Eirik the Red and other Icelandic Sagas

by Unknown, Gwyn Jones (Editor/Translator)

Selected by Gwyn Jones--the eminent Celtic scholar--for their excellence and variety, these nine Icelandic sagas include Hen-Thorir, The Vapnfjord Men, Thorstein Staff-Struck, Hrafnkel the Priest of Frey, Thidrandi whom the Goddesses Slew, Authun and the Bear, Gunnlaug
Wormtongue, King Hrolf and his Champions, and the title piece.

Genres: Classics, History, Mythology, Medieval, Poetry, Nonfiction, Literature

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1220

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The discovery of Vineland

Publication date: March 21, 2018
Publisher: Abela Publishing
Language: English
ASIN: B07CBZS5BH
73 pages

From the title page:
The Saga of Eirik The Red
A Translation Read Before
The Literary And Philosophical Society Of Liverpool,
12th January 1880,
By The Rev. J. Sephton.
Originally published by D. Marples & Co., Limited, Liverpool [1880] resurrected by Abela Publishing, London [2018]

According to the cover this saga is a translation of a work by Dr. Gudbrand Vigfusson. Vigfusson was a noted 19th century Scandanavian scholar but this saga was actually written before 1265 and had bern translated by several people. This translation is not enthralling. In fact despite the subject matter it is dry as dust. Who would have thought that the story of Erik the Red, his son, Lief Eiriksson and the Viking discovery of America could be made so dull. If not of interest to the general public, this is still an important saga to scholars and anyone interested in the Viking voyages to Iceland, Greenland and America.

[Iloveplacebo · Rating 1 out of 5]

No me ha gustado nada.
Me ha aburrido, y se me ha hecho eterno (y no tiene ni 100 páginas).
Además, menciona tantos nombres, nombres que se parecen o incluso varias personas que se llaman igual... En un párrafo igual te menciona a 8 o 9 personajes diferentes... Una locura. Me he hecho un lio tremendo.
Y la historia... Se queda en nada. Muy pobre. Es verdad que está escrito en el siglo XIII (si no me equivoco), pero aún así... No he disfrutado nada.

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book chronicles Eirik the Red's overtaking of many towns and countries as well as Leif Erikson's discovery of North America the moddern day Nova Scocia. I love this book because these are my anceasters.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a man named Timothi, called the Redbeard, son of Eirik, son of Loren and that man did read of Eirik the Red's saga and he did find it good.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is best reviewed as individual stories, which is after all what they are. Some of the characters and places are in common between the individual sagas but from a reader point I feel they are discrete.
Having read a few sagas I can say that the editors and translators are what make or break a collection and this editor does am amazing job. The introduction is almost as interesting as the sagas themselves and one can get so much out of it! Gwyn Jones brings the translation to life eloquently and vividly, the beautiful turns of phrase make these sagas clear and almost contemporary in feeling. While I do not have the bloodthirst code of honour of the Icelanders in the stories, the fact that they have a code and that it is deeply important to them, even when problematic to live by, is clear in every saga.

I won’t review all the stories, but I will say that the one I had most looked forward to, The Vapnfjord Men, was the one I found most problematic. It is quite long with too many people and circumstances and places to easily keep straight in my head. There was a lot or re-reading as I tried to create a linear picture of something that quite clearly should have been a spoken word experience. I hope one day I get to hear it told, rather than reading it. Also, has this ever been a movie or Teeve series? If not why on earth not? It would be spectacularly brilliant in that medium.

I adored the fun storytelling of Authun and the Bear, Eirik The Red (so different from the children’s book I loved as a child, but even better) and Thorstein Staff-Struck.

[Marta unmillondepaginas · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Muy cierto es el dicho de que jamás se sabe nada seguro hasta que llega la respuesta.”

