The Icelandic Sagas I

The Icelandic Sagas #1

by Magnus Magnusson (Editor/Introduction), Simon Noyes (Illustrator)

Edited, introduced and partially translated by Magnus Magnusson. Illustrations by Simon Noyes. Endpaper maps by Reg Piggott.

Contains "Auðun's Tale", "Grænlendinga Saga", "Eirík's Saga", "The Tale of Thorstein Stangarhögg (Staff-Struck)", "Egil's Saga", "Hrafnkel's Saga", "Eyrbyggja Saga", "Vopnfirðinga Saga", "Bandamanna Saga", "Gunnlaug's Saga", "The Tale of Thiðrandi and Thórhall" and "Njál's Saga".

Genres: Fiction, Mythology, Classics, Fantasy, Ancient, Historical, Travel

809 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Magnus Magnusson, KBE, was an Icelandic television presenter, journalist, translator and writer. He was born in Iceland but lived in Scotland for almost all of his life, although he never took British citizenship. He came to prominence as a BBC television journalist, and was best known as the presenter of the BBC television quiz programme Mastermind, which he hosted for 25 years.

Under Icelandic naming conventions, his name would have been Magnús Sigursteinsson (Magnús, son of Sigursteinn), but his family adopted British naming conventions and he took his father's surname. Although born in Reykjavík, Magnusson grew up in Edinburgh, where his father, Sigursteinn Magnússon, was the Icelandic consul.

Reviews

[CJSilvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Icelandic saga addict i cannot help but praise this book. There are great translations of some of the best known sagas such as such as Egil's Saga and Njal's saga, aswell as some of the lesser known sagas (some of the tales are hard to find elesewhere). By far one of the best purchases I have made. The book itself is beautifully bound though a little large for carrying around. The illustartions are ok, prefer the second book.

[boogenhagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have several versions of the Icelandic Sagas but this one is probably the most easily read and varied in the stories it tells. Be prepared for long lists of genealogies, cause that was a big thing back in the day, but also be prepared for EPIC tales of people doing crazy things and other people either helping or hindering that.

If you like adventure or historical tales of great deeds, this is the book to read. Plus there is Vikings and they are always very interesting.

[Judith Fein · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is like discovering Shakespeare or Chaucer.......brilliant crafting of the sagas....

[Loren Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exile, fate, honor, and ice.
These sagas throw the living-room family throne off their long ships and into the ocean, watch where it washes ashore, and build a life there on cold, unforgiving land. From nothing.

If you love stark landscapes, generational destiny, and the quiet madness required to start over at the edge of the world... this is where it begins.

[Claire Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the sagas

[Patti Gray Dunkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite translation of the stories of the sagas!

[Lee Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected of The Icelandic Sagas : a dry list of events and names in the historic tradition? A series of fantastic events in the style of myths and legends? In truth they're neither and yet they're both. This is a remarkable collection of tales which would not appear out of place (regular descriptions of genealogies aside) in any collection of modern fiction. Characters are well drawn, we see them develop over the course of their lives and they suffer hardships just as they experience dramatic events and achieve remarkable feats of brains or brawn.

Egil's Saga , Eyrbyggja Saga and Njal's Saga were the outstanding stories in this collection, which uses the Hermann Pálsson and Magnus Magnusson Penguin translations, but all of them kept me entertained. I agree with Magnusson's suggestion that they're one of the outstanding achievements of European literature - they're astonishing for telling realistic stories set in Early Mediaeval Northern Europe in a realistic fashion rather than the fantastical style of the proto-historical legends that were written in preceding centuries (and continued to be written for some time after, i.e. The History of the Kings of Britain ) and remarkable for being tue.

[Lulu]

Auðun's Tale 1220s
Grænlendinga Saga* 1200-30 (likely late?)
Eirík's Saga* 1200-30 (likely late?)
The Tale of Thorstein Stangarhögg (Staff-Struck) mid-13th
Egil's Saga 1220-1240, 1220-30
Hrafnkel's Saga c.1300
Eyrbyggja Saga c.1265
Vopnfirðinga Saga 1270-80
Bandamanna Saga c.1250 only saga that takes place exclusively after the adoption of Christianity in the year 1000.
Gunnlaug's Saga 1270-80
The Tale of Thiðrandi and Thórhall ???
Njál's Saga, consensus places around 1280. [1275-85]




1200 to 1230 – Sagas that deal with skalds (such as Fóstbrœðra saga)

1230 to 1280 – Family sagas (such as Laxdæla saga)

1280 to 1300 – Works that focus more on style and storytelling than just writing down history (such as Njáls saga)

Early fourteenth century – Historical tradition

fourteenth century – Fiction



* these 2 = vinland sagas = when viking discovered America


https://nordurbok.wordpress.com/sagas...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_Ri...

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it. It's unusual, the writing style is so different but I love it.

[Melanie T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tales resonate! I adored reading them as a teenager