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The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 2,194 ratings · 172 reviews

Many years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien composed his own version, now published for the first time, of the great legend of Northern antiquity, in two closely related poems to which he gave the titles The New Lay of the Völsungs and The New Lay of Gudrún.

In the "Lay of the Völsungs" is told the ancestry of the great hero Sigurd, the slayer of Fáfnir most celebrated of dragons, whose...more

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published May 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers

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Jun 15, 2009 Volsung added it · review of another edition

Shelves: tolkien-and-lewis

What a treat it is to find yet more from the pen of Tolkien. That there has continued to be a frequent publication of new works throughout the decades following his death is a testament to the Professor's vast literary output and imagination; that he wrote lengthy works such as this one, which could simply never have been published if not for the sucess of "The Lord of the Rings," is of course a testament to Tolkien as a poet and a storyteller. Something like this is only written because the aut...more What a treat it is to find yet more from the pen of Tolkien. That there has continued to be a frequent publication of new works throughout the decades following his death is a testament to the Professor's vast literary output and imagination; that he wrote lengthy works such as this one, which could simply never have been published if not for the sucess of "The Lord of the Rings," is of course a testament to Tolkien as a poet and a storyteller. Something like this is only written because the author is moved to write it, with little or no hope of an audience.

Naturally the literary merits (or lack thereof) of this as a single work of poetry is a separate matter. It is surprising to see Tolkien restraining himself in this, a poetic retelling of the Norse cycle of Völsung-legends, and one is inclined towards the unexpected sensation "There's not much here." The point made by Christopher Tolkien in the "Introduction" is invaluable here: Tolkien was quite deliberately aiming to imitate the style of the Old Norse heroic poetry, resulting in something quite different than (perhaps) most readers expect from Tolkien. In one of his lectures, Tolkien spoke of the difference (this is quoted on p. 7) between Old English verse, in which "breadth, fullness, reflection, elegiac effect, were aimed at" (this might as well have been said of most of Tolkien's writings!), and the Old Norse, which "aims at seizing a situation, striking a blow that will be remembered, illuminating a moment with a flash of lightning..." A reader of Tolkien's "Sigurd and Gudrún" may be tempted to feel disappointed by the brevity; but this, too, this literary style of terseness and series of striking images can be powerful, because it should be seen as something deliberate and artful, and appreciated as such. If it is not often slow and elegiac, it is powerful and striking. The poetry is often very moving, and filled with many good, memorable things: for example, Högni pounding on the door of his enemies, or the sympathetic and interesting figure of Gudrún (the elimination of her memory-loss by Tolkien makes for a far more interesting character). I look forward to future re-readings.

Any feeling of disappointment over brevity may be compounded by the deceiving thickness of the poems' pages: the poems are printed half-line by half-line, thus leaving wide margins, instead of the two half-lines of a full verse printed on one line with a tabbed space for the caesura, as is standard for editions of Old English poetry. Perhaps this latter option should have been adopted by Christopher Tolkien, despite his father's wishes -- I also incline to the feeling that it makes the verses easier for beginners to this meter to scan.

The extra material is most welcome. This includes notes by Christopher Tolkien (detailed as ever), covering both his father's manuscripts and scholarly opinions about the Norse poems; a lecture and commentary on the Norse poems by Professor Tolkien; and an unexpected goodie, a poem on Ætla (Attila) in Old English by Professor Tolkien appended to the rear (which has the distinction of providing us with literally the single existing Old English poem about Attila the Hun!).

It is enjoyable for those familiar with the Norse originals to see how Tolkien handles long-standing scholarly debates or discrepancies in the various versions of the story (for example it was interesting that he chose to follow the version of the ring-transmission as given by Snorri, which I always took to be the unnecessarily complicated one as it involves TWO rings instead of one). The sudden appearance of the opening lines of the Old English "Battle at Finnsburh" in Gunnar's mouth, during the last assault, was a treat; so too was a development with the Goths under Atli's rule which is entirely original to Tolkien. For those not already familiar with the stories, the brevity mentioned previously will naturally make for some confusion, though Christopher Tolkien's notes fill in these gaps nicely. It may be wondered how many readers want to take the time to consult "the Notes" at the rear; but it is well worth it to take the time to dive deeper into these stories which so moved and inspired Tolkien and many others, and which still do so now.(less)

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Apr 02, 2013 Alan Smith rated it 2 of 5 stars

It is with a feeling of disquiet that I write anything bad about John Ronald Rouel Tolkien - After all, in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" he has given me - and millions of others - reading pleasure to last a lifetime. These two alone would be enough to mark him as one of the greats, and when you add in "Smith of wootton Major", "Farmer Giles of Ham" (a genuinely funny work), and "Leaf by Niggle" I can't help putting him in that rare pantheon of the real, true greats.

