Egil's Saga in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 07, 2011 Steve rated it really liked it

Shelves: eye-for-an-eye, sagas

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 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. ...more

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Mar 07, 2021 Anie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, own, male-protagonist, male-author, 2021

The translation is very engaging, and honestly, Egil is such a raging dick that it becomes truly hilarious at times. (The scene with Armod o___o). This is probably my favorite saga that I've read so far. ...more

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