Korku saga

by Vilborg Davíðsdóttir

Hér eru sameinaðar í einni bók verðlaunabækurnar Við Urðarbrunn og Nornadómur. Í þessari spennandi skáldsögu frá upphafsárum Íslandsbyggðar er sögð saga ambáttarinnar fjölkunnugu, Korku. Faðirinn er norskur landnemi, móðirin írsk ambátt og því er Korka borin í ánauð. Fyrir áræði sitt fær hún frelsi, en hyldýpið milli þrælborinna og þeirra sem fæddir eru frjálsir markar líf hennar um alla framtíð.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

383 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Vilborg Davidsdottir was born in 1965 in Thingeyri, a village in the remote Westfjord Peninsula of Iceland. Her background is in journalism and ethnology (folkloristics). In her MA thesis in ethnology, she wrote about the storytelling tradition in the Shetland Isles, UK. Vilborg worked in various media from 1985 to 2000. Since then, she has dedicated herself to writing.

Her tenth and latest book, Under Yggdrasil (2020), is a gripping novel inspired by the Icelandic Sagas, set in the early Viking Age, as was her acclaimed trilogy of novels on Aud the Deep-Minded, the first of which was nominated for the Icelandic Prize for Literature. Vilborg’s historical novels have been tremendously popular over the last decades, especially as they throw a new and unexpected light on the lives of women in the Viking Age. For further information on Under Yggdrasil, see http://www.davidsdottir.is/new-under-...

Her first novel, Við Urðarbrunn, (By Urd’s Well) was published in 1993 and a sequel, Nornadómur (Norns’ Judgement) in 1994. These tell the story of a young slave woman in 9th century Iceland, the daughter of a Norwegian chieftain settler and his Irish slave, and her pursuit for freedom. The story is set in Iceland, Scandinavia and the Scottish Isles.
Við Urðarbrunn was awarded by the Icelandic section of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) in 1994, and a year later, the sequel, Nornadómur, received the Reykjavík School Council Award. In 2001 the books were published in a single volume titled Korku saga. Both novels have enjoyed great popularity in all age groups and have been widely read in secondary schools, ever since the first publication.

Vilborg's third book, Eldfórnin (1997) is a historical novel set in the 14th century, and takes place in the nunnery at Kirkjubaer in South Iceland. The events of Vilborg's fourth novel, Galdur (2000) are also based on historical events, this time in the 15th century, in Skagafjord in North Iceland, when Englishmen dominated the trade and were highly influental in Iceland.

Sources describing the lives of the Inuit and the Norse inhabiting Greenland in the middle 15th century provide the background for Vilborg's fifth novel, Hrafninn (2005). The story touches on the mysterious disappearance of the settlements started in Greenland by Icelandic settlers around the year 1000. Hrafninn was nominated for the Icelandic Literature Prize. Film rights have been sold to an Icelandic film maker, Köggull ehf.

Auður (2009), Vilborg’s sixth novel, tells the story of the only Viking woman known to have led her own independent settlement expedition to Iceland. Aud the Deep-Minded was married to the first Viking king of Dublin in Ireland and set sail from the British Isles to Iceland where she settled in the west of the country, setting her slaves free. Auður was also nominated for the Icelandic Literature Prize. A sequel, Vígroði (Crimson Skies) was published in 2012 and the last book of this trilogy, Blóðug jörð, (Ocean Road), in 2017. The novels about Aud the Deep-Minded have been highly praised by readers and critics alike and the rights to produce TV series based on the trilogy have been sold to Deepminded3 AB in Sweden.

In autumn 2017 Vilborg put on a storytelling show about Aud, performed at the Settlement Centre in Borgarnes, Iceland. The event turned out to be quite popular, so much that it was run till spring 2019, with each of the 30 events sold out.

Vilborg’s memoir, Ástin, drekinn og dauðinn (On Love, Dragons and Dying) was published in 2015. Here, she tells the story of her husband’s journey with terminal brain cancer, “the Dragon”, and her first year as a widow following his death in 2013. This unique memoir has been highly acclaimed by readers and critics alike.

Reviews

[Unnur María Sólmundsdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Landnám Íslands, víkingaöldin og staða kvenna, þræla og ambátta á þessum árum er allt eitthvað sem tikkar í áhugasviðið og Korku saga stóð alveg undir væntingum. Mjög vel skrifuð og á margan hátt mjög fróðleg enda sögusvið, umhverfi og nokkrar sögupersónur byggðar á sagnfræðilegum heimildum. Korka elst upp sem laundóttir íslensk höfðingja sem viðurkennir hana ekki og írskrar ambáttar sem rifin var frá heimaslóðum ung kona. Sem unglingur stendur hún óvænt ein uppi og um svipað leyti uppgötvast hæfileiki hennar til að sjá inn í framtíðina, spá í rúnir og blanda seiði. Inn í þetta blandast ásatrúin, svik, örlög og ofbeldi - en líka rómantík. Alveg hægt að mæla með þessari.

[Guðfinna Harpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uppáhald

[Lilja Sigurgeirsdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yndisleg, falleg, erfið, skemmtileg. Mæli 100% með. Sérstaklega skemmtileg fyrir þá sem hafa gaman af þvi að lesa um hvernig hlutirnir voru í eld gamla daga og við landnám.

[Dagbjört Ásgeirsdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply loved it! Even named my horse Korka, as the main character in the book.