Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
The capstone volume in Penguin Classics’ celebrated series of Icelandic sagas

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
brings together the very finest Icelandic stories from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, a time of civil unrest and social upheaval. With feuding families and moments of grotesque violence, the sagas see such classic mythological figures as murdered fathers, disguised beggars, corrupt chieftains, and avenging sons who do battle with axes, words, and cunning. The tales, meanwhile, follow hero's and comical fools through dreams, voyages, and religious conversions in medieval Iceland and beyond. Shaped by Iceland’s oral culture and its people’s conversion to Christianity, these stories are works of ironic humor and stylistic innovation.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
1113863861
Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
The capstone volume in Penguin Classics’ celebrated series of Icelandic sagas

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
brings together the very finest Icelandic stories from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, a time of civil unrest and social upheaval. With feuding families and moments of grotesque violence, the sagas see such classic mythological figures as murdered fathers, disguised beggars, corrupt chieftains, and avenging sons who do battle with axes, words, and cunning. The tales, meanwhile, follow hero's and comical fools through dreams, voyages, and religious conversions in medieval Iceland and beyond. Shaped by Iceland’s oral culture and its people’s conversion to Christianity, these stories are works of ironic humor and stylistic innovation.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland

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Overview

The capstone volume in Penguin Classics’ celebrated series of Icelandic sagas

Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland
brings together the very finest Icelandic stories from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, a time of civil unrest and social upheaval. With feuding families and moments of grotesque violence, the sagas see such classic mythological figures as murdered fathers, disguised beggars, corrupt chieftains, and avenging sons who do battle with axes, words, and cunning. The tales, meanwhile, follow hero's and comical fools through dreams, voyages, and religious conversions in medieval Iceland and beyond. Shaped by Iceland’s oral culture and its people’s conversion to Christianity, these stories are works of ironic humor and stylistic innovation.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780140447743
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 07/30/2013
Pages: 368
Product dimensions: 5.15(w) x 7.77(h) x 0.85(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Vidar Hreinsson is an award-winning scholar of Icelandic literary and cultural history. He has served as director of the Reykjavik Academy in Iceland and lives in Reykjavik.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Introduction ix

Further Reading xxxiii

A Note on the Translations xxxvii

Sagas

The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (trans. Martin S. Regal) 3

Olkofri's Saga (trans. John Tucker) 109

The Saga of the Confederates (trans. Ruth C. Ellison) 119

The Saga of Havard of Isafjord (trans. Fredrik J. Heinemann) 155

The Saga of Ref the Sly (trans. George Clark) 205

Tales

Hreidar's Tale (trans. Robert Kellogg) 241

The Tale of Thorleif, the Earl's Poet (trans. Judith Jesch) 255

The Tale of Thorstein Shiver (trans. Anthony Maxwell) 267

The Tale of Sarcastic Halli (trans. George Clark) 271

Notes 293

Maps 301

A Note on Poetic Imagery 306

Outline of Medieval Icelandic Literature 310

Glossary 314

Index of Characters 323

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