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Egil's Saga
Egil's Saga tells the story of the long and brutal life of tenth-century warrior-poet and farmer Egill Skallagrímsson: a morally ambiguous character who was at once the composer of intricately beautiful poetry, and a physical grotesque capable of staggering brutality. The saga recounts Egil's progression from youthful savagery to mature wisdom as he struggles to avenge his father's exile from Norway, defend his honour against the Norwegian King Erik Bloodaxe, and fight for the English King Athelstan in his battles against Scotland. Exploring issues as diverse as the question of loyalty, the power of poetry, and the relationship between two brothers who love the same woman, Egil's Saga is a fascinating depiction of a deeply human character.
243 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1240
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* 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
April 27, 2011
This is probably the ass-kickingest story I have ever read.
"Egil's Saga" kicks Conan's ass from one end of some stupid fictional continent to the other.
Did Conan ever get so miffed after being given sour curds and malt liquor as a guest (instead of meat and fine ale, which were being hidden by the greedy host) that he held his host against a pillar and vomited on his host's face with such force that his host's teeth were all knocked out?
Did Conan ax another boy to death at the age of six on a ball field, leading his mother to remark, "he'll make a fine viking"?
Did Conan ever steal a bunch of food from a longhouse and then realize that the occupants wouldn't know who'd done it, so he rode back to scream his name and set the whole place on fire?
"Egil's Saga" might not have much to tell us about honor and decency, but as a crazy, kick-ass story about early Norwegians settling Iceland and getting buck-wild crazy, it's beyond awesome.
"Egil's Saga" kicks Conan's ass from one end of some stupid fictional continent to the other.
Did Conan ever get so miffed after being given sour curds and malt liquor as a guest (instead of meat and fine ale, which were being hidden by the greedy host) that he held his host against a pillar and vomited on his host's face with such force that his host's teeth were all knocked out?
Did Conan ax another boy to death at the age of six on a ball field, leading his mother to remark, "he'll make a fine viking"?
Did Conan ever steal a bunch of food from a longhouse and then realize that the occupants wouldn't know who'd done it, so he rode back to scream his name and set the whole place on fire?
"Egil's Saga" might not have much to tell us about honor and decency, but as a crazy, kick-ass story about early Norwegians settling Iceland and getting buck-wild crazy, it's beyond awesome.
May 21, 2024
BookTube channel with my awesome brother, Ed - The Brothers Gwynne
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne
Another saga on my module reading list. Papa Gwynne said this is one of his favourites, so of course I could not wait to dive in.
Egil's Saga is just fantastic. It transports us into a Norse family saga, with the main character being the titular character of Egil, who is an incredibly complex anti-hero. I love the pragmatic style to the storytelling and also in the mindsets of our characters, as we see their versions of justice and vengeance, how they deal with love and loss, loyalty and betrayal, tragedy and heroism.
Possibly my favourite text I've read for university so far!
5/5 STARS
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne
Another saga on my module reading list. Papa Gwynne said this is one of his favourites, so of course I could not wait to dive in.
Egil's Saga is just fantastic. It transports us into a Norse family saga, with the main character being the titular character of Egil, who is an incredibly complex anti-hero. I love the pragmatic style to the storytelling and also in the mindsets of our characters, as we see their versions of justice and vengeance, how they deal with love and loss, loyalty and betrayal, tragedy and heroism.
Possibly my favourite text I've read for university so far!
5/5 STARS
January 6, 2017
Acknowledgements
Introduction & Notes
Further Reading
Note on the Translation
--Egil's Saga
Notes
Maps
Egil's Ancestors and Family
Chronology
Social and Political Structure
The Farm
Glossary
Index
Introduction & Notes
Further Reading
Note on the Translation
--Egil's Saga
Notes
Maps
Egil's Ancestors and Family
Chronology
Social and Political Structure
The Farm
Glossary
Index
December 7, 2019
Another hallmark text from Medieval Europe, and another portal to the Norse world. Egils saga Skallagrimssonar is one of those thoroughly enjoyable pieces of classic writing that simultaneously work splendidly as an entryway into Medieval literature for the uninitiated, and has plenty to offer seasoned veterans as well. The skilfully crafted narration is easy to follow, yet so rewarding to analyse a little deeper.
As most sagas, it is remarkably short and concise, yet (at some risk of sounding like 'everything was better back in the day!') fits more brilliant storytelling and character development into its modest size than your average modern-day 700-page brick. The protagonist Egill himself is of course one of the most memorable characters in the saga genre. From his anti-heroism to his social maneuvering, from his jovial yet violent nature to his strained relationships with relatives and kings, his personality and its development remains intriguing throughout the text.
Not to mention that it's pretty much a fantasy novel with roots in history. A little haunting, a little shapeshifting, a little skull-splitting, and a lot of political intrigue, family drama and revenge plots.
In short, it has a little bit of everything. This means that in my eyes it lacks the enchanting effect of masterpieces such as Njáls saga or Laxdæla saga, or indeed the more historically rooted kings' sagas (which I usually work with), but there is little doubt that Egils saga is a wondrous tale.
As most sagas, it is remarkably short and concise, yet (at some risk of sounding like 'everything was better back in the day!') fits more brilliant storytelling and character development into its modest size than your average modern-day 700-page brick. The protagonist Egill himself is of course one of the most memorable characters in the saga genre. From his anti-heroism to his social maneuvering, from his jovial yet violent nature to his strained relationships with relatives and kings, his personality and its development remains intriguing throughout the text.
Not to mention that it's pretty much a fantasy novel with roots in history. A little haunting, a little shapeshifting, a little skull-splitting, and a lot of political intrigue, family drama and revenge plots.
In short, it has a little bit of everything. This means that in my eyes it lacks the enchanting effect of masterpieces such as Njáls saga or Laxdæla saga, or indeed the more historically rooted kings' sagas (which I usually work with), but there is little doubt that Egils saga is a wondrous tale.
August 21, 2017
4 – 4.5 stars
I am still something of a newcomer to the Icelandic Sagas, having only read a handful so far, but I would be surprised if Egil’s Saga was not the best of them. It’s certainly my favourite thus far, eclipsing even the fantastic Njal's Saga.
This saga makes central to its story what was perhaps the primary catalyst in the formation of Icelandic culture: the tensions between Iceland and Norway which led to the creation of the younger nation. These tensions were ultimately embodied in one man: Harald Fairhair, who rose to supreme power over a united Norway in the ninth century. Those who fought against his rise to power, or who found themselves unwilling to bend the knee and live under the authority of a single despot, and who managed to avoid being killed for their troubles, found themselves driven from their homes. Many of these refugees ended up being the founding families of the newly settled Iceland. Amongst these families was the one headed by Skallagrim Kveldulfsson, the father of our titular hero Egil.
As with most sagas this one begins a generation or two prior to the main action and we are introduced to the powerful landowner Kveldulf and his two sons Thorolf and Grim (soon to become ‘Skallagrim’ or ‘Bald Grim’ due to early becoming follicly challenged). Kveldulf and Grim both want nothing to do with the rising power of Harald Fairhair and do their best to retain their independence in Norway while neither taking sides for or against the newly minted king. Thorolf, on the other hand, sees an opportunity for fortune and glory and becomes a stalwart partisan of the new king. Thorolf proves to be an effective vassal, perhaps a bit too effective, as he gains his own following and becomes very rich…rich enough to make a king jealous and be willing to bend an ear to those who would speak ill of Thorolf. In the end ill-will prevails and Thorolf finds himself on the wrong end of a sword from Harald, earning Thorolf his death and Harald the undying enmity of Kveldulf and Skallagrim.
Skipping ahead somewhat Skallagrim becomes one of the founding fathers of Iceland, owning huge tracts of land which he partially parcels out to his bondsmen and family. Skallagrim has two sons, Egil and Thorolf, who both maintain a tenuous hold on some properties in Norway when they are not raiding the north as vikings. Thorolf, apparently not having learned from his namesake uncle, attaches himself to Harald’s son (and the new King of Norway) Eric Bloodaxe. Egil instead allies himself to the English King Athelstane. Many adventures ensue in which we see Egil’s misanthropic character display itself. He is definitely not a typical heroic figure: dour, avaricious, and prone to bouts of temper, he is also a pre-eminent skaldic poet and brave warrior. In the end his brother Thorolf dies in battle and Egil manages to become a favourite of King Athelstane at the same time that he earns the undying enmity of King Eric (and his perhaps even more dangerous queen Gunnhild).
The saga follows the adventures of Egil as he traverses the North: whether fighting for his family rights in Norway and walking a knife’s edge with the various Kings there; harrying the islands and coastal regions and carrying off “great fee” in treasure; fighting in England for the king (or trying to avoid the newly placed under-king Eric Bloodaxe of Northumbria, formerly King of Norway); or seeing to his rights and family holdings in Iceland. As readers we are granted a front row seat to pivotal events in the foundation of Iceland, as well as the development of the Kingdoms of both Norway and England. We also get to witness the life of perhaps one of the most interesting figures in the sagas (a literature chock-full of intriguing personalities, many of whom we come across in cameos in this saga) in the form of Egil Skallagrimsson. As noted above he is hardly a typical hero, though this is of course what makes him so interesting. Egil is definitely a hard man whom you would not want to meet on the wrong side of a battle (or a lawsuit) who is usually looking out for his own best interests, though we do see the glimmers of loyalty and more personable human feeling in his devotion to his lifelong friend Arinbiorn, his heart-felt lament for the sons whom he loses early, and his fierce loyalty towards his family. In the end the picture of Egil’s life is fascinating and we see him grow from a precocious (though somewhat ill-starred) boy, through being a fierce and high-handed man, to his ultimate decline and old age, lamenting the lost years and loved ones of the past.
My translation of Egil’s Saga was the one done in the 1930’s by E. R. Eddison, a man perhaps better known (though even then fairly obscurely) as the author of the fantasy works The Worm Ouroboros and the ‘Zimiamvian’ series. These works are perhaps most famous for their archaic diction, complex philosophical foundations, and ultimately ‘difficult’ nature. I for one am a big fan of them and knew through them that Eddison had a great love for the myths and stories of the North. What I didn’t know until picking up this volume was how extensive his learning was in this area. Far from being simply a dilettante or dabbling aficionado, Eddison appears to have been very learned in the field. His translation was very enjoyable and while it does contain its fair share of archaisms it is nowhere near as ‘flowery’ in its diction as his fantasy works and in his essay on his principles of translation he goes a long way in defending this choice. Eddison also provides copious notes throughout the text (in addition to mini-essays devoted to specific topics of interest to readers of the sagas such as berserkers, shape-changing, and skaldic poetry) that display his deep love for, and learning in, the culture and geography of Iceland as well as its myths, sagas, and poetry. In this latter area Eddison goes so far as to translate the skaldic verse attributed to Egil which copiously peppers the text into English verse (as opposed to giving a more prosaic direct tranlsation), an endeavour fraught with peril. Luckily, given the complex and even opaque nature of skaldic verse, he provides copious notes on the original text and the meanings of the various kennings that make up the poems and while any poetic translation is generally dubious at best, it at least gives an outsider something of a view into the rarefied world of skaldic verse. I’ll be curious on my next reading of the saga to try a more modern translation to see how it differs, but I was certainly happy with my choice in Eddison as my first guide through this saga. Perhaps I should tackle Eddison’s re-imagining of a saga in his novel Styrbiorn The Strong soon. I certainly have confidence that he will have done his material justice based on this text.
I am still something of a newcomer to the Icelandic Sagas, having only read a handful so far, but I would be surprised if Egil’s Saga was not the best of them. It’s certainly my favourite thus far, eclipsing even the fantastic Njal's Saga.
This saga makes central to its story what was perhaps the primary catalyst in the formation of Icelandic culture: the tensions between Iceland and Norway which led to the creation of the younger nation. These tensions were ultimately embodied in one man: Harald Fairhair, who rose to supreme power over a united Norway in the ninth century. Those who fought against his rise to power, or who found themselves unwilling to bend the knee and live under the authority of a single despot, and who managed to avoid being killed for their troubles, found themselves driven from their homes. Many of these refugees ended up being the founding families of the newly settled Iceland. Amongst these families was the one headed by Skallagrim Kveldulfsson, the father of our titular hero Egil.
As with most sagas this one begins a generation or two prior to the main action and we are introduced to the powerful landowner Kveldulf and his two sons Thorolf and Grim (soon to become ‘Skallagrim’ or ‘Bald Grim’ due to early becoming follicly challenged). Kveldulf and Grim both want nothing to do with the rising power of Harald Fairhair and do their best to retain their independence in Norway while neither taking sides for or against the newly minted king. Thorolf, on the other hand, sees an opportunity for fortune and glory and becomes a stalwart partisan of the new king. Thorolf proves to be an effective vassal, perhaps a bit too effective, as he gains his own following and becomes very rich…rich enough to make a king jealous and be willing to bend an ear to those who would speak ill of Thorolf. In the end ill-will prevails and Thorolf finds himself on the wrong end of a sword from Harald, earning Thorolf his death and Harald the undying enmity of Kveldulf and Skallagrim.
Skipping ahead somewhat Skallagrim becomes one of the founding fathers of Iceland, owning huge tracts of land which he partially parcels out to his bondsmen and family. Skallagrim has two sons, Egil and Thorolf, who both maintain a tenuous hold on some properties in Norway when they are not raiding the north as vikings. Thorolf, apparently not having learned from his namesake uncle, attaches himself to Harald’s son (and the new King of Norway) Eric Bloodaxe. Egil instead allies himself to the English King Athelstane. Many adventures ensue in which we see Egil’s misanthropic character display itself. He is definitely not a typical heroic figure: dour, avaricious, and prone to bouts of temper, he is also a pre-eminent skaldic poet and brave warrior. In the end his brother Thorolf dies in battle and Egil manages to become a favourite of King Athelstane at the same time that he earns the undying enmity of King Eric (and his perhaps even more dangerous queen Gunnhild).
