The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics)
Editorial Reviews
Judy Quinn, Parergon
"[Byock is] very successful in his adept renderings of Eddic rhythm... The translation of prose is equally fine."
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
One of the great books of world literature--an unforgettable tale of jealousy, unrequited love, greed, and vengeance.
Based on Viking Age poems and composed in thirteenth-century Iceland, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend, and sheer human drama in telling of the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires runic knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. Yet the saga is set in a very human world, incorporating oral memories of the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun and other warriors fought on the northern frontiers of the Roman empire. In his illuminating Introduction Jesse L. Byock links the historical Huns, Burgundians, and Goths with the extraordinary events of this Icelandic saga. With its ill-fated Rhinegold, the sword reforged, and the magic ring of power, the saga resembles the Nibelungenlied and has been a primary source for such fantasy writers as J. R. R. Tolkien and for Richard Wagner's Ring cycle.
Translated with an Introduction, Notes, and Glossary by Jesse L. Byock.
The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics)
The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics),Anonymous,Jesse L. Byock,Penguin Classics,0140447385,Classics,Fairy Tales, Folklore & Mythology,Fiction,Literature - Classics / Criticism,Literature: Folklore/Mythology,Norse And Icelandic Poetry,Classic fiction,Fiction / Folklore,Icelandic,Myth & legend told as fiction,Other prose: classical, early & medieval
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