Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Grettir the Strong, Icelandic Saga
by
Unknown
pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. There was a man named Onund, the son of Ofeig Clumsyfoot, who was the son of Ivar Horsetail. Onund was the brother of Gudbjorg, the mother of Gudbrand Knob, the father of Asta, the mother of King Olaf the Saint. His mother came from the Upplands, while his father's relations were mos...more
ebook, 250 pages
Published
December 3rd 2010
by Pubone.Info
(first published 1390)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
534)
As time passes, I am convinced more and more that certain of the medieval Icelandic sagas were among the greatest works from the mind of man. The best of them all are Njals Saga, Egils Saga and this one, Grettir's Saga, particularly in the translation by Jesse L. Byock of UCLA. (Never have I seen such a good introduction and such detailed notes as those provided by Byock, who has a distinguished record of publishing books about medieval Iceland and its great sagas.)
Re-reading the saga, I was rem...more
Re-reading the saga, I was rem...more
One of the most purely enjoyable of the sagas, this more or less contains all the stock in trades we've come to associate with Viking literature: a gutsy, sword swinging hero of dubious moral character, lots of assorted and colorful secondary characters, blood and violence galore, encounters with supernatural creatures, vengeance, black magic, plenty of gallows humor and a bit of sauciness thrown in to sweeten the pot.
After the tedious preliminaries establishing character and setting, we're soo...more
After the tedious preliminaries establishing character and setting, we're soo...more
Grettir’s Saga is considered the last of the great Icelandic sagas. The underlying message the author seems to be conveying is that a pagan culture is rapidly being replaced by a more orderly Christian one. Maybe, but for saga lovers, not that fast. You will still find in Grettir’s Saga, the remarkable economy of language that is found generally in the sagas, as well as a great deal of extreme violence. Heads are hewed in two, and eye is gouged out, a jaw ripped off, limbs cut off, house burning...more
Jul 17, 2010
Nikki
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
medieval-literature,
myth-legend-saga-etc
The edition I have is pretty unhelpful. I didn't even realise it had endnotes, though I don't know how that happened, and the few footnotes it has are limited, only giving alternate/modern place names. It does have an introduction, which is a little helpful. I'm not sure about the translation: it's clear enough, and easy enough to read, but the idioms don't quite translate and sometimes I wasn't entirely sure what was meant, e.g. "Thorgeir said he did not care what Gaut did with his eyebrows." (...more
Sep 11, 2007
Carl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of sagas, medieval lit, trolls and ghosts (=draugr)
Many don't like this saga, as it is somewhat atypical for a "Classical Family saga"-- much more episodic, full of monsters and other supernatural creatures, and capped by a short Tristan and Isult inspired conclusion-- but it is one of my favorites. It is not as tightly structured as Gisla saga, but the supernatural is, in a sense, more natural here than in, say, Njals saga, where everything feels perfectly "normal" until a ghost suddenly shows up for a chapter or two-- and then disappears for t...more
Could it be more delightful? This is a one-book answer to the question, "Why medieval literature?" We get: a one-legged warrior who uses to disability to vanquish his enemies in a sea-battle; the famous fight against the revenant Glam; Ivar Horse-Cock; making love to troll-daughters in a glacier; snappy poetic comebacks; travel and hijinks from Iceland to Byzantium; and, my favourite bit, the serving woman who marvels at how poorly endowed the big man really is.
A guy with bad luck just fights with everybody cuz they're all assholes. There are witches and monsters and boats. Grettir just kills them all and is lonely all the time. Also a very funny story: lots of gay jokes. One of my favorite sagas and a sad story about having to change with the world and learn how to do C+ and Twitter right or lose your job. Spoiler alert: Grettir is a good swimmer!
An unlikely hero, quite flawed in merit and ethics. Thorhall of Vineland is mentioned here, which adds light to his disapearance in Eirik the Red´s saga, as it was written he departed company with Karlsefni, heading instead to the north, and was lost with his company. Seems possible that they could have returned to Iceland afterall.
Like the other sagas I've read, a tale of blood feuds and slaughter told in the most matter of fact manner. Having just finished reading "The Emigrants" it's amazing how much the people of Scandanavia changed between 1000 and 1800. There's seems to be little connection but language between the vikings and the Swedes.
One of the sagas that I enjoy the best. Grettir? Yeah man, yeah. Who doesn't love/hate/emote strongly toward him. I don't know, but his story is pretty neat.
A great Icelandic saga! Lots of killing and maiming. Plenty of revenge and compensation. Great feats of daring and strength. And a few trolls thrown in for good measure!
The saga of the outlaw Grettir Asmundarson is an unsurpassed portrait of the social isolation of a violent poet. The stark beauty of the Icelandic landscape provides some of the highlights of literature from any epoch. The moonlit march of Grettir below scudding clouds is one example of the saga's eerie atmospheres. Grettir's fated path towards increasing isolation is mediated by medieval poetry slams, violent clashes with opponents, encounters with the supernatural and the courthouse drama of t...more
I like his death :)
It’s been years since I’ve read any of the sagas. This one was new to me but a perfect reminder why I loved them so much. Just the right mix of blood and gore and drama and silly humour. What could be better?
Grettir's Saga is an Icelandic saga about an outlaw, who probably really existed, although his saga contains a great deal of supernatural exploits (fighting the undead, meeting a half-troll, and so on). Grettir is an interesting character because his bad temper gets him into trouble over and over again, and although his intentions are sometimes good he just can't seem to abide by the law. So like many heroes from the sagas, he is really a bit of an anti-hero.
Aug 05, 2010
Ishan Jayawardene
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bad-assery
I'm reading the ebook from Project Gutenberg. A most delightful story. Shows that Norwegians at least have quite boring names these days.
This saga made me laugh way too much. I enjoy the cleverness of it and the Zombies, of course. It was very different from others, somewhat longer, but very interesting. It was difficult to give it five stars since it is so different from what I usually read but it was too good to give it less than four.
Sep 26, 2007
Alison
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of sagas
Like a lot of the Icelandic sagas, Grettir's saga contains a lot of family history that seems unconnected to the story, not to mention incredibly boring. However, it also contains the funny, entertaining, and sometimes crazy moments that I've only seen the like of in other Icelandic sagas.
Nov 15, 2010
Andrew
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
anglo-saxon-norse-etc
Grettir's saga exists in that twilight space between ancient mythology and the modern novel. Who knew that a narrative with such a high body count could provide such subtle characterization?
Jan 24, 2009
David
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mediaeval enthusiasts
Shelves:
mythology,
for-teens-or-adults
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
One of my favorite Norse sagas - this one has a story in it that parallels Beowulf, some great fantasy-type stuff, lots of cool proverbs . . . yeah, I love this saga!
A wonderfully readable and understandable translation. The story is fascinating for its historical and anthropological insights, and is also a good adventure story.
Grettir is one of the more memorable saga heros - more superhuman than Njal or Grettir, but more synpathetic than Egil, Grettir is the Old Norse superman.
This is the William Morris translation, as described in the Collected Letters of CS Lewis, Vol. 1.
love trolls? then you will love this book. if you do not love trolls, avoid at all cost.
Impressive translation!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".
Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.
More about Unknown...
Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.
Share This Book
7 trivia questions
1 quiz
More quizzes & trivia...
1 quiz
3 hours, 23 min ago
3 hours, 13 min ago