Este pequeño libro de apenas 88 páginas, exquisitamente traducido por Enrique Bernárdez nos trae la historia de un héroe islandés de en torno al año 1000 que pervivió a lo largo del tiempo a través de la tradición oral y diversas copias manuscritas que se conservaban con esmero en los hogares islandeses, la primera de ellas se cree que escrita hacia el año 1200, doscientos años después de los hechos que narra. Con un lenguaje muy sencillo y casi telegráfico en ocasiones, plagado de nombres y descripciones genealógicas, que más que ubicar al lector moderno lo hacen perderse (entiendo que al islandés conocedor de su historia y cultura le pasa lo contrario), nos relata el viaje de Eirík el Rojo, que, desterrado, sale de Islandia en dirección noroeste, donde descubrirá y colonizará Groenlandia. De ahí algunos viajarán a Vinlandia (actual América del Norte), “descubriéndola” cinco siglos antes de que lo haga Colón.

Las ilustraciones que acompañan al libro son maravillosas, de Fernando Vicente. Deslizando hacia la derecha podéis ver un par de ellas. Y ambas guardas muestran una preciosa reproducción del texto en islandés antiguo.

Me ha encantado leerlo y descubrir un punto de vista diferente de los típicos tópicos de los vikingos que llenan el imaginario colectivo. No sabía, por ejemplo, que el parlamento islandés decidió en el año 1000 la oficialidad del cristianismo como religión. Me sorprendió su tolerancia, su compañerismo. Me encantó la descripción (de lo más detallado del relato) de la “völva”, que como dice el traductor (con cierta guasa) es la palabra islandesa para “adivina” y que “no hace ningún daño conocerla”. Podéis verla en una de las ilustraciones.

Y me gustó descubrir la mención al legendario rey Ragnar Lodbrok “calzas peludas”, que todos conocemos por la serie Vikings, y que aparece como antepasado de uno de los protagonistas.

Ha sido sin duda una lectura estupenda, en la que hemos aprendido muchísimo de Islandia, su historia, los vikingos y hasta de “gusanos marinos” jaja…

LC del grupo #elmundoen80libros organizada por @lectoraviajera.

[María · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le pongo un 4 por cuestiones de documentación :)

Sencillamente no se puede medir con la misma vara que un libro de literatura, narrativa tipo novela, etc. Es una saga y como tal es un testimonio, sin entrar en la fiabilidad, o concreción de contenidos.
Es extraño de leer si no tienes contacto alguno con este tipo de contenido, pero es gratificante ver cómo vas entendiendo poco a poco la narración con las notas, comprendes la progresión de un asunto a otro, y bueno, si te gusta la cultura nórdica y en general la historia, probablemente echar un ojo a este libro que se lee en dos días más o menos, te pueda gustar!

Puedo decir que he aprendido algunas cosas, y he podido contrastar otras que me interesaba ver. Además, diría que como introducción a la lectura de las sagas está bien, pues apenas es extensa en comparación a otras, y te permite tomar un contacto suave, con las notas justas y con un gran comentario al final. La traducción es de 2011, y es de muchísima ayuda leer la nota al final, a modo de epílogo, pues te ayuda a comprender no solo el sentido de esta saga, sino el sentido de la propia existencia de las sagas, nos pone en situación y genera una relación bonita con la lectura, a modo de cierre y broche del texto. Ha sido redondo.

Yendo más allá, ese fragmento final del traductor te ayuda incluso a comprender que no toda la historia es igual que en Europa, y ni siquiera en la misma: te ayuda a tener perspectiva y a tratar de salir del eurocentrismo con que solemos mirar alrededor. Obviamente islandia y las personas nórdicas que aquí aparecen están en Europa, pero su modo de vida y sus costumbres distan mucho de la sota caballo y rey que estamos habituados a contemplar, como suele ocurrir siempre que miramos a culturas como la inuit, o los yoruba, por citar algunas. Comprendes entonces el sentido de las eddas, las sagas, y un modo de transmisión que forma parte de una cultura que si bien termina integrada en comunidades que actualmente identificamos como islandesa, germana, noruega, etc etc, en un comienzo fue quizá una de las culturas más distintas de las demás que había en lo que hoy consideramos Europa.