The saga follows the adventures of Egil as he traverses the North: whether fighting for his family rights in Norway and walking a knife’s edge with the various Kings there; harrying the islands and coastal regions and carrying off “great fee” in treasure; fighting in England for the king (or trying to avoid the newly placed under-king Eric Bloodaxe of Northumbria, formerly King of Norway); or seeing to his rights and family holdings in Iceland. As readers we are granted a front row seat to pivotal events in the foundation of Iceland, as well as the development of the Kingdoms of both Norway and England. We also get to witness the life of perhaps one of the most interesting figures in the sagas (a literature chock-full of intriguing personalities, many of whom we come across in cameos in this saga) in the form of Egil Skallagrimsson. As noted above he is hardly a typical hero, though this is of course what makes him so interesting. Egil is definitely a hard man whom you would not want to meet on the wrong side of a battle (or a lawsuit) who is usually looking out for his own best interests, though we do see the glimmers of loyalty and more personable human feeling in his devotion to his lifelong friend Arinbiorn, his heart-felt lament for the sons whom he loses early, and his fierce loyalty towards his family. In the end the picture of Egil’s life is fascinating and we see him grow from a precocious (though somewhat ill-starred) boy, through being a fierce and high-handed man, to his ultimate decline and old age, lamenting the lost years and loved ones of the past.
My translation of Egil’s Saga was the one done in the 1930’s by E. R. Eddison, a man perhaps better known (though even then fairly obscurely) as the author of the fantasy works The Worm Ouroboros and the ‘Zimiamvian’ series. These works are perhaps most famous for their archaic diction, complex philosophical foundations, and ultimately ‘difficult’ nature. I for one am a big fan of them and knew through them that Eddison had a great love for the myths and stories of the North. What I didn’t know until picking up this volume was how extensive his learning was in this area. Far from being simply a dilettante or dabbling aficionado, Eddison appears to have been very learned in the field. His translation was very enjoyable and while it does contain its fair share of archaisms it is nowhere near as ‘flowery’ in its diction as his fantasy works and in his essay on his principles of translation he goes a long way in defending this choice. Eddison also provides copious notes throughout the text (in addition to mini-essays devoted to specific topics of interest to readers of the sagas such as berserkers, shape-changing, and skaldic poetry) that display his deep love for, and learning in, the culture and geography of Iceland as well as its myths, sagas, and poetry. In this latter area Eddison goes so far as to translate the skaldic verse attributed to Egil which copiously peppers the text into English verse (as opposed to giving a more prosaic direct tranlsation), an endeavour fraught with peril. Luckily, given the complex and even opaque nature of skaldic verse, he provides copious notes on the original text and the meanings of the various kennings that make up the poems and while any poetic translation is generally dubious at best, it at least gives an outsider something of a view into the rarefied world of skaldic verse. I’ll be curious on my next reading of the saga to try a more modern translation to see how it differs, but I was certainly happy with my choice in Eddison as my first guide through this saga. Perhaps I should tackle Eddison’s re-imagining of a saga in his novel Styrbiorn The Strong soon. I certainly have confidence that he will have done his material justice based on this text.
November 11, 2011
Poets, Viking ones at least, could be genuine bad asses. Egil Skallagrimsson, the subject of this saga, is Exhibit A. At the age of 7 (or 6), while playing a game of Viking ball (whatever that is), Egil gets knocked aside by a 12 year old. Egil then goes home, gets a battle axe, returns to the game, and then buries that axe in the offending 12 year old's head. (Kind of like coming in off the sidelines to make a tackle -- Viking style.) A Viking scrum of sorts erupts, with bodies, blood, etc. But after things settle down, Mom sees that her son has real potential as a Viking!
Actually I jumped ahead a bit. Egil's Saga spans the years 850 - 1000 AD. Egil himself doesn't show up until about a third of the way (or more) into the story. What precedes Egil arrival is a complicated story about Harald the Fair-hair's conquest of Norway, and the resulting fall out that leads to various dissidents establishing themselves in Iceland. At times this can be hard to follow, as endless Thorfinns, Thorwolfs, Thorwhatevers, come and go. That can be a drag on your reading, but only if you let it. I'm sure there are all kinds of depths to be explored in the tangled relationships, but for the non-specialist, there is more than enough action to satisfy blood & guts enthusiasts. Murder, revenge, house burnings, heads chopped, eyes ripped out. It's like Deadwood with broad swords. Jacking things up considerably is the compressed, laconic prose. There is more going on in these brief chapters than sometimes happens in novels. Personally, I find the sagas to be some of the most demanding -- but also rewarding reading out there. And Egil's Saga is considered to be among the very best of the sagas.
Egil himself is a paradox. When you first meet him, you have to wonder if he's insane (see above). From early on (age 3) he's tagged as a poet (a good thing in Viking culture). He's often prone to deep depressions, so deep that it had me wondering if he wasn't bi-polar. As it turns out, he's not insane (though he does have a temper). He's well liked by many. He's also huge, a bear of a man, and ugly as hell. Honor is a big deal for Egil, especially when it comes to property disputes. On that Egil often will place himself in great personal danger in order to argue his case before the King (who has branded him an outlaw). You never feel Egil is greedy in these legal wranglings. He simply feels he's been wronged (which, when it comes to these disputes, is true). Egil can also be extremely cruel, killing a host for not being forthcoming with his ale, and later a child of the King.
And then there's the poetry. I thought most of it pretty good, with feasting ravens and wolves and swords singing (it's easy to see why Ted Hughes liked the sagas so much). One of my favorites was while(!!!) Egil was dispatching a big bully. After he finished the bully off, he sang about how he chopped off his leg. More seriously, as Egil gets older, he loses two sons in a short period of time. I found his poem to mark these losses to be very moving, and timeless in its appeal. I think this poem could have a place in any quality anthology. Overall Egil's Saga is a great read, just don't get bogged down too much with the names. The general "thrust(s)" of the story should be apparent.
Actually I jumped ahead a bit. Egil's Saga spans the years 850 - 1000 AD. Egil himself doesn't show up until about a third of the way (or more) into the story. What precedes Egil arrival is a complicated story about Harald the Fair-hair's conquest of Norway, and the resulting fall out that leads to various dissidents establishing themselves in Iceland. At times this can be hard to follow, as endless Thorfinns, Thorwolfs, Thorwhatevers, come and go. That can be a drag on your reading, but only if you let it. I'm sure there are all kinds of depths to be explored in the tangled relationships, but for the non-specialist, there is more than enough action to satisfy blood & guts enthusiasts. Murder, revenge, house burnings, heads chopped, eyes ripped out. It's like Deadwood with broad swords. Jacking things up considerably is the compressed, laconic prose. There is more going on in these brief chapters than sometimes happens in novels. Personally, I find the sagas to be some of the most demanding -- but also rewarding reading out there. And Egil's Saga is considered to be among the very best of the sagas.
Egil himself is a paradox. When you first meet him, you have to wonder if he's insane (see above). From early on (age 3) he's tagged as a poet (a good thing in Viking culture). He's often prone to deep depressions, so deep that it had me wondering if he wasn't bi-polar. As it turns out, he's not insane (though he does have a temper). He's well liked by many. He's also huge, a bear of a man, and ugly as hell. Honor is a big deal for Egil, especially when it comes to property disputes. On that Egil often will place himself in great personal danger in order to argue his case before the King (who has branded him an outlaw). You never feel Egil is greedy in these legal wranglings. He simply feels he's been wronged (which, when it comes to these disputes, is true). Egil can also be extremely cruel, killing a host for not being forthcoming with his ale, and later a child of the King.