However, "The Legen...more It is with a feeling of disquiet that I write anything bad about John Ronald Rouel Tolkien - After all, in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" he has given me - and millions of others - reading pleasure to last a lifetime. These two alone would be enough to mark him as one of the greats, and when you add in "Smith of wootton Major", "Farmer Giles of Ham" (a genuinely funny work), and "Leaf by Niggle" I can't help putting him in that rare pantheon of the real, true greats.

However, "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" is, one has to say, one of his less approachable works. It should not be forgotten that Tolkien was an Oxford don more than he was a professional writer, and this translation of a long, turgid Norse saga is a scholarly work, that (if it didn't have JRRT's name on the cover) would probably only be read by a few intellectuals.

However, the capitalist society being what it is, it comes as no surprise to me that it's out there on the bookshelves with the best sellers. But frankly, anyone who buys this on the strength of his better known works is due for a massive cold draft of disappointment.

The Norse mythology - unlike most other religions (such as Christianity, which holds that good will eventually triumph over evil) - is a dark one, holding that eventually, at a time called Ragnarok, the evil ice-giants will defeat the gods and the world will die. Their poetry tends to reflect this, and this work is no exception. The first poem ends in the death of the main hero and the suicide of the heroine, (who is already a spirit, specifically a Valkyrie - the metaphysics of this are confusing), while the second poem is a tale of dramatic revenge.

But to be fair, few readers will get this far. I confess, I forced myself to go on reading because it was Tolkien. Had it been a translation by "John Smith" I'd have given up more than half way through.

I repeat, as a Tolkien tragic, I hate writing this review. But honesty is honesty. Given the small amount of creative work Tolkien produced in his lifetime, I can't help feeling that the time he spent on this translation would have been better used on something with more general appeal. Another of his brilliant short stories, for example, or one of those intriguing essays along the lines of "On Fairy Stories" - or even some more about Middle Earth. (less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Steve Cran rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

JRR Tolkien made famous by his Hobbit book the the Lord Of the Rings trilogy, was an author who created his own world complete with a set of gods, languages and people. He has several sources of inspiration and one of those sources is Norse Mythology. JRR now undertakes a retelling of a famous Norse tale.

The retelling of this story was unearthed by Christopher Tolkien who found several of his father's notes. This mark another posthumous publication. JRR culled this retelling from a variety of so...more JRR Tolkien made famous by his Hobbit book the the Lord Of the Rings trilogy, was an author who created his own world complete with a set of gods, languages and people. He has several sources of inspiration and one of those sources is Norse Mythology. JRR now undertakes a retelling of a famous Norse tale.

