gods and their glittering Valholl, Tolkien introduces the bitter dwarf Andvari and his magic ring, the greedy dragon Fafnir, and the tragic tale of Sigmund, Sigurd's daddy. Sigurd was tricked into slaying Fafnir for his treacherous foster father, and gained a hoard of cursed gold and a roasted dragon heart. Then he learns of the beautiful Valkyrie Brynhild, who is doomed to "wed the World's chosen" only, and sleeps in a fortress of flames.

Though he wakes Brynhild, Sigurd claims that he isn't going to marry her until he has a kingdom of his own -- and he gets one too. But in the process, he falls in love with the beautiful Gudrun and marries her. When his brother-in-law Gunnar wants the finest woman in the world, Sigurd tricks Brynhild into marrying Gunnar instead. This betrayal -- and a cursed ring given to both Gudrun and Brynhild -- leads to lies, hatred, death, and a devastating tragedy that destroys more than one person's life.

"The Lay of Gudrun" is a sort of sequel to the Sigurd legend: after Sigurd dies, Gudrun goes a little nuts in her woodland house and ends up being wed against her own wishes (courtesy of her witchy mom) to the king of the Huns, Atli. Of course, everything goes wrong for the poor woman -- and her brothers Gunnar and Hogni rush to attack Atli.

"The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" is not for those who only like to read Tolkien's Middle-Earth stories. Sure, there's a cursed ring and a mention of "Mirkwood," but the rest of it is pure Norse saga infused with gods, sorrow, magic and ancient battles. But it's a fascinating story, and you can hear the ring of the elves and the Rohirrhim in some of the stately passages ("Hail O sunlight/and sun's rising").

It's also very complex story, with lots of gory battles, doomed love affairs, and everybody involved ending up miserable and/or dead -- in particular, the bleak yet exquisite finale of "The Lay of Gudrun" is astonishing. And Tolkien does make you feel for the two lead characters of Sigurd and poor, tragic Gudrun (whose only crime was to love her husband), even if Sigurd is kind of a jerk. Brynhild just comes across as a snotty ice queen.

And Tolkien's wordcraft is pretty smooth, easily read if you're used to epic poetry. There are a few awkward moments ("Last night I lay/where loath me was/with less liking/I may lay me yet"), but most of it is easy to decipher and to follow. And the words are usually quite vivid, beautifully written ("gleaming robed/as flower unfolded/fair at morning") and evocative ("his beard was grey/as bark of ash"), with many moments that are simply beautiful.

For the record: "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" has a LOT of Christopher Tolkien's forewords, commentary and Tolkien's own information on Norse mythology (for the record, "midgardsormr" means the serpent around the world). There's fifty pages to wade through before the poem even starts. Those with little experience in Norse myth might find it handy, but anyone who already knows the story will find it rather dry.

The legendary JRR Tolkien's working of "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" is a vivid retelling of this saga, and his unmistakable touch is left on the words. If you can handle epic poetry, this one is definitely worth a read.

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book That Is Not For Everyone, May 11, 2009

By 

R.A. (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun (Hardcover)

So you liked THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, and now you want another great reading of Tolkien fantasy? Be careful of THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRON. It is a scholarly work. If you are interested in Norse mythology, though, and enjoy reading a good translation of Beowulf (which although not Norse mythology has a lot in common with Old Norse poetry) you will love this book. The tales of Odin and company were told and retold by many poets and saga writers, working hundreds of years apart. Many of their tellings are often contradictory. What Tolkien has done is to recreate a unified Norse mythology and given us new lays, written in English, but following the classic 8 line stanzaic style of the Elder Eddas, the Old Norse poetry form. This also means that there is none of the end rhyming we usually associate with poetry. No, these new lays use alliteration, just as in the Old English Beowulf. It really is a treat to get that style of poetry rendered in English. ( Imagine yourself in an old mead hall, while a gifted bard recites in this long-ago verse form. Better yet, read it out loud and become the bard.)

J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher, has provided fascinating introductory information and explanatory notes that really make the reader feel like a serious student of Norse mythology and Old Norse poetry. This material occupies at least as many pages as the poems themselves. Without this extra material, much of the impact and complexity of the poems would be lost.

If you are serious about understanding the life's work of perhaps the greatest author of the 20th Century and the influences that helped lead him to Middle Earth, take a chance on THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRUN.