Scandinavia

Commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Leif Eriksson's pioneering voyage to the New World, Viking will proudly publish a major new translation of the very greatest of the Icelanders' Sagas. A unique body of medieval literature, the Sagas rank with the world's greatest literary treasures--as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set during the Viking Age, these epic stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norsemen and Norsewomen who first settled Iceland and of their descendants, who ventured farther west--to Greenland and, ultimately, the coast of North America.

The Sagas of Icelanders collects a dozen of the most outstanding Sagas, including the celebrated "Vinland Sagas," which contain the oldest descriptions of the North American continent. Much more than rousing adventure narratives, though, the Sagas introduce modern readers to a now-vanished world separated from ours by a thousand years--a richly imagined and psychologically complex world, comparable in realistic effect with the novelistic genius of Austen or Dickens.

The publication of these volumes is a reminder that the Icelandic Sagas can hold their own with the literature of the Mediterranean." ---Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate, 1995

The Icelandic Sagas remain one of the great marvels of world literature, a great human achievement."--Ted Hughes

- A revamped edition of H.A. Grueber's "Myths of the Norsemen"
- Fully illustrated (63 illustrations)

A complete guide to all the major Norse gods and goddesses, such as Thor, Odin, Loki, Hel, Freya and more, including giants, dwarves and elves.

Enjoy classic stories about these divine beings, their interaction with other myths such as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the comparisons between Norse and Greek myths, the Rainbow Bridge that linked Asgard and Midgard, and the Twilight of the Gods.

Get this now on your Kindle or ebook reader device.

For almost 300 years, from the 8th to the 11th centuries, the Vikings played an important and often decisive role in shaping the history of large parts of Europe. Their long ships took them from Scandinavia to conquer England, exploit the Franklin Empire, rule Normandy, trade in Russia, colonize Iceland, discover Greenland and America and much else. At the same time the three Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden started to take form. Towns were founded, far-flung trade routes were organized, art and poetry flourished and Christianity was introduced. This book covers the contributions of the many disciplines involved in modern Viking studies, giving a full survey of the Viking's achievements abroad. It also investigates the background which made it all possible and presents a picture of a strong, self-contained and fast developing society and culture. It discusses the sources of our knowledge, and those of the popular Viking myth.

The following volume of Swedish fairy-tales represents a careful choice, after the best original sources, of those examples of their kind which not only appeared most colorful and entertaining, but also most racially Swedish in their flavor. For the fairy-tales of each of the three Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, have a distinct local color of their own. The wealth of material available has made it possible to give due representation to most types of fairy-tales, from the stories of older origin, the tales of giant, troll, and werewolf, to such delightful tales as "Lasse, My Thrall", and "The Princess and the Glass Mountain," colored with the rich and ornate stylistic garb of medieval chivalric poesy. There has been no attempt to "rewrite" these charming folk-and fairy-tales in the translation. They have been faithfully narrated in the simple, naive manner which their traditional rendering demands. And this is one reason, perhaps, why they should appeal to young American readers—for young America by instinct takes kindly to that which is straightforward and sincere, in the realm of fairy-tale as in life itself.

The Icelandic Sagas are histories written in prose, describing life and events that took place during the Icelandic Commonweath period, around the 10th and 11th centuries. They are stories of families, adventures, feuding, deal-making, political maneuvers, wars, treasure amassed, great journeys, geneology, tribute given, kings, freemen, history, and myth. They are stories of the Norse and Celtic settlers and their descendants in Iceland during what is sometimes called the Saga Age.

It is believed that the Sagas were written down in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and that at least some of them originated in the oral storytelling tradition. Their authors remain unknown, but the Sagas are recognized and respected as some of the best of world literature.

What is amazing about the Icelandic Sagas, is the weath of information included in them and the storytelling with which it is presented. Though written hundreds of years ago, they are still enormously compelling to the modern reader. Their style is crisp and quick, and there is action, emotion, and humor to keep one entertained.

The stories describe actions and conversations among the characters, but at no point are we told directly what a character is thinking. But while reading of their deeds and words, we develop a sense of their psychology and their thoughts.

The Icelandic Sagas are more than just great literature about an entertaining subject matter. For Asatruars and Heathens, there is indispensible knowledge to be gained here. These tales give us a window into the world of our heathen ancestors. What did they value? How did they resolve conflicts and disputes? How did they uphold their responsibilities to their famlies and their friends? How did they approach life itself and their places within the community? How did they view and honor their Gods and Ancestors? What sort of men and women were they? While