The retelling of this story was unearthed by Christopher Tolkien who found several of his father's notes. This mark another posthumous publication. JRR culled this retelling from a variety of sources. The most famous of these resources being the Poetic Edda. He also pulled from the Lay of the Volsungs and the Lay of the Niblungs. Before launching into the retelling we are treated to a rather boring an loing forward by Christopher Tolkien which is unsuitable unless one is a super scholar. JRR himself gives an introduction somehow pulled from sketching and notes of speech he devlivered. Two important thing s that I learned is that the Scandinavians and the Germanic tribes once having been the same branched off and became two different people. The Germans built their lavish castles and kingdoms and dominated the European landscape. The Scandinavians were more pastoral an tened to be much poorer and more peaceful until they became Vikings. An analysis of the Pagan practices tells us that belief in the Ancient gods was all but dead or a fossil before they became Christians. They were a godless people who believed in self-reliance and indomitable will.
The story starts off in the area of the Volsungs. 10 brothers venture over to another kingdom based on peaceful premises only to be tricked. The brothers are bound in the forest and everyone but Sigmund gets devoured by a wolf. There is a sister who predicted this all and she gets revenge. She bears a sun named Sinjotifil and together him and Sigmund wreak havoc on the kingdom . When all is settled Sigmund takes a wife from the enemy camp who is somewhat resentful at the forced marriage and the death of her brothers and father. She gets her revenge by poisoning Sigmunds nephew. But no bad deed goes unpunished. As Sigmund gets older he marries a young woman and she conceives. Unfortunnately he dies during a battle thanks to the treachery of Odin. Odin has a nasty habit of killing those that are loyal to him so that he can claim them for Valhalla. These warrior will later fight in the Ragnarok where everyone get's killed.
This young wife is first brought to another kingdom as a vassal and then is made the wife of a king. The son of Sigmund named Sigurd is given to Regin as a fosterling. Regin teaches Sigurd about Runes , magic and fighting. Sigurd during this time receives a horse named Grani and a sword called Grim. Regin makes the sword himself. Finally when Sigurd is older Regin convinced him to go up against a dragon named Fafnir.
Now there is some backstory that needs to be covered here. First off at the beginning Odin went travelling to the realm of the dark elves along with Loki, and a very not oft mentioned God Hoenir. Loki , a trickster, a manages to kill an otter that is killing a salmon. Turns out that this otter is the some of Hreidmar a demon. He catches the three of them and they are bounded. The ransom for this killing an otter skin full of gold. Loki steals this from the dwarf Andvari along with a ring that is cursed. Loki gioves over the gold and all are free. Greed overtakes Fafnir who slays Hreidmar and he takes all the gold and hides it in a cave.
Sigurd kills Fafnir only to realize that later on Regin was a brother to Fafnir. Sigurd does not give him the gold. They do eat Fafnirs heart. Sigurd it should be mentioned is of Odin's seed. He will a play a part in Ragnarok. A word from the birds sends Sigurd to awaken a sleeping beauty, one who is a warrior Valkyrie that is forced by Odin to give up fighting and wed. She will not marry nayone unless they are a king and so Sigurd meets up with the Gjuking and conquers back his kingdom. The Gjuking have a beautiful daughter named Guden. Grimhild is a sorcereress who gives Sigurd a potion that makes him fall for Guden. As fate would have it Brinhilde the sleeping beauty gets married by Gunnar the king. She wanted Sigurd. Though wile and deception she convinced Gunnar to kill Sigurd. Gunnar realizes his mistake at the end and both Sigurd and Brinhilde die together.
Several years later Attila the Hun is laying waste to Europe. Gunnars kingdom is taken over and Guden is forced to marry Attila the Hun. She gets her revenge with sorcery(less)

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Jul 27, 2012 Ricardo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: tolkien

Ao olharmos a vida e obra de John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, notável filólogo inglês, rapidamente percebemos que para ele a sua ciência implicava algo mais do que estudo, implicava produção, implicava adaptação. Essa sua vontade de produzir, de reinventar, tem permitido que muitos anos após a sua morte ainda nos sejam disponibilizados pelos seus herdeiros, escritos completos ou inacabados, com notas e correspondência do autor, que nos ajudam a decifrar melhor o homem, o autor e o estudioso.

Tolkien nu...more Ao olharmos a vida e obra de John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, notável filólogo inglês, rapidamente percebemos que para ele a sua ciência implicava algo mais do que estudo, implicava produção, implicava adaptação. Essa sua vontade de produzir, de reinventar, tem permitido que muitos anos após a sua morte ainda nos sejam disponibilizados pelos seus herdeiros, escritos completos ou inacabados, com notas e correspondência do autor, que nos ajudam a decifrar melhor o homem, o autor e o estudioso.

Tolkien nunca negou o fascínio que os mitos e lendas nórdicas exerciam sobre ele, considerando o sucesso da sua obra O Senhor dos Anéis algo surpreendente, por se tratar de uma adaptação do mito do anel dos Nibelungos. Todo esse fascínio revela-se noutros pontos da sua obra, quer literária, quer académica.

Como estudioso que não sou, arrisco dizer que The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún será uma obra que lhe dá alguma paz de espírito e que simultaneamente constitui um elogio a todos os skaldene que alguma vez abriram a boca. No entanto, como exercício fundamentalmente académico, não será um livro facilmente apreciado por quem não se interessa pelo tema de mitos e lendas nórdicas.

A apreciação da obra sobre ainda outro revés para quem desconhece a poesia nórdica. Pessoalmente estou longe de ser um conhecedor. Conheço alguns versos da Edda, em norueguês moderno, e trechos de sagas em dinamarquês. Não é um conhecimento profundo, mas o suficiente para perceber como embalam as palavras a fala do leitor, perceber qual a melodia que transpira, perceber como soa aquela poesia em redor de uma mesa, com o início de um estupor alcoólico, em noites de neve e gelo. Nesse aspecto a obra de Tolkien está muito bem conseguida. Não constitui uma tradução, antes uma adaptação a inglês. Não soa a um exercício forçado antes uma nova forma de ver, soa a algo que já conhecemos, mas que nos chega sob uma nova luz. Há ali uma sonoridade, um transmitir de sentimentos por parte das personagens que nos transportam para a cena descrita, como em tempos vozes vibrantes transportaram gentes geladas.

Enquanto leigo arrisco dizer que o livro será indispensável para académicos, um bom ponto de partida para curiosos, mas uma obra de sofrimento para quem não tem o mínimo interesse por mitos e lendas nórdicas. Incorre mesmo no risco de transmitir uma ideia errada do que é Tolkien.(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Beaulah Pragg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, one starts to get a feel for where Tolkien was coming from when he wrote the Lord of the Rings. Told in the style of a very old English epic poem, Tolkien has rewritten the ancient Norse Classics from the Elder Edda into two distinct stories, the Lay of the Volsungs and the Lay of Gudrun.

Many of the characters are easily recognizable by those possessing some familiarity with general Norse mythology (or anyone why has played Age of Mythology recently) - Lo...more Reading the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, one starts to get a feel for where Tolkien was coming from when he wrote the Lord of the Rings. Told in the style of a very old English epic poem, Tolkien has rewritten the ancient Norse Classics from the Elder Edda into two distinct stories, the Lay of the Volsungs and the Lay of Gudrun.

Many of the characters are easily recognizable by those possessing some familiarity with general Norse mythology (or anyone why has played Age of Mythology recently) - Loki, Odin, Brynhild (the valkyries) and of course the shining hall of Valholl (better known as Valhalla). Yet while on the surface, both lays (the technical term for this style of poem) deal with epic battles and tragic, honourable ends to noble heroes, I came away with the distinct impression that it was the women (Gudrun and Brynhild especially) who really decide the course of fate - at least once they are jaded.

I was surprised to find the poetic storytelling much more readable than I had initially anticipated. There is a rhythm and flavour to the prose that carries you along, even when you don't fully understand all the references: you still keep reading just to know what happens. That is one thing consistent with Lord of the Rings, Tolkien is truly a master story-teller, bringing together many different threads of these original classics and weaving them into his own cohesive version.

The lays themselves would have been quite confusing without the context of the commentaries, both by Tolkien himself (in the form of preserved notes and lectures) and by his son Christopher. I occasionally found my attention drifting through these notes, which are written in a similar form to the average university text book, but they were ultimately invaluable in understanding the book as a whole.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Tolkien's work, or classical mythology in general. It certainly inspired me to give epic poetry a go (I found it really hard to get the metre right and find words that actually fit). This sort of poetry is a meticulous art form and I admire the skill that has gone into crafting such a masterpiece.(less)

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Apr 10, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tolkien, literature, mythology

This posthumous publication ought to appeal to a wide range of readers, from Tolkien fans to Wagnerites, from poets to psychologists, and from medieval literature specialists to mythologists, but I suspect it will end up satisfying only those whose interests overlap a number of these categories. Many readers may well come with expectations of more Middle Earth or a tale compatible with the Ring cycle; or they may expect more than just a pastiche of medieval poetry, however erudite, or a deeper p...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Ethan Gilsdorf added it

BOOK REVIEW

In ‘Legend’ poems, Tolkien the storyteller

By Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe Correspondent | September 4, 2009

J.R.R. Tolkien is best known as the author of fantasy tales like “The Hobbit’’ and “The Lord of the Rings.’’ But some may not know that he was an academic first and writer second. The reclusive British scholar, lexicographer, and Oxford don was, in a way, the original geek. He specialized in the rather arcane field of philology (the history of languages), and pored over Anglo-Sax...more

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Jul 07, 2009 Carl is currently reading it

I didn't get the expensive version shown here (had no idea they'd made one like that-- kinda funny), but I did get a hardcover version. Only learned about this book recently-- can't remember if it was from a friend's facebook note or from Shippey's excellent review in the Times Literary Supplement, but the latter certainly got me interested. I was a bit frustrated with the last posthumous Tolkien publication, Children of Hurin-- I think I'd already read the story too many times, and then having...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Nicholas Tavizon rated it 4 of 5 stars

While at university, I once read the Der Ring des Nibelungen by Wager which is in essence the first part of this book by J.R.R Tolkien. That book delves more deeply into the story of Sigurd and his Valkyrie bride, whereas this book gives a general scan of events.

