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Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic Series
Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader
Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader (the 2nd book in the Viking Language Series) immerses the learner in Old Norse and Icelandic. Readings include a wealth of Old Norse myths, legends, complete Icelandic sagas, poems of the Scandinavian gods, runic inscriptions. There is a large vocabulary and a full reference grammar. Selections from Old Norse and rune texts range from the doom of the gods at the final battle Ragnarok to descriptions of the dwarves gold and the ring that inspired Tolkien s Lord of the Rings, Wagner s Ring Cycle, and a host of modern fantasy."
372 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
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About the author
Jesse L. Byock
13 books72 followersJesse L. Byock is Professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Feud in the Icelandic Saga (1982) Medieval Iceland (1990), The Saga of King Kraki (1998), and Viking Age Iceland (2001).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 17, 2018
I was so excited when I started learning Old Norse in Viking Language 1. The reward for all the work comes in Book 2, which is a goldmine of texts and information.
Each chapter focuses on a different subject or genre of Old Norse literature. There are long excerpts about the various gods and myths. There are excerpts from Icelandic sagas about settlement and migration. Eventually you get to read two complete sagas, one short and one long. And Jesse Byock, the editor, does not stick simply with the Icelandic literature, but also gives a good sampling of runic writing from Scandinavia. At the very end of the book, you get to learn about eddic and skaldic poetry. I had previously heard that the latter was "difficult." How difficult could it really be? Now that I have been exposed to skaldic poems (including one long and multiple short examples), I truly understand the complexity of this form of composition. There are multiple overlapping rules to the genre, involving alliteration, rhyme, and meter. And then most individuals in the poems are not named directly, but rather by levels on levels of obliqueness. For instance, rather than saying Thor, a skald might say "the opponent of the necklace of the earth." You have to be well-versed in Norse mythology (or, like me, be supplied with helpful footnotes) to recognize a reference to Thor's defeat of the Midgard serpent (the "necklace of the earth" since this giant snake wraps around the globe).
It is hard to imagine a better compilation of this type. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in learning Old Norse—but make sure you put in the work on Viking Language 1 first.
Each chapter focuses on a different subject or genre of Old Norse literature. There are long excerpts about the various gods and myths. There are excerpts from Icelandic sagas about settlement and migration. Eventually you get to read two complete sagas, one short and one long. And Jesse Byock, the editor, does not stick simply with the Icelandic literature, but also gives a good sampling of runic writing from Scandinavia. At the very end of the book, you get to learn about eddic and skaldic poetry. I had previously heard that the latter was "difficult." How difficult could it really be? Now that I have been exposed to skaldic poems (including one long and multiple short examples), I truly understand the complexity of this form of composition. There are multiple overlapping rules to the genre, involving alliteration, rhyme, and meter. And then most individuals in the poems are not named directly, but rather by levels on levels of obliqueness. For instance, rather than saying Thor, a skald might say "the opponent of the necklace of the earth." You have to be well-versed in Norse mythology (or, like me, be supplied with helpful footnotes) to recognize a reference to Thor's defeat of the Midgard serpent (the "necklace of the earth" since this giant snake wraps around the globe).
It is hard to imagine a better compilation of this type. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in learning Old Norse—but make sure you put in the work on Viking Language 1 first.
December 28, 2024
I think this is a really good resource for learning Old Norse (or for teaching it!) I read this book as part of a independent study in college with a couple of other students. I think it is really useful! My review on the Viking Language 1 book goes into more detail too.
The thing I like the most about the Viking Language books is the method of teaching that the book is structured around; that is, focusing on the most frequently used words first. That made it intuitive to pick up. The glossaries, notes, maps, and extra information that the book has alongside its exercises are also really good.
The thing I like the most about the Viking Language books is the method of teaching that the book is structured around; that is, focusing on the most frequently used words first. That made it intuitive to pick up. The glossaries, notes, maps, and extra information that the book has alongside its exercises are also really good.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews