Sagas and Myths of the Northmen

by Anonymous, Jesse L. Byock (Translator)

Journey into a realm of legend, where heroes from an ancient age do battle with savage monsters, and every man must live or die by the sword. When a dragon threatens the people of the north, only one man can destroy the fearsome beast. Elsewhere, a mighty leader gathers a court of champions, including a noble warrior under a terrible curse.

Genres: Classics, Mythology, History, Poetry, Nonfiction, Religion

139 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2006

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

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the idea of these Penguin Epics, cheap ‘n’ dirty excerpts from their longer translations that get you up and running with poems you don’t have time to read in full. The problem with this one though is that it guts the Norse epics of nearly everything that makes them poetry. The alliterative, metrically sophisticated, kenning-heavy locutions of the scalds get prosed into preludes to the stories that flow out of them: Tolkien’s, Wagner’s, Mallory’s, and Marvel’s. The scalds sang for a noble audience, connoisseurs who savored the linguistic flourishes and curlicues that render the sagas tedious, even incomprehensible, to modern ears. Still, without some effort to bring over the rich poetic code that expressed blood as ‘sword sweat’ or warriors as ‘raven food’, the sagas tend to shrink to dull novellas, lacking the narrative verve and rounded characters we’ve learned to expect from our stories.

It’s hard to imagine how any translator could revive the poetic effects of a vanished culture and tradition, and it’s a lot to ask especially of an edition like this. But without the poetry, the sagas are more or less just blocks of information, historically nutritious but otherwise kind of inert. Maybe it’s Tolkien and the Thor comics that are nearer to the spirit of these stories, and volumes like this one help show what a vivid job they did with their source material.

[J. Wootton · Rating 1 out of 5]

All the material presented in this volume is grievously abbridged (and there's no warning of this on the cover).

I wouldn't bother. Go get something more complete.

[Kathleen McKim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much visual appeal to this book. It is for a mature reader, as the translations are directly from discovered fragments of the 'Saga of the Volsungs', 'The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki', and the 'Prose Edda'. Since the stories are translated from fragments, there are gaps in some of the stories that go unexplained. I would not suggest reading these if you are not familiar with the families of Norse gods, Viking culture and values. These, because they are direct translations from primary sources, won't make sense if you don't have a lot of prior subject-area knowledge. If you do, you will find them quite interesting and a step up from stories about Thor and Loki. In the sagas, some of the protagonists who are heroes (not gods or demi-gods) accomplish the same feats from earlier myth. It is interesting from a scholarly point of view to figure out which parts of the sagas came from which myths and to read for any outside influence of Celtic and/or Christian influences. The sagas add a much-needed dimension in understanding the ideal qualities of a "Viking" hero.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book details some of the Norse mythology people may be familiar with thanks to the Marvel movies and television series. Here you will find Odin, Loki, Thor, Heimdall, Frigga and others. But these gods are not funny or fun loving. The majority of them are actually cruel and by default also cunning and calculating-especially Odin and Loki who both always have schemes cooking. The Norse Gods do not treat humans as playthings like the Greek and Roman Gods do, but rather see them more as collateral damage in their schemes/dealings with each other. Mythological gods suck.

[Natasha Curulli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if you are looking for something quick to read. I did enjoy reading some of the Norse myths and legends. Did get a little dense at times.

[Joseph F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this little book there are condensed versions of two great Viking sagas and a small selection of the longer Prose Edda by the great Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Actually, I would rather you skip this book and plunge right into the three works themselves. But I am kindly to this work since it may give those who are intimidated by the world of medieval Norse literature, or Norse mythology in general, a little taste of what to expect. It is rather like a primer.
The first saga is probably the most famous one of all: the Saga of the Volsungs. This is the prose Icelandic version of the Austrian poem The song of the Nibelungs. It was also made famous through Wagner's Ring cycle of operas. William Morris called it the Northern European answer to Greece's Iliad.
It's a pretty badass story concerning deceit, treachery, incest, dragonslaying, revenge and the murdering of children! Medea has nothing on some of the characters in this story.
The next saga also belongs to that family of stories dealing with legends: The saga of Hrolf Kraki. This is not as well known as the above, but in my opinion it should be. Hrolf Kraki is the king of Denmark and much of the action follows his champions; sort of like King Arthur's knights. One of the stories deals with Bjorn (bear), Bera (female bear), and their son Bodhvar Bjarki (little bear).
A very touching and exciting adventure.
The last section consists of some highlights from the Prose Edda, that great storehouse of Norse myths. The highlights taken from that book does not really do it justice, but they are representive nonetheless. They include the creation of the universe, gods and men (with a short profile of the gods), the final disaster that will destroy the universe, and several stories involving the gods, especially Thor. They are splendidly told by the translator Byok, with humor intact.

[anna marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The way in which the story was written was dull and repetitive. The myths themselves had no imagery to them, so it was an informative, if at times both dull and confusing read. The Prose Edda at the end was written incredibly strangely and was the Norse creation story, which should have been interesting. It wasn't, the prose was just boring and not at all vivid. I read this solely to ensure that I understand The Legend of Sugurd and Gudrun more (by J.R.R Tolkien) and to that effect I think it shall help me. Otherwise, don't bother reading this, it's a waste of time and totally uninspiring. Myths are supposed to be wonderful and awe-inducing, yet this was un-provocative of any sort of great feelings.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to think I could learn Old Norse and read these stories in the original, but you can't go wrong with this as a quick filler until then. I usually stay well away from prose translations of poetry, but the price was right and the stories themselves are worth reading.

[Jerrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again a good read... I simply would have preferred reading something closer to the originals. I doubt the myths within were written in prose.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This translation manages to make the myths into the dull, tedious, boring stories with names too similar to keep track of that everyone thinks ancient myths are. Boo!!