In his book The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, Tolkien's writing truly captures ancient Norse syntax. The text is short and visual aid is mostly absent, and although it may be difficult to read for some, I found the ancient text a welcome...more

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Sep 22, 2009 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jrrt, fairy-myth-legend-criticism, lit-english, folklore-legends, folklore-scanda, lit-misc-europe

When I was seven years old, I went with my mother to her eye appointment. While we were waiting for her to be called, she started reading The Fellowship of the Ring to me. We got two chapters in before the appointment. Afterwards, she couldn’t read because of the eye drops, so I got tired of waiting and started to read it myself. This explains my absolute love for Tolkien, among other things. It also explains my love for Norse mythology at a young age, even though I didn’t know the connection at...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Duesterwald-Online rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-horror-science-fiction

Inhalt:
Das Buch behandelt die Legende von Sigurd und Gudrún in einer von Tolkien selbst verfassten Version.
Sigurd, der Held, der den Drachen Fáfnir tötet, der Brynhild erweckt und sich am Hofe der Nibelungen in Gudrún verliebt. Eine Liebe, die Hass und Kampf bringen wird. Und Gudrún als vielschichtige Frau, die erst voller Liebe, zum Schluss voller Hass ist und schließlich das Schicksal der Beteiligten selbst in die Hand nimmt.

Meinung:
Beowulf und das Nibelungenlied sind Heldenepen, die jeder ke...more Inhalt:
Das Buch behandelt die Legende von Sigurd und Gudrún in einer von Tolkien selbst verfassten Version.
Sigurd, der Held, der den Drachen Fáfnir tötet, der Brynhild erweckt und sich am Hofe der Nibelungen in Gudrún verliebt. Eine Liebe, die Hass und Kampf bringen wird. Und Gudrún als vielschichtige Frau, die erst voller Liebe, zum Schluss voller Hass ist und schließlich das Schicksal der Beteiligten selbst in die Hand nimmt.

Meinung:
Beowulf und das Nibelungenlied sind Heldenepen, die jeder kennt. Mit ihnen gehen Persönlichkeiten wie Sigurd und Gudrún Hand in Hand. Wer Heldenepen liebt, liebt somit auch die berühmte Legende über die beiden.
Tolkien als Philologe war fasziniert von dieser altnordischen Saga. Und dank seines Sohnes Christopher Tolkien, dürfen wir diese Faszination durch dieses Buch miterleben.
Das Buch enthält eine Version dieser Saga, die Tolkien selbst übersetzt und interpretiert hat. Zudem findet man auch noch eine Version des neuen Gudrúnlieds in diesem Buch. Ausgeschmückt wird dies mit einer Einleitung zum Thema sowie Kommentaren zu den beiden Liedern.
Was dem Buch von Anfang an einen großen Bonus von mir einbrachte: In der deutschen Ausgabe kann man als Leser selbst entscheiden, ob man die beiden Lieder in englisch, also der Fassung Tolkiens, oder in der deutschen Übersetzung lesen möchte.
Nicht nur Freunde der Sagen- und Epenwelt werden daran gefallen finden. Auch Tolkienfans ist es ratsam, dieses Buch zu lesen. Wer sich mit Tolkiens Welt Mittelerde beschäftigt hat, wird schon des öfteren gemerkt haben, dass dort Elemente aus alten Heldenepen enthalten sind. Und dieses Buch zeigt, was genau ihn zu seinen Büchern über Mittelerde inspiriert hat.
Und als ob das nicht reichen würde, erhält man am Ende des Buches noch einen kleinen Geschichtsunterricht vom Meister selbst über die Zeit, in der dieses Epos gespielt haben soll. Was will man als Tolkienfan mehr?

Fazit:
Ein Muss für jeden Tolkien Fan, ein Traum für jeden Liebhaber alter Epen.(less)

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Nov 18, 2011 C_ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fantasy-, Tolkien- oder/und Skandinavien-Fans

Shelves: deutsch, englisch, fantastisch, poetisch-literarisch

Hach, mal wieder ein Tolkien :) Abgesehen davon, dass ich seine Bücher eigentlich immer mag, war dieses Buch sehr interessant (soweit jedenfalls, wie ich das objektiv betrachten kann) :) Tolkien hat sich während seiner Tätigkeit als Professor mit nordischer Literatur auseinandergesetzt und auch selbst Heldenlieder verfasst. Man könnte also sagen, dass er Teile der Edda interpretiert und in englische Verse gepackt hat (auch wenn sich im Buch gegen die Bezeichnung Edda gewehrt wird, weiß ich nicht...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Yngvild rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: saga

What a disappointment. This is strictly a book about J R R Tolkien’s own verse and very little about Old Norse writings and legends. To be fair, the book promises no more, but the result is unsatisfactory even on its own terms.