¡Genial!

[Autumn Aria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Íslenska er móðurmál mitt ekki 🥴

[Paloma orejuda (Pevima) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pues... lo esperaba peor, ha sido raro y meh.

**Alerta Spoiler??

Es un libro corto que narra las aventuras (por decir algo) de un grupo de islandeses que descubre Vinlandia o algo así... hay uno que se llama Eirik el rojo, pero sale poco.
Es raro, son como pequeñas historias unidas las unas con las otras sin tener tampoco mucho sentido (hay una en concreto que no tienen ninguno). Los nombres de los personajes (que carecen por completo de desarrollo) son muy parecidos, algunos incluso se llaman igual y eso es un jaleo.

Me resultó curioso que hablara de muertos revividos y de indios cojos con una sola pierna.

En fin 2 estrellas sobre 5 porque tenía "0" expectativas y lo cogí con miedo pensando que iba a ser lo peor de lo peor. Y... pues bueno, se deja leer y en poco menos de una hora.

**Popsugar 2021 categoría 25. Un libro que se publicó de forma anónima.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2017: "Un libro cuyo título sea el nombre de un personaje."

Aventuras, viajes, Islandia, descubrimientos... ¿qué más puedo pedir en un libro?
Es una nueva e interesante forma de comprender cómo era la vida de esos exploradores que no se contentaban con quedarse en dónde nacieron y gracias a ello se fue capaz de descubrir nuevas tierras y de tener un sin fin de personajes a los que se les puede considerar como héroes.

[E.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a bit of time to get into this volume, but once I did it really brought the time and place alive for me. It's interesting to see how the different stories provide responses to the tension between a warrior culture where you gain honour through, well, killing, and the needs of a society for stability and peace. Where some sagas definitely focus on warriors who will avenge their family or friend to the death, others show alternative models.

Then there's the love triangles, tragic love stories, supernatural stories and a saga that comes as close as any written source to documenting the discovery of North America by Icelanders/Greenladners - in all a varied set.

[Peter Goggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

In addition to just mere entertainment from the storytelling involved, these sagas were interesting in that they clue the reader in on what the social norms and expectations of the time were in that society. The constant conflict allows a fairly rough bracketing of what behaviors were considered acceptable/deviant at the time.

Interesting too the exact circumstances that the original authors describe in recounting how eirik the red and lief explored and even settled North America but then abandoned it. Useful to juxtapose those against other European colonial projects - the crusades and eventually in the Americas.

[María Lloret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es cierto que los nombres marean y hacen que te pierdas un poco en la historia, esta ha sido mi percepción a lo largo de toda la historia. Sin embargo, me quedo con una cita de la nota del traductor que aparece al final del libro 《La historia [...] debe leerse por sí misma y no hace ninguna falta intentar que todo encaje en un esquema estable, definitivo, como el que solemos buscar en las novelas de hoy (aunque muchas, frecuentemente las mejores, se apartan de tales esquemas)》.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for Myth & Saga. It's a little difficult to understand the sagas, at first. The names are all unfamiliar and often sound the same (lots of Thorsomethings), and the placenames are all odd, and I don't know the background history and context of them as well as I'd like. This translation seems relatively clear, though, and aside from the confusing names, it's easy to read. The history you get glimpses of, the Viking encounters with Native Americans, is interesting -- I think I knew a bit about it before, but it's interesting to actually read literature about those encounters.

Probably, since I'm studying it, I should reread the relevant sagas soon, to get a better grip on them. When I do, since I'll have more experience with reading sagas by then, and I'll have been to all the lectures, I might add something to this review.