And then there's the poetry. I thought most of it pretty good, with feasting ravens and wolves and swords singing (it's easy to see why Ted Hughes liked the sagas so much). One of my favorites was while(!!!) Egil was dispatching a big bully. After he finished the bully off, he sang about how he chopped off his leg. More seriously, as Egil gets older, he loses two sons in a short period of time. I found his poem to mark these losses to be very moving, and timeless in its appeal. I think this poem could have a place in any quality anthology. Overall Egil's Saga is a great read, just don't get bogged down too much with the names. The general "thrust(s)" of the story should be apparent.
July 12, 2019
Kids, do you want to know how badass the Vikings really were? DO YOU?
Here's the story of a warrior and poet who once had someone BREAK AN AX ON HIS SKULL, and he just shook it off.
Of course, later it was discovered that he had some weird genetic disorder that made his bones keep getting denser. His skull, exhumed, is hard as a rock, far thicker than it should be, and shows the imprint of his brain on the inside, which means that there was not only terrible, painful pressure on his head his entire life, but that he should have died long before he did.
But he's Egil, and he's not about to lie down and die!
Reread 2019: That Egil! What a character! And now that I've seen the Last Kingdom, I understand the bits with Athelstan in England much better!
Here's the story of a warrior and poet who once had someone BREAK AN AX ON HIS SKULL, and he just shook it off.
Of course, later it was discovered that he had some weird genetic disorder that made his bones keep getting denser. His skull, exhumed, is hard as a rock, far thicker than it should be, and shows the imprint of his brain on the inside, which means that there was not only terrible, painful pressure on his head his entire life, but that he should have died long before he did.
But he's Egil, and he's not about to lie down and die!
Reread 2019: That Egil! What a character! And now that I've seen the Last Kingdom, I understand the bits with Athelstan in England much better!
July 24, 2025
We know that honor was a powerful concept in pre-Christian Norse societies (Christianity went on to oppose and weaken this cultural phenomenon). However, there were many different kinds and interpretations of honor. Egil Skallagrimsson’s interpretations were very extreme, overriding virtually any other value. The saga often attests to his physical ugliness, so maybe that played a role in his sensitivity to disrespect and thus a need to prove himself. But he was also, in my opinion, a maniacal, self-centered, anti-social bastard, which is partly what makes this saga so highly entertaining. He is somewhat redeemed through his incredible poetry, which he composed from the age of 3 into his late years.
March 18, 2013
Of all the Sagas of Icelanders, Egil's Saga, reputedly by Snorri Sturluson, differs from the others I have read in two respects. First of all, it shows one reason why Iceland was settled: Many Norse were fed up with the high-handed rule of King Harold Fine-Hair. Egil Skallagrimsson, his father Skallagrim Kvedulfsen, and his father Kvedulf all ran afoul of the king who, with his reliance on lies told by informants, outlawed them.
Secondly, the hero of the saga, Egil Skallagrimsson, spends most of his time in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, Friesland, and Ireland. Only a small fraction of the tale takes place around Egil's farm at Borg i Myrum in Borgarfjord, and that mostly at the end, when the tale moves from Egil to his son Thorstein, who has a feud with Steinar, who decides to allow his livestock to feed on the former's land.
Like many of the figures in the Sagas of Icelanders, Egil Skallagrimsson was a historical person, a poet and a warrior who frequently butted heads with the kings of Norway, and who escaped numerous attempts to kill him. At one point, he fights a Swedish berserker named Ljot and kills him. Then, being the poet he is, he memorializes his own deed:
Perhaps the most touching chapter is the one about Egil's old age, stumbling about the farm, blind, and being razzed by the old women of his family. It's odd to see a warrior die of old age in any Icelandic saga.
This is one of the five essential sagas that are critical for an understanding of the genre. The others are, in descending order of excellence, Njals Saga (perhaps the best of them all), Grettir's Saga, Laxdaela Saga, and Eyrbyggja Saga. All are available in Penguin editions and deserve a read.
Secondly, the hero of the saga, Egil Skallagrimsson, spends most of his time in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, Friesland, and Ireland. Only a small fraction of the tale takes place around Egil's farm at Borg i Myrum in Borgarfjord, and that mostly at the end, when the tale moves from Egil to his son Thorstein, who has a feud with Steinar, who decides to allow his livestock to feed on the former's land.
Like many of the figures in the Sagas of Icelanders, Egil Skallagrimsson was a historical person, a poet and a warrior who frequently butted heads with the kings of Norway, and who escaped numerous attempts to kill him. At one point, he fights a Swedish berserker named Ljot and kills him. Then, being the poet he is, he memorializes his own deed:
Let's strike with a sword-flashIn general, Egil's poems in this edition are far more readable than other Viking poems that are full of kennings, those annoying (to me, anyway) circumlocutions for such simple words as "man," "woman," and "ship" that tend to predominate. After one battle in England, when Egil fought alongside King Athelstan, he ends one of his verses with the grim line: "No ravens went hungry."
To shatter the shield;
To batter the blade
Till the enemy bleeds;
Play with the pale man [Ljot],
Then pitch him to earth;
Stop his mouth with steel,
And serve him up as carrion.
Perhaps the most touching chapter is the one about Egil's old age, stumbling about the farm, blind, and being razzed by the old women of his family. It's odd to see a warrior die of old age in any Icelandic saga.
This is one of the five essential sagas that are critical for an understanding of the genre. The others are, in descending order of excellence, Njals Saga (perhaps the best of them all), Grettir's Saga, Laxdaela Saga, and Eyrbyggja Saga. All are available in Penguin editions and deserve a read.
April 30, 2022
I loved this saga so much. Dozens of iconic moments and details that the Norse tone really suits. Fantastic characters told in that matter-of-fact, blunt style.
March 6, 2010
I love this one. It's the first one I read. I can remember being really excited when the Hvítá (White River) comes in because I'd just got back from Iceland and I'd been in that river.
Egil's is one of the funniest sagas, in my opinion. I love the bit when Egil kills one of his father's servants (when he's about 8) and his father doesn't say anything, 'but relations between the two were a little strained' or something like that. Plenty of viking-style hijinks (vomiting in people's faces, murdering people, writing poetry to save your life). Egil's a really interesting character as well; he's an amazing poet (we're told; the translated examples probably don't do him justice) capable of great loyalty and generosity but he's also incredibly bad tempered and violent. In some ways he's the pre-Christian ideal, just as Njal is the post-conversion ideal.
Egil's is one of the funniest sagas, in my opinion. I love the bit when Egil kills one of his father's servants (when he's about 8) and his father doesn't say anything, 'but relations between the two were a little strained' or something like that. Plenty of viking-style hijinks (vomiting in people's faces, murdering people, writing poetry to save your life). Egil's a really interesting character as well; he's an amazing poet (we're told; the translated examples probably don't do him justice) capable of great loyalty and generosity but he's also incredibly bad tempered and violent. In some ways he's the pre-Christian ideal, just as Njal is the post-conversion ideal.
August 5, 2016
Viking, warrior, farmer, poet.
As a boy, Egil plays a ball game where one of the older boys picks on him. Egil goes home, grabs an axe, comes back and drives it into the boy's head. A battle ensues and seven people die. Egil's father is unimpressed, but his mother thinks it a sure sign that he'll become a great viking.