Two lays that J R R Tokien wrote in Modern English, one based on Völsung and the other on Guðrún, consume about half the book. There are also three short pieces, two in Old English. All use the alliterative Norse verse format. They are mildly interesting if you want to see...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Though I have great respect for Tolkien's works in general, I have never been a fan of his poetry. I won't say that this made me one, but it was surprisingly good.

Part of that is perhaps due to the unforgiving form Tolkien strove to emulate - a concise alliterative verse that aimed at sudden 'flashes' of vision rather than sustained reflection. There are relatively few aspects of these poems that would remind one of anything found in 'Lord of the Rings'; the neo-Romantic gentility normally asso...more

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May 01, 2012 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars

Any time a new book appears with J.R.R. Tolkien's name on it, it's bound to stir up interest and this should be no exception. Unlike much of his writing, however, this particular book is not directly related to Middle Earth and its hobbits, wizards, and elves. It's born of earlier interests of Tolkien's that predate The Hobbit, namely Old Norse mythology, literature, and language. The fascinating thing that most people don't know, is that language was Tolkien's foremost passion during his life a...more Any time a new book appears with J.R.R. Tolkien's name on it, it's bound to stir up interest and this should be no exception. Unlike much of his writing, however, this particular book is not directly related to Middle Earth and its hobbits, wizards, and elves. It's born of earlier interests of Tolkien's that predate The Hobbit, namely Old Norse mythology, literature, and language. The fascinating thing that most people don't know, is that language was Tolkien's foremost passion during his life and his earliest success. Philology was the source of inspiration for all his writing of Middle Earth. In fact he was a renowned scholar in the field. So it's no surprise he translated and interpreted a number of medieval works such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf.

Two equally important works had been misplaced and forgotten until just recently, and those are published for the first time in this book, the one titled "The New Lay of the Volsungs" and the other "The New Lay of Gudrun". If these names at all sound familiar, they should, as they derive from some of the most well-known Germanic poems of old. The Volsunga Saga and Nibelungenlied have captured the imagination of scholars and readers for centuries, perhaps reaching a cultural pinnacle in the Ring of Nibelung cycle of operas by Richard Wagner. They tell the story of a great warrior, Sigurd (Siegfried), and his triumphs, loves, and losses. However, the stories are very different, with the original tale morphing into distinctly Germanic versions and distinctly Nordic versions.

Sadly the Norse version of the poems as preserved in the Poetic Edda has been irreparably corrupted and partially lost due to the ravages of time. Even in this lesser state, the tales are immediately compelling. We can overlook the plot conflicts, obscurities and confusions, to satisfy our need to know what happens in the end. Until now, we could only imagine how the complete tale might have sounded in the telling, nearly 1000 years ago.

Tolkien has really worked a miracle, by his careful analysis of sources, his knowledge of the languages, his own judgement, and his significant artistic inclinations, he has reconstructed the poems into a coherent whole. And not in modern form, but in the old fornyrdislag meter, with the goal of preserving the feel of Old Norse poetry. This is not a mere translation, but a new work of art based on the available sources, maintaining the same spirit. Tolkien's Lays are more readable and enjoyable overall than the originals, as intended.

Earlier I said The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun is not directly related to Middle Earth, but that's only partially true. There are themes appearing in The Lord of the Rings and especially The Silmarillion which bear uncanny resemblance to these Lays and other Eddic/Norse sagas. This is not accidental. Tolkien was deeply influenced by Old Norse mythology and language and consciously made reference in Middle Earth to these ancient "real world" myths. The result is one feels the same sense of wonder and discovery reading his works on Middle Earth as reading the Poetic Edda, for instance -- as if those tales underwent changes in the telling and became the beloved world of hobbits, dwarves, elves, and orcs that so many of us know.

Christopher Tolkien has done a good job of presenting the lays as drafted, with no intrusive footnotes, but there is extensive commentary in the introduction and following each poem. Some of it is hard to digest and mostly of interest to scholars, the comparisons with extant sources are tedious, but the main reason you read this book is for the poems.

Tolkien was a great mind, a genius, and we are lucky that he shared so much with us, even posthumously, including the poems published in The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. If they had been known in his lifetime, while attracting a certain amount of controversy, they would likewise have garnered praise. Perhaps it's just as well that we only discover them long after his passing, maybe that's how he wanted it...

