Two Viking Romances

by Anonymous, Paul Edwards (Translator), Hermann Pálsson (Translation)

Unlike the Icelandic sagas with their firm grasp of realism and their moral imperative, these two Viking romances feature gods, heroes, trolls, kings and warriors, and are rich in imaginative power. Blending a range of influences from folklore, mythology, heroic tales and legends, they set out to amuse rather than inform, and as well as depicting the traditional Viking raider in his longboat, they also transport the reader to an imaginary world beyond history or geography. Written around 1300, Bosi and Herraud and Egil and Asmund appear in Seven Viking Romances, which is published in Penguin Classics.

Genres: Classics, Fantasy, Medieval, Romance

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1300

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a tiny little book which contains two great Viking stories. It is full of Viking Gods and mythological characters and as you would expect there are many fights and battles which are very gory in detail.

I did prefer the first story to the second one, but it is well worth a read if you are a fan of Vikings and their tales.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how silly these were. One minute they are sleeping with some farmers daughter, the next they are eye gouging and making blood oaths and then they just die with no warning or context and the narrator moves on unbothered. Also Giants.

[Štěpán Šmejkal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two short quickly readable explicit legends. Fun to read.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little interesting book to introduce you to the world of medieval viking romance.

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two short stories published as a Penguin 60s edition, taken from 'Seven Viking Romances'.

Is it just me, or are do all Viking stories consist of confusing family trees, abductions of princesses, wanton hand to hand combat, banishment, interfering gods, rescue of princesses, men who are fighting each other becoming blood brothers, outlandish coincidences, giants, and every time a hero finds a remote house where he is offered board for the night there is an attractive but naive daughter who gives herself willingly after some bizarre metaphor 'I want to temper my warrior'; 'I'd like to water my colt at your well-spring; 'He told her he wanted to put a ring on his stump'? ? But then, those are the ingredients of a good Viking Story, so why fix something that isn't broken.

Easy, quick reads, these two short stories were clever and amusing.

[Steve Chisnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Say to yourself, "Hey, I've always wondered what is was like to sit around a mead hall and hear a good traditional Viking story," inhale these two short tales (excerpted from a larger Penguin Seven Viking Romances, and you've pretty much succeeded.

Filled with family trees (which meant something more to somebody once), giants, promiscuous farmers' daughters, corruption and honor, more giants, horny warrior heroes, magic, beautiful princesses, monsters, giants, glorious deaths, and several unremarkable sea voyages, all in two stories that one hour's read can complete -- what more could you really ask for?

I imagine that some might offer historical context to stories like these (and a brief intro does just this), but they can be appreciated for the tale-telling alone, for their historical moment which has set the tone for folk tales and fantasies afterward, and we need not wonder or worry overmuch about their higher literary merit.

Oh, and the book size is cute, too.

[Libby Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of far fetched imaginative stories of giants, old hags and beligerant Vikings. In the first story, two brothers Bosi and Herraud were set a difficult task - tobring home a vulture’s egg covered in gold letters. They fought many battles and on the way they met their future wives who they eloquently convince to have sex with them. In the second story Egil and Asmund have arranged marriages to very beautiful girls. They have to fight and trick giants and Egil loses his hand in the process!

[Rhona Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple stories, retold in the style of yore.

[Patricia Morgunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pride of ancient Viking courtship, quite steamy in the world play. Definitely an adult reference for Viking history lovers.

[David Kirk]

This was my first foray into Viking sagas. These two didn't disappoint and have inspired me to read more.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Entertaining

[Isabel (kittiwake) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was between books, I decided to read one of my Penguin Classics 60s from the box set my i was given as a present years ago. Two Viking Romances contains two of the stories from the Penguin Classics book Seven Viking Romances.

Bosi and Herraud

The first story, Bosi and Herraud, is the story of a Swedish price and his troublesome best friend who gets them both banished from court, and only a poetic curse recited by Bosi's foster mother, threatening him with lame horses, sinking ships and impotence, prevents the king from having them both killed.

And what a shame
you play the game,
When she's on her back
But you've lost the knack:
Would you like some more . . .

Their adventures include rescuing a kidnapped princess, kidnapping another princess and various battles, often aided by magic. And everywhere they go Bosi successfully seduces their hosts' beautiful daughters with chat- up lines such as "I'd like to water my colt at your wine-spring".