As an adult, Egil spends his time settling pillaging Europe, settling Iceland, fighting for the english, duelling and finding reasons to cause trouble for the king of Norway.
The viking pillaging is pretty amazing. Maybe the platonic ideal of a viking raid. He also kills a berserker in a duel by dropping his weapons and biting the guy in the throat. And does rune magic. And so many other amazing things. He is a bit of a dickhead though. Wouldn't want to meet him in real life.
Even in his old age, he's a baddass: he wants to go the Althing and throw his silver into the crowd and cause a riot. His children forbid him, so instead he hides it in a fjord. He leaves behind a long line of ugly children. Years later a priest finds his skeleton while building a church and is unable to split his skull, proving how tough he was in life.
The sagas are full of amazing names, and this one might be the best. First there's Skallagrim's party to go meet the king. It is worth quoting in full, as it puts the Fellowship of the Ring to shame:
In the rest of the book there appears: Ulf the Fearless; Hallbjorn Half-troll; Kveldulf (aka NIGHTWOLF); the brothers Hallstein, Holmstein and Herstein; King Harald Tangle-hair (King Harald Fair-hair after unifying Norway); Halfdan the Black; Solvi Chopper; poets Audun the Uninspired, Thorbjorn Raven, Olvir Hump and Bard the White (aka Bard the Strong); King Thorir Long-chin; Sigtrygg Travel-quick and Hallvard Travel-hard (dickhead brothers who work for King Harald); Grim and Bera; Skallagrim; Finn the Squinter, Eyvind the Plagiarist, Sighvat the Red; Baug; Orm the Strong, Son of Storolf; Thorlaug; Jorund the Godi; Guttorm; Ragnar and Raghild and Aslaug; Ketil Keel-farer; Grim the Halogalander; Onund Keen-sighted; Grimar; Tungu-Odd; Thordis Stick; Olaf Feilan; Thord Bellower; King Eirik Bloodaxe; Thorir Hroaldsson the Hersir; Thora of the Embroidered Hand; Gunnhild, daughter of Ozur Snout; Thorgeir Thorn-foot; Atli the Short; Bjorn the Landowner; brothers Thorvald the Overbearing and Thorfinn the Strong; Eyvind Braggart; King Olaf the Red of Scotland; Alf Aksmann; Ragnar Shaggy-breeches; Bersi the godless; Ketil the Slayer; Beard-Thorir; Grim Hairy-cheeks, son of Ketil Haeng; Eirik the All-Wise; Ljot the Pale; Harald Grey-cloak; Olaf wood-carver; Skafti the Lawspeaker; King Myrkjartan of Ireland; Bjarni the Stout; Earl Hakon the Powerful.
Best lines:
As a boy, Egil plays a ball game where one of the older boys picks on him. Egil goes home, grabs an axe, comes back and drives it into the boy's head. A battle ensues and seven people die. Egil's father is unimpressed, but his mother thinks it a sure sign that he'll become a great viking.
As an adult, Egil spends his time settling pillaging Europe, settling Iceland, fighting for the english, duelling and finding reasons to cause trouble for the king of Norway.
The viking pillaging is pretty amazing. Maybe the platonic ideal of a viking raid. He also kills a berserker in a duel by dropping his weapons and biting the guy in the throat. And does rune magic. And so many other amazing things. He is a bit of a dickhead though. Wouldn't want to meet him in real life.
Even in his old age, he's a baddass: he wants to go the Althing and throw his silver into the crowd and cause a riot. His children forbid him, so instead he hides it in a fjord. He leaves behind a long line of ugly children. Years later a priest finds his skeleton while building a church and is unable to split his skull, proving how tough he was in life.
The sagas are full of amazing names, and this one might be the best. First there's Skallagrim's party to go meet the king. It is worth quoting in full, as it puts the Fellowship of the Ring to shame:
Skallagrim prepared for this journey and chose the strongest and boldest of his men and neighbors to go with him. There was a man named Ani, a wealthy farmer; another called Grani, and Grimolf and his brother Grim, who lived on Skallagrim's farm, and the brothers Thorbjorn Hunchback and Thord Hobbler. They were known as Thorarna's sons -- she lived near Skallagrim and was a sorceress. Hobbler was a coal-biter. Other men in the band were Thorir the Giant and his brother Thorgeir Earth-long, a hermit called Odd and a freeman called Gris.
In all there were twelve men in the party, all outstandingly powerful men, and many of them were shapeshifters.
In the rest of the book there appears: Ulf the Fearless; Hallbjorn Half-troll; Kveldulf (aka NIGHTWOLF); the brothers Hallstein, Holmstein and Herstein; King Harald Tangle-hair (King Harald Fair-hair after unifying Norway); Halfdan the Black; Solvi Chopper; poets Audun the Uninspired, Thorbjorn Raven, Olvir Hump and Bard the White (aka Bard the Strong); King Thorir Long-chin; Sigtrygg Travel-quick and Hallvard Travel-hard (dickhead brothers who work for King Harald); Grim and Bera; Skallagrim; Finn the Squinter, Eyvind the Plagiarist, Sighvat the Red; Baug; Orm the Strong, Son of Storolf; Thorlaug; Jorund the Godi; Guttorm; Ragnar and Raghild and Aslaug; Ketil Keel-farer; Grim the Halogalander; Onund Keen-sighted; Grimar; Tungu-Odd; Thordis Stick; Olaf Feilan; Thord Bellower; King Eirik Bloodaxe; Thorir Hroaldsson the Hersir; Thora of the Embroidered Hand; Gunnhild, daughter of Ozur Snout; Thorgeir Thorn-foot; Atli the Short; Bjorn the Landowner; brothers Thorvald the Overbearing and Thorfinn the Strong; Eyvind Braggart; King Olaf the Red of Scotland; Alf Aksmann; Ragnar Shaggy-breeches; Bersi the godless; Ketil the Slayer; Beard-Thorir; Grim Hairy-cheeks, son of Ketil Haeng; Eirik the All-Wise; Ljot the Pale; Harald Grey-cloak; Olaf wood-carver; Skafti the Lawspeaker; King Myrkjartan of Ireland; Bjarni the Stout; Earl Hakon the Powerful.
Best lines:
January 6, 2026
What a memorable character is Egil Skallagrimsson, hero of Icelandic saga, Egil’s Saga of the Viking age. Spanning Norway, Iceland and England and written in approximately 1230, Egil’s Saga is an epic family drama, full of feuds, vengeance, killings, love, hatred, friendship interspersed with beautiful descriptive poetry. It’s an insight into the historical drama of the Arctic Scandinavian North and has been an awesome and invigorating first read of 2026 for me.
In the introduction to the Penguin’s Classics edition of the sage, Egil Skallagrimsson is described as ‘an ugly, recalcitrant child…. a killer and poet… ruthless… ingenious lawyer and raging drunk…. settled farmer and enemy of kings.” And having read the saga, alleged to have been recorded by Snorri Sturluson, I can concur that Egil is all of these characteristics and more. He’s a rogue and not someone I would want to cross or mess with. What other 6 year old drives an axe through the head of an 11 year old in the context of a ball game because you’ve been roughhoused during play? Not the kind of child’s play that I remember! I’ve got new respect for the Vikings of the time. At times, when I was reading I really felt like I was immersed in a Vikings TV episode!