I highly recommend The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun for fans of: Tolkien, medieval and fantasy literature, Norse and Germanic poetry, and mythology. If you enjoy it, read also the The Poetic Edda and Heimskringla translated by Lee M. Hollander, and if you really can't get enough, try The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, too. For something a bit different, discover John Martin Crawford's excellent translation of the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland (and a significant influence on Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth!)(less)

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May 24, 2012 Sean rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tolkien does a fantastic job synthesizing the Volsung Saga and the fragmentary Eddaic literature of Old Norse into two coherent and satisfying poems: "The New Lay of the Volsungs" and "The New Lay of Gudrun." He deftly preserved the meter/rhythm of Old English/Old Norse verse (and made moderate use of kennings), while still not confusing or combining the emphasis and tone respective to each of those language's distinct poetic traditions. As he says in one of his lectures: "In Old English breadth...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Kenny Cruse rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This re-reimagining and re-translation of the epic tragedy of Sigurd and Gudrun is a fantastic bit of literature, and is most definitely one of the inspirations behind many of the characters, relationships and even magical items found in Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Written in "ye olde epic poem" format, the bulk of the text is a relatively quick read, but the commentary and analysis of the poem by Christopher Tolkien (and, on occasion, his father) really allow us to fully appre...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Alberto R rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: uk, letteratura, britannica, poesia

Libro molto bello che presenta due "lai" (brevi poemi) che riprendono le storie di racconti e saghe nordiche facendone un nuovo unicum tolkeniano, e due altre composizioni poetiche. Lo stile con cui scrive Tolkien riprende la metrica e la "caratterizzazione" tipici della letteratura norrena: inevitabilmente, qualche passaggio si fa oscuro, e sinceramente senza le note del figlio non sarei riuscito a capire bene l'intreccio.
Una parte importante del libro è infatti stata stilata da Christopher Tol...more

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Jan 27, 2010 Doug Schwer rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It centers around two poems written by JRR Tolkien: the Lay of the Völsungs, and the Lay of Gudrún. Both poems are based on old-Norse heroic legends, and follow the meter and style of old-Norse poetry. The poems are not terribly long, and are very readable. There is a substantial amount of commentary after both poems, written some by JRR Tolkien but mostly by Christopher Tolkien, that summarizes the poems more clearly, as well as discussing their relation to the origi...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Kyle rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, international

J.R.R. Tolkien's interpretation of two ancient epic poems, the "Lay of the Volsungs" and the "Lay of Gudrun," from the Poetic Edda of the Icelandic peoples in maybe the 13th century. Tolkien's son Christopher compiled and edited his father's work on them, and presents the finished volume as some kind of crazy combination of mind-crushingly detailed Norse poetics primer and loosey-goosey fantasy passion project. It's hard to know what you're reading.

The preface is pretty cool occasionally, as whe...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry, british-literature, fantasy-scifi, favorites, read-in-2009, my-western-canon, favorite-rereads, mythology-mythopoeia, british-authors-translators, modern-literature, j-r-r-tolkien

As soon as I found this hardbound edition in the bookstore, I snapped it up. This 350-page book contains J.R.R. Tolkien's interpretation of the two ancient epic poems from the Poetic Edda of the Icelandic peoples. Tolkien's son, Christopher has compiled and edited his father's work on the "Lay of the Volsungs" and the "Lay of Gudrun." This is earthy and spare poetry; rich in story and tradition; and provides a tangible connection to our ancestors and their mythology more than a thousand years ag...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Joel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

J. R. R. Tolkien's description of Norse poetry is that it "aims at seizing a situation, striking a blow that will be remembered, illuminating a moment with a flash of lightning..." In this retelling of the tragic Volsung legends Tolkien's terse, alliterative Norse style poetry does just that. He interweaves strands from The Elder (Poetic) Edda, The Younger (Prose) Edda, The Volsung Saga, and The Nibelungenlied while adding a few elements of his own invention. Tolkien's most interesting innovatio...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Gabe Dybing rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With the publication of both this and _The Children of Hurin_ (which I'm currently reading for the second time), I thought, "Really, Christopher (son of J.R.R. Tolkien), haven't we had enough already? Certainly all of _real_ value from your father's estate has been made use of already." But once again Christopher, with his choices, has impressed the bejeezus out of me!

These are two "New Lays" concerning the material that is best presented in the _Saga of the Volsungs_. Tolkien writes two origina...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: tolkien, poetry, classic-literature

3.5 to 4 star book

This was, as a volume, a curious mix of prose and poetry which covers the Norse legends which inspired Tolkien's Middle Earth. In short The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is Tolkien's version of those myths in poetic form.