[Aria Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This saga could seem a bit annoying with its huge numbers of characters (many of them sharing the same or a very similar first name, it looks as if almost everyone - boy or girl - is named Thorsomething) and its genealogical explanations, but behing that it is a golden mine of information about the Scandinavian civilisation during the 10-11th centuries.
The saga of Erik the Red and the Groenlendinga saga (included in the "Folio" French edition) tell the story of Erik and his relatives and various of their expeditions, most notably the ones in the newfound land named Vinland, thought to be North America.
Probably a must-read in you're interested in Vikings and medieval Scandinavian culture.

[Ian Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads seems to have suspended my review somewhere between Gudband Viggudson’s late nineteenth century translation of the Saga of Eirik the Red, to which I gave three stars as antiquated, and the mid-twentieth century translation, with other texts, by Gwyn Jones. Jones’ translation reads well, but also doesn’t include a related saga. Both can be found in either of two Penguin Classics translations, both title The Vinland Sagas.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uf, se lee de un tirón! Sabía que era breve, pero no me imaginaba tanto. Lo interesante de esta edición (la del Kindle, por lo menos) es que este relato (parece que) está escrito como si directamente fuera una transcripción del relato oral original. Se enredan un poco los nombres, pero me imaginaba al narrador tratando de que quede clara la línea genealógica de cada personaje 😋 y así todo adquiere un tinte más lineal.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What this book made me think about was the nature of stories and repetition. Like, I've heard some stories a million times and I get enjoyment in part from knowing what happens and in what order (and the twists that adaptations and versions have on a basic theme). And these stories are not familiar to me, so I feel like they all run together in my head. It would take repetition to separate them out and make them distinct.

I also thought about how these could be used as sources of historical information: gender roles and masculinity especially, genealogies and geographical significance, wars and battles, the coming of Christianity. And even so, mostly I would need A LOT more context to be able to understand the historical significance and the subtleties working themselves out in the stories.

So I guess this is my way of saying that I didn't get much out of this, but that's a me problem rather than a saga problem. There's a lot of posturing and violence to prove one's position. There's a lot of cold weather (most of them have "winter came and everyone holed up for a few months" parts). There's the importance of law, but really "law" is whoever you can muster on your side, and the bigger side wins. Same for family ties: important unless some decide to betray the others, but they usually get a comeuppance. Bravery in battle, even if you know you're going to die--better to acquit yourself well. Some magic--zombies at the end! I wasn't expecting that. I don't have anything insightful to add.

Eirik the Red seemed to get around because he murdered people and had to keep on the move, looking for somewhere to hang out and not face retaliation (and probably because he loved adventure, too).

[G. Munckel · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia sigue a Eirík el Rojo y los suyos en sus viajes por Escandinavia, su asentamiento en Groenlandia y sus visitas a Vinlandia. Es una historia antigua, y leerla ahora permite hacerse una idea de la cultura nórdica: cuáles eran sus costumbres y cómo se entretejían sus linajes; a dónde los llevaban sus viajes y cómo veían los territorios que descubrían; muestra sus luchas —tanto internas como contra enemigos— pero también su hospitalidad.

La nota final del traductor de esta edición (Nórdica Libros), Enrique Bernárdez, sirve para entender mejor el contexto en que se leían y contaban esta y otras sagas. Ayuda a explicar la función de las descripciones geográficas y genealógicas (que abundan en el libro), mostrando el valor de las historias como factor de cohesión social, pero también como un recordatorio de su origen y qué tan cerca estaban de sus héroes.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite confusing, as it was written in the 13th century or thereabouts, with more or less 13th century language despite the 19th century translation.
Other than Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, lots and lots, and lots of characters are introduced, each one with a really long genealogical trace of several generations, to be abandoned again after a mere couple of lines in the narrative.
I’m sorry to say I did not really enjoy this short saga.