I loved the historical narratives intertwined throughout this saga. Kings of Norway, the Alþingi in Iceland, battles in England and Scotland. It all comes together to paint a picture of the times and I’m now hankering to read more of these, study the maps and read more of the history. Fascinating stuff and very very raw and real. 5 star start to the year.
In the introduction to the Penguin’s Classics edition of the sage, Egil Skallagrimsson is described as ‘an ugly, recalcitrant child…. a killer and poet… ruthless… ingenious lawyer and raging drunk…. settled farmer and enemy of kings.” And having read the saga, alleged to have been recorded by Snorri Sturluson, I can concur that Egil is all of these characteristics and more. He’s a rogue and not someone I would want to cross or mess with. What other 6 year old drives an axe through the head of an 11 year old in the context of a ball game because you’ve been roughhoused during play? Not the kind of child’s play that I remember! I’ve got new respect for the Vikings of the time. At times, when I was reading I really felt like I was immersed in a Vikings TV episode!
I loved the historical narratives intertwined throughout this saga. Kings of Norway, the Alþingi in Iceland, battles in England and Scotland. It all comes together to paint a picture of the times and I’m now hankering to read more of these, study the maps and read more of the history. Fascinating stuff and very very raw and real. 5 star start to the year.
November 9, 2015
This is the oldest and most boring thing I have ever read. Reading Egil’s Saga was like sitting next to a really annoying mithering person on the train – but it’s an 8 hour journey and they are the king of never missing a detail and never getting to the point. Every chapter begins with a completely unnecessary family history. The very first sentence of the book is a great indicator of what you have in store: “There was a man named Ulf, son of Bjalf, and Hallbera, daughter of Ulf the fearless; she was sister of Hallbjorn Half-giant in Hrafnista, and he the father of Kettle Hæing.”
So you try to remember these alien Icelandic names, figuring that these characters are probably going to be important. You store about 100 different names, 40-odd of them being Thor-something: Thorgild, Thorolf, Thorsson, Thort-your-fucking-life-out-mate - and the majority of them never reappear!
The reviews I had seen prior to reading this made me think it was going to be a good story. Egil sounded really bad-ass. He doesn’t arrive 'til page 50 though and by that point I was too mind-numbingly jaded to take even the slightest bit of interest in him. I understand that the story of Egil was first written in the 13th Century, and god knows how many years the tale had been told by word-of-mouth, before this, but surely that gave storytellers the perfect opportunity to jazz it up a bit. Get rid of all the crap names and dally with the truth a little bit.
Nothing actually happens of any note. The back of the book suggested that there would be friction between two brothers who loved the same woman. This wasn’t really the case. Egil married his brother’s bride after his death. That might be some scandalous Jeremy Kyle shit these days, but 800 years ago it was just the done thing, especially in a small Icelandic community.
I got absolutely nothing from reading this. Usually if I find a book dull, I will have at least picked up a few nuggets of knowledge along the way. All this has taught me is to never go near an Icelandic saga again.
So you try to remember these alien Icelandic names, figuring that these characters are probably going to be important. You store about 100 different names, 40-odd of them being Thor-something: Thorgild, Thorolf, Thorsson, Thort-your-fucking-life-out-mate - and the majority of them never reappear!
The reviews I had seen prior to reading this made me think it was going to be a good story. Egil sounded really bad-ass. He doesn’t arrive 'til page 50 though and by that point I was too mind-numbingly jaded to take even the slightest bit of interest in him. I understand that the story of Egil was first written in the 13th Century, and god knows how many years the tale had been told by word-of-mouth, before this, but surely that gave storytellers the perfect opportunity to jazz it up a bit. Get rid of all the crap names and dally with the truth a little bit.
Nothing actually happens of any note. The back of the book suggested that there would be friction between two brothers who loved the same woman. This wasn’t really the case. Egil married his brother’s bride after his death. That might be some scandalous Jeremy Kyle shit these days, but 800 years ago it was just the done thing, especially in a small Icelandic community.
I got absolutely nothing from reading this. Usually if I find a book dull, I will have at least picked up a few nuggets of knowledge along the way. All this has taught me is to never go near an Icelandic saga again.
February 21, 2021
Un racconto che ne contiene quattro: c'è la cornice con Egil e Asmundr (a tutti gli effetti coprotagonista anche se non citato nel titolo) che, dopo aver stretto un legame di sangue decidono di salvare due bellissime principesse rapite dai giganti; c'è la storia di Egil e di come ha perso la sua mano, ci sono le avventure di Asmundr in giro per il mondo e c'è il racconto della gigantessa Arinnefja e delle sue vicissitudini per conquistare tre oggetti preziosi che le avrebbero garantito libertà.
E poi c'è il grande Nord, il freddo, le nebbie improvvise, i troll, i giganti, le navi, le battaglie.
Una narrazione un po' frammentaria, resa forse più complessa da un cospicuo apparato di note che, se da una parte aiutano ad approfondire, dall'altra spezzano il ritmo della lettura, ma molto affascinante.
E poi c'è il grande Nord, il freddo, le nebbie improvvise, i troll, i giganti, le navi, le battaglie.
Una narrazione un po' frammentaria, resa forse più complessa da un cospicuo apparato di note che, se da una parte aiutano ad approfondire, dall'altra spezzano il ritmo della lettura, ma molto affascinante.
November 17, 2021
Rey czemu mi kazałaś to czytać jak tam przez 35 rozdziałów nawet Egila nie było
polecam streszczenie na necie bo tyle samo można wynieść
polecam streszczenie na necie bo tyle samo można wynieść
February 14, 2024
This book has ranked in my Top 10 since I read it as a college sophomore. Truly, I thought it was right up there with Augustine's Confessions, The Consolation of Philosophy, Pride and Prejudice, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and it's a big part of the reason I became a medievalist.
I wondered if it would hold up, now that I've read many more sagas, taken an entire seminar on Norse Literature, and married an expert on Old Norse.
It absolutely holds up!
Egil's Saga has all the virtues of a really lively biography with the added intrigue that it was written 800 years ago. Not only do you get an in-depth look at someone's life (fascinating in any era), but also an incredibly clear window into a society that existed so very long ago. I can't think of any parallel body of literature that presents such a full picture of a time so distant as the sagas do.
The narration is at times as dry and humorous as anything: this is true of sagas in general but particularly true of Egil. It's just fun to read and as a whole beautifully constructed. Egil's Saga is literary enough and fine enough to make me feel like I discovered a Jane Austen writing in thirteenth-century Iceland. And because the real Egil was an acclaimed poet, the book also features much of his poetry. I love when a book weaves poetry and prose together (a big part of the reason I love Boethius, Shakespeare, Job, and Jonah).
Still in my Top 10!
I wondered if it would hold up, now that I've read many more sagas, taken an entire seminar on Norse Literature, and married an expert on Old Norse.
It absolutely holds up!
Egil's Saga has all the virtues of a really lively biography with the added intrigue that it was written 800 years ago. Not only do you get an in-depth look at someone's life (fascinating in any era), but also an incredibly clear window into a society that existed so very long ago. I can't think of any parallel body of literature that presents such a full picture of a time so distant as the sagas do.