I didn't personally find the story of this legend particularly gripping or exciting. However it was astounding to read this from the perspective of observing the sources that fueled Tolkien's own creativity. And having a personal fondness for mythology and in pa...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Dan Glover rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, literary-criticism-writing

Tolkien was truly amazing and this effort only confirms that. This book contains his version of the great Norse epics in an English rendering using the old Icelandic meter. This is not only a translation but also an interpretation of the Norse mythos and one that gives the reader the feel and spirit of the tales possibly better than any prose rendering could do.

The book contains a lot of back ground on the Norse mythologies and the various forms we have (prose Edda, Elder Edda, etc.) and also le...more

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Aug 11, 2009 Ren the Unclean rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Tolkien fans, Norse fans.

Shelves: fantasy

This is a fairly interesting collection of poems Tolkien wrote. The purpose of them is to give a rough estimation of what certain poems (that have now been all or mostly lost) would contain based on what we know of the eddic prose and verse that is still available to us.

It reads like many mythological entries of this sort, and it is cool that Tolkien was able to emulate this style so precisely. If nothing else this book is very interesting for the in depth look at the source for these lesser kn...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: based-on-myth-saga-etc, non-fiction, poetry

Tolkien's scholarship is always pretty impressive, even if it's out of date, now. Reading the bits of his lectures pieced together by his son is very interesting, and I rather wish I could attend them. (If I could be a member of Connie Willis' time travelling department of historians, I'd go visit Tolkien if I could.)

It's also amazing how much work he did on keeping the metre and language of Old Norse in a modern English version of the stories. The verse itself is probably the main attraction fo...more

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May 05, 2012 Curtis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry, mythgard, fantasy

A good read, but only because I knew the story already having read The Saga of the Volsungs immediately before it. I fear it may be a bit obtuse for anyone who comes at it freshly.

I especially enjoyed Tolkien's careful attention to the meter and alliteration. Christopher Tolkien provides a brief introduction about the meter (and other considerations); however, a bit longer introduction can be found in Tolkien's essay "On Translating Beowulf" in The Monsters and the Critics and other Essays.

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Feb 13, 2011 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, mythology

J.R.R. Tolkien put together a coherent account of the legends of Sigurd & Gudrun from several surviving (and fragmented and differing) Norse texts, primarily the Poetic Edda and Volsung Saga. It is broken down into an account of Sigurd and then the continuing story of Gudrun. Each account is written in poetic rhythmic structure, then followed by an extensive commentary explaining what the prose was saying and notes and details from Tolkien.

The poetry took some time getting used to being used...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Nelleke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, mythology, northern-europe

Great book, but difficult.

As a professor of Old Norse, J.R.R. Tolkien was an expert in eddic poems. In this book he tells in modern English the two poems about the Volsüngs and the Niflungs. The poems are already told in the Edda and in some other norse literature, but in the past a lot was getting lost. Tolkien combined all the different literature and by filling the gaps he wrote two complete poems.

The first is the legend of Sigurd, slaying a dragon and obtaining a huge amount of gold, what...more

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J.R.R. Tolkien: * Group Read for April-July 2013: The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún	10	59	May 17, 2013 09:53pm
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About J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE, was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the high fantasy classic works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings .

Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and Merton Professor of English language and literature from 1945 to 1959. He was a close friend of C.S. Lewis.

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Books by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)

The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)

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Quotes from The Legend of Sigurd &...

“Faith then they vowed
Fast, unyielding,
There each to each
In oaths binding.
Bliss there was born
When Brynhild woke;
Yet fate is strong
To find its end.” — 4 people liked it

“Gömülü hazine arama ya da korsanlarla savaşma arzusu duymuyordum, bu yüzden Hazine Adası beni pek açmadı. Kızılderililer daha iyiydi: Bu tür hikayelerde oklar ve yaylar (iyi bir okçu olma konusunda tatmin edilememiş bir arzuyu o zaman da duyuyordum, şimdi de duyuyorum), yabancı diller, arkaik bir yaşam tarzına dair tasvirler ve, her şeyden öte, ormanlar vardı. Ama Merlin ile Arthur'un diyarı bunlardan daha iyiydi. En iyisi de Sigurd ile Völsungların isimsiz Kuzey'i ve tüm ejderhaların prensiydi. Bu tür diyarlar hepsinden daha cazipti."/'I had very little desire to look for buried treasure or fight pirates, and Treasure Island left me cool. Red Indians were better: there were bows and arrows (I had and have a wholly unsatisfied desire to shoot well with a bow), and strange languages, and glimpses of an archaic mode of life, and above all, forests in such stories. But the land of Merlin and Arthur were better than these, and best of all the nameless North of Sigurd and the Volsungs, and the prince of all dragons. Such lands were pre-eminently desirable. ” — 2 people liked it

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