Egil and Asmund

Egil and Asmund haven't known each other since childhood like Bosi and Herraud, but once they meet and find that they are equally matched in a fight, they become sworn-brothers. When they meet a giantess called Skin-Beak who invites them to the home of her mother Queen Eagle-Beak for dinner, I was convinced that the friends would end up on the menu, since the giantesses kept commenting on how slowly the food was cooking, and suggested that they should all tell their life stories while they waited for their meal. Rather than planning to eat them, Eagle-Beak and Skin-Beak actually become good friends of Egil and Asmund, and help them in a scheme to rescue two princesses from some other giants.

Eagle-Beak has had an adventurous life herself herself, including a long-standing rivalry with Queen Ingibjorg who married the man Eagle-Beak loved. After capturing Eagle-Beak, Hring and Ingibjorg sent her on a quest to retrieve three lost treasures, which ended with a journey to the underworld guided by Odin himself, in search of the final treasure, a cloak that fire couldn't burn.

One of the men I had to have was Hring, son of the king of the Smalands. I set out to see him, but he’d gone off to Gotaland to ask for the hand of Ingibjorg, the daughter of Earl Bjarkmar. I hurried on my way but when I arrived in Gotaland, Hring was already celebrating his wedding feast and his bride was about to be led into the hall. I lay down in the street intending to play her some dirty trick, but she saw me first and gave me a kick that broke both my thigh-bones. Then she was led into the hall to her seat. I followed her inside, turned myself into a fly, and crept under her clothes with the idea of ripping her belly open at the groin. But she recognized me right away, banged me in the side with a knife handle and broke three of my ribs, so I thought I’d better get out of there.

This story is full of adventure and the presence of the proactive Queen Eagle-Beak makes up for the princesses who just sit around waiting to be rescued. It would have been even better if there had been less of Egil and Asmund's back stories (all that fighting can get a bit samey). The author seems to have been familiar with the Odyssey, as one of Egil's adventures involves blinding a giant and trying to escape from his cave disguised as a goat.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lively sense of humor in these 700 year old stories that's missing from Northern epics like the Niebelungenlied. Fights between heroes are often handled with tongue in cheek, and hideous wounds are treated matter of factly by the narrator and the characters. The sex is as raw as Bocaccio, but there's a frank enjoyment to it, and while women are usually helpers (if common) or maidens to be rescued (if noble), they're quite sensible about things. As with most translations of old texts, the narrative voice is a little flat-- this isn't Robert E. Howard -- and I don't know whether that's the original text or not. One other thing, as someone who's written fantasy with a Norse basis: in these little sagas, Jotunheim, the land of the giants, is always "just around the corner" -- as though the world can be reached through certain inlets or fjords, and not always intentionally.

[Simón · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little did I realise I'd be reading the Viking equivalent of 50 Shades of Grey.

"She asked him where the warrior was, and he told her to feel between his legs, but she pulled her hand back and said he could keep his warrior and asked why he was carrying a monster like that on him, as hard as a tree. He told her the warrior would soften in the dark hole, and then she said he could do anything he wanted. So now he set the warrior between her legs. The path before him was rather narrow, and yet he managed to complete his mission."

Oh my.

[Yara Zeitoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my entrance into the world of medieval viking literature, and I really enjoyed it!
Very fast paced and very very interesting. Full of magic, myth, supernatural creatures, the medieval world of the vikings is as gruesome, gory, and sexual as you would imagine it to be.
This is one out of the seven Viking Romances that were written circa 1300, and now I want to read the rest.

Though this edition is a bit lacking -- for me -- since there is no intro/preface by the editor/translator, I would've liked some background info.

[Gonçalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically smut for medieval men.

- Boy comes of age. Decides to go on adventure;
- Slays massive 5 headed dragon with his bare hands;
- Comically tall and muscular. Can lift a polar bear over his head;
- Has food at a farmer's house and has sex with his daughters (descriptive);
- Comes home and becomes tribal chieftain;

Rinse and repeat a couple of times. It is absolutely hilarious but wholesome in a way. These short tales are full of energy, it is what you'd imagine vikings would tell over a campfire.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romance in the sense of adventure and explicitness.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tiny little volume containing "Bosi and Herraud" and "Egil and Asmund"