The narration is at times as dry and humorous as anything: this is true of sagas in general but particularly true of Egil. It's just fun to read and as a whole beautifully constructed. Egil's Saga is literary enough and fine enough to make me feel like I discovered a Jane Austen writing in thirteenth-century Iceland. And because the real Egil was an acclaimed poet, the book also features much of his poetry. I love when a book weaves poetry and prose together (a big part of the reason I love Boethius, Shakespeare, Job, and Jonah).
Still in my Top 10!
August 24, 2025
The perfect Icelandic saga, complete with several different Thorolfs, three generations of warriors, some pretty foolish kings, lots of murder and blood and beer, and all the stark beauty I've come to expect. SUCH fun!
July 17, 2019
Þetta er önnur íslendingasagan sem ég les eftir að ég byrjaði að lesa meira á síðasta ári, en í fyrra hóf ég leik með Gísla sögu. Þótt þessar bókmenntir eigi náttúrulega margt sameiginlegt þá er augljós munur á þeirri sögu og sögu Egils. Í fyrsta lagi ber að nefna að á meðan Gísla saga fjallar um Gísla Súrsson nær einvörðungu þá er Egils saga í raun saga ættar Mýramanna allt frá Kveld-Úlfi og sonum hans, þótt kveðskapur Egils og hans ævi séu langstærsti hlutinn. Egill kemur ekki inn á sögusviðið fyrr en eftir að fjórðungur bókar er búinn og verður ekki að eiginlegri persónu fyrr en að þriðjungi loknum. Þetta gerir það að verkum að sagan tekur á sig samfélagslegri blæ og gefur lesandanum betri tilfinningu fyrir því hvaðan Egill á að sækja persónuleika sinn og hverju hann skilar áfram til niðja sinna. Í raun fannst mér meginþráðurinn í bókinni snúast um arfgengi og örlög, hvernig við skilum af okkur bæði því besta og versta af okkur sjálfum til barna okkar og hvernig þau eru að sama skapi dæmd til að endurtaka mistök feðranna.
Þar fyrir utan er bókin einnig stórskemmtileg saga af morðum og svívirðu, ástum og áflogum. Hún tekur að dragast örlítið í seinasta þriðjungi en heldur sér samt vel. Kveðskapurinn er síðan sérstök skemmtun ef maður kemst í góðar orðskýringar með.
Frábær bók, mæli með og hlakka til að lesa Njálu á næsta ári.
Þar fyrir utan er bókin einnig stórskemmtileg saga af morðum og svívirðu, ástum og áflogum. Hún tekur að dragast örlítið í seinasta þriðjungi en heldur sér samt vel. Kveðskapurinn er síðan sérstök skemmtun ef maður kemst í góðar orðskýringar með.
Frábær bók, mæli með og hlakka til að lesa Njálu á næsta ári.
August 4, 2019
Ugh...
July 6, 2023
Very bloody and highly entertaining.
May 11, 2025
Prime Egilssaga var i hvert einasta skipti sem Arinbjörn hersir kom við sögu. Væri ekki hissa ef eg myndi skira framtiðar son minn eftir honum🙂↕️😝 #smash🌝😁😍♥️🥰
May 4, 2012
Remarkable Norse saga, based on an actual person and events -- Egil, a sort of human monster/poet . . . or poet/monster, if you will. Warrior, con-man, poet, cynical devil in human form. Weaves history from five generations of Norse and Icelandic families, rivalries, and wars. Great stuff! Good book for the winter.
From The Pulp Rack: http://pulprack.blogspot.com/2012/05/...
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Roughly covering the years 858 to 990, the saga follows Egil's adventures until his old age and death. Living in his son's house, Egil's last act is to hide two chests of treasure before killing the two slaves who helped him. Then, Egil dies. Later, his bones are found after the church holding them is demolished:
"Skapti Thorarinsson the Priest, a man of great intelligence, was there at the time. He picked up Egil's skull and placed it on the fence of the churchyard. The skull was an exceptionally large one and its weight was even more remarkable. It was ridged all over like a scallop shell, and Skapti wanted to find out just how thick it was, so he picked up a heavy axe, swung it in one hand and struck as hard as he was able with the reverse side of the axe, trying to break the skull. But the skull neither broke nor dented on impact, it simply turned white, and from that anybody could guess that the skull wouldn't be easily cracked by small fry while it still had skin and flesh on it."
Well, meeting a priest who treats the dead with that sort of respect gives you an idea of the sort of toughness running through the folks who fill these pages.
>>
From The Pulp Rack: http://pulprack.blogspot.com/2012/05/...
<<
Roughly covering the years 858 to 990, the saga follows Egil's adventures until his old age and death. Living in his son's house, Egil's last act is to hide two chests of treasure before killing the two slaves who helped him. Then, Egil dies. Later, his bones are found after the church holding them is demolished:
"Skapti Thorarinsson the Priest, a man of great intelligence, was there at the time. He picked up Egil's skull and placed it on the fence of the churchyard. The skull was an exceptionally large one and its weight was even more remarkable. It was ridged all over like a scallop shell, and Skapti wanted to find out just how thick it was, so he picked up a heavy axe, swung it in one hand and struck as hard as he was able with the reverse side of the axe, trying to break the skull. But the skull neither broke nor dented on impact, it simply turned white, and from that anybody could guess that the skull wouldn't be easily cracked by small fry while it still had skin and flesh on it."
Well, meeting a priest who treats the dead with that sort of respect gives you an idea of the sort of toughness running through the folks who fill these pages.
>>
September 7, 2018
The first third of this saga is a long, dull account of various petty squabbles among families and King Harald. Although it tells of the settling of Iceland, the narrative is bland exposition. Once we get to Egil, I just didn’t care much about him or his adventures. While there are some interesting/funny anecdotes scattered throughout the second half, they are buried in long, rambling accounts of family histories that were of no interest to me. It’s a shame because Egil’s poetry is so compelling. By the time I reached that point, I was just continuing to turn pages to reach the verse sections.
I happened to be reading a collection of skaldic verse at the same time as this saga -- The Skalds: A Selection of Their Poems, edited by Lee Hollander -- which gives a nice summary of Egil’s life, including select passages from this saga, as context for his poetry. I could have just read that 50-page profile instead of this rambling saga.
I happened to be reading a collection of skaldic verse at the same time as this saga -- The Skalds: A Selection of Their Poems, edited by Lee Hollander -- which gives a nice summary of Egil’s life, including select passages from this saga, as context for his poetry. I could have just read that 50-page profile instead of this rambling saga.
Read
December 31, 2011Tolkein stole the part where there's an ambush in the forrest and the two paths, one safe but slow, the other fast but dangerous. It took away some of Tolkein's magic for me. But at the same time, I wanted to yell, Gandalf! Look out! Oh wait, he's not in this one.
I liked the idea of the Norse people without kings being the ones who would stand up to the foreign kings. They were sort of rebels against the king'ed countries around them. But they were also always getting in trouble with the kings and their favors and thier rules. Kept getting banded from a place for annoying the wrong king.
It was also enjoyable when Egil recieted a eulogy when called upon to praise a living king against his will.
I liked the idea of the Norse people without kings being the ones who would stand up to the foreign kings. They were sort of rebels against the king'ed countries around them. But they were also always getting in trouble with the kings and their favors and thier rules. Kept getting banded from a place for annoying the wrong king.
It was also enjoyable when Egil recieted a eulogy when called upon to praise a living king against his will.
August 24, 2013
It took me a whole lot of time and dedication to get into this and the reason was that Egil, as a kid, was a total little shit. I rather wished someone would strangle him and I knew they wouldn't.
Like many real life humans he improved as an adult, and when I got past the early parts of Egil it was great.
By the end I was pretty much in awe of the fact this saga spanned the lifetime of a single hero, the amount of information that came through on the times, kings, battles, trading and raiding voyages.
It is an incredibly information rich book and the information is enhanced by the notes and indexes I especially valued the unravelling of the poems and the kennings in them.
Like many real life humans he improved as an adult, and when I got past the early parts of Egil it was great.
By the end I was pretty much in awe of the fact this saga spanned the lifetime of a single hero, the amount of information that came through on the times, kings, battles, trading and raiding voyages.
It is an incredibly information rich book and the information is enhanced by the notes and indexes I especially valued the unravelling of the poems and the kennings in them.
May 7, 2022
I know I read through this pretty quickly, but it feels like it took forever for me to finish this. I’m honestly impressed by how boring I found it. There is so much going on, but it’s told in such a straightforward, almost clinical way, that I wasn’t invested in any of it, even the parts that were objectively funny or exciting. Some of the poetry was beautiful, but apart from that, I can’t say I really enjoyed reading this. A shame, cause I do really like the course I read this for!
April 30, 2022
Chapters 1-22: https://youtu.be/h4OojBYdl7Q
The first quarter could almost be a self-contained short story or tragedy as we see the rise and fall of Thorolf during King Harald’s violent unification of Norway.
The first quarter could almost be a self-contained short story or tragedy as we see the rise and fall of Thorolf during King Harald’s violent unification of Norway.
January 1, 2026
This was really good! but I'll have to read it again because I read it immediately after the incredible, Njal's Saga, and that saga was one of the best books I’ve ever read.
This saga shows us the predecessors of Egil, and how they came to quarrel with the King of Norway, to the point where they had to leave their home and re-settle in Iceland. So … as an entry point into a big read through the sagas, I could see how it’d be better to read Egil’s first (to understand a little bit of why people had to leave their countries and found a new nation etc.) Njal’s Saga would be great to read after because it picks up at its halfway mark with a major plot point only touched on on Egil’s final page—the arrival of Christianity to Iceland.
But enough about reading order …
About halfway through Egil’s saga, wild child Egil is born and the focus shifts from his forebears, to him. He ages into murder, and poetry, and goes on Viking raids and then gets pulled into mercenary work for foreign kings.
He is a complex character--brutal one moment and a tender artist the next. I can see why he is sometimes cited as a person's 'favorite character.'
It is the unpredictability of Egil that makes him so great to read about. One never knows what he'll do next, and probably Egil didn't know either.
This chaos of character sets him apart from other great heroes of medieval writing that I have encountered ... Egil is not written flat like Beowulf or Sigurd the dragon slayer, valiant in deed and packed to the brim with honor, Egil has a bit of honor sure, but he is more than that—he doesn’t seem to have to do amazing deeds to get himself into the history books, he seems to already know his ART is his life and his life is just the trouble he gets in to fuel the art.
Egil is not a hero and not a villain. He’s just a guy who makes a mess of things and then turns it into a poem that he seems right to have believed will live on forever.
He is not the Lancelot that Thomas Malory composited from many sources--honorable at heart but capable of self-shamed wickedness—Egil is a character that leaps through time untethered and could be plopped in Yojimbo's spot, in a Japanese village, helping two rival samurai clans undo each other for a bag of gold, or just as easy, stuck on a horse and made the star of a spaghetti western remake, or he could have been wearing a trench coat and starring in his own LA noir, or ... brought forward into an even more modern settling ... wrangled in by the laws of the land and realized there's no sense in resisting anymore, he could have barflied himself into a poetic stupor, rejected from WWII for his medical conditions and deformities, just like Henry Chinaski, in one of the top contenders for the great American novel, Factotum.
The most appealing thing about Egil's saga to me is how it deals with deeds that should be considered shameful but instead posits a world where the art we make doesn't have to be there simply to honor history but instead show all the warts of the human-experience. Icelanders seem to have beaten the Spanish to the picaresque by a few hundred years ... and who doesn't love a rogue who can talk himself out foul deeds, again and again and again.
This saga shows us the predecessors of Egil, and how they came to quarrel with the King of Norway, to the point where they had to leave their home and re-settle in Iceland. So … as an entry point into a big read through the sagas, I could see how it’d be better to read Egil’s first (to understand a little bit of why people had to leave their countries and found a new nation etc.) Njal’s Saga would be great to read after because it picks up at its halfway mark with a major plot point only touched on on Egil’s final page—the arrival of Christianity to Iceland.
But enough about reading order …
About halfway through Egil’s saga, wild child Egil is born and the focus shifts from his forebears, to him. He ages into murder, and poetry, and goes on Viking raids and then gets pulled into mercenary work for foreign kings.
He is a complex character--brutal one moment and a tender artist the next. I can see why he is sometimes cited as a person's 'favorite character.'
It is the unpredictability of Egil that makes him so great to read about. One never knows what he'll do next, and probably Egil didn't know either.
This chaos of character sets him apart from other great heroes of medieval writing that I have encountered ... Egil is not written flat like Beowulf or Sigurd the dragon slayer, valiant in deed and packed to the brim with honor, Egil has a bit of honor sure, but he is more than that—he doesn’t seem to have to do amazing deeds to get himself into the history books, he seems to already know his ART is his life and his life is just the trouble he gets in to fuel the art.
Egil is not a hero and not a villain. He’s just a guy who makes a mess of things and then turns it into a poem that he seems right to have believed will live on forever.
He is not the Lancelot that Thomas Malory composited from many sources--honorable at heart but capable of self-shamed wickedness—Egil is a character that leaps through time untethered and could be plopped in Yojimbo's spot, in a Japanese village, helping two rival samurai clans undo each other for a bag of gold, or just as easy, stuck on a horse and made the star of a spaghetti western remake, or he could have been wearing a trench coat and starring in his own LA noir, or ... brought forward into an even more modern settling ... wrangled in by the laws of the land and realized there's no sense in resisting anymore, he could have barflied himself into a poetic stupor, rejected from WWII for his medical conditions and deformities, just like Henry Chinaski, in one of the top contenders for the great American novel, Factotum.
The most appealing thing about Egil's saga to me is how it deals with deeds that should be considered shameful but instead posits a world where the art we make doesn't have to be there simply to honor history but instead show all the warts of the human-experience. Icelanders seem to have beaten the Spanish to the picaresque by a few hundred years ... and who doesn't love a rogue who can talk himself out foul deeds, again and again and again.
March 30, 2024
RIP Egil. Alle fra din familie hed Thor-et eller andet og du stak en mands øje ud så det hang fra øjentråden fordi han slog din træl ihjel(måske?)
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