Crimsoning the Eagle's Claw: The Viking Poems of Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, Earl of Orkney

by Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, Ian Crockatt (Translator)

A genuinely unique European treasure, this volume bristles with the Viking verses of Rǫgnvaldr, Earl of Orkney, recorded in Orkneyinga Saga. Full of highly stylised, often grotesque images, Ian Crockatt's masterly translations convey the skill, vigour and daring of the original. Skaldic poetry is one of the most elaborate and original in European literature and this collection finally brings it to the deserved attention of the English-language reader. Rich narratives and old Norse mythology blend with familiar place-names and landscapes to create a peculiarly alluring, sometimes comic, world that never quite settles around the reader. Spirited and generous, these poems give us precious glimpses of a life lived to the full.

Genres: Poetry

ebook

First published January 1, 1150

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for accurate translations of the poetry, this is not the work for you. However, if what you are after is the experience of a skaldic poem without that pesky Old Norse, this is definitely the book for you.

Considering that this is a very specific interest it was rather disappointing to find that Crockatt had left out most of the kennings, rather than leaving them in and explaining them.

I was glad to see the original text there.