[Kaj Samuelsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read a lot of Icelandic sagas, mostly in Swedish, but also in English, and I usually have no problem following the story. This one was jumping from one person to another and it became confusing unless you make your own notes to follow the story (I don't remember having that problem with the Swedish translation I read many years ago). Also the syntax sometimes seemed to be a word for word translation and not arranged properly into English. It just seemed a bit odd and made it harder to read.

[Karol-Ann]

2/20 📚 —— 2022

[Young Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a history recorded in chronological order, so it might bore you if you don't like history books.

First I expected to find some good, old story of adventure in this 19th-century record. But the book started for linguistic studies, well for me, a linguist, it was awesome, until the actual saga in forms of "anyone-can-digest" sort of story really began in the fourth chapter.

The book's made some ridiculous typo mistakes with names, and the translator left some notes about them too, but some he missed as well.

If you don't like a lot of parentheses with tons of old words and explanations you won't stand the first 3 chapters. But, it gets fairly fun from the 4th, so I'd still recommend it for the story lovers, and you can start the book from Chapter 4. It will be still a bit boring for you though as it is like a long list of events in chronology tone.

So remember this before purchasing the book; it is entitled a "saga", but it can be a little boring for those expecting some sort of adventurous fiction story since it is, again, a recorded "history" book, and if you are not into first-hand history record or linguistic archive, the book will force you to feel like "what the heck" as you close the last page of it.

Yet, for those who are used to linguistics and history studies? Just open the book and enjoy it ;)

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the sagas in this collection really wouldn't have been out of place in Tolkein's Unfinished Tales. They read very much like rough early drafts of tales from Middle Earth.

The first few sagas drag somewhat. They mostly consist of vast genealogies (though apparently the translator Gwyn Jones removed some of the extraneous family-tree parts) and then a drawn out blood feud wherein two families will take it in turns avenging some crime that has long since been forgotten.

Amongst these is Eirik the Red, a saga famous for recording the settling of Greenland and an Icelandic expedition to North America; it's also a pretty good read.

The best saga is saved till last. King Hrolf and his Champions is by far the longest tale in the collection — albeit still only a hundred pages or so. But this is ample time to actually get involved in the story and allow it to build to a fine climax. The final battle in this saga that closes the book is both suitably epic in scale and surprisingly moving. A fine book overall.

[Cassandra Kay Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not impressed with the translator. Of course since this was the only translation I was able to find, its hard to say if its entirely the translators fault or the fault of the work itself. I just was not very impressed with the language use in this collection, it lacked any poetic quality (even the short snippets of verse seemed to lack a poetic feel). I think that at least a couple of these stories were very memorable, King Hrolf standing out significantly here. The first story was terrible. Such petty squabbles, and simple minded concerns were difficult to relate to. Perhaps these types of feuds were in fact the main concerns of peasants in this sort of environment, who am I to say? If it was I can't say it makes for terribly interesting literature. The latter stories in this collection were more interesting by far.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection tells the tales of the mortal men of Iceland and the surrounding areas showing how the culture and communities of the time valued their ancestry and their honour above all is. The sagas are a engrossing collection of blood-feuds, chivarly, honour and revenge and, once you get past all the similar sounding names and the same characters coming up in a few different places, they are surprisingly readable. These sagas also deal with the discovery of America by the Icelandic people and of the introduction of Christianity and how this changed the culture and religion of the Icelandic communities. Overall an interesting and engrossing collection that is well translated and accessible to any reader whether they have a previous knowledge of the Icelandic culture or not

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully entertaining...and even a bit mysterious because in one of the stories written over 1,000 years ago the writer describes with a high degree of accuracy the northeast coast of North America including what seems to be present-day Massachusetts!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never met an Icelandic saga i didn't like and this is no exception. Entertaining and enlightening to the culture of the time.

[Óli Sóleyjarson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Það kemur kannski helst á óvart hve lítið Eiríkur kemur við sögu hérna.

[Claire Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant insight into human nature I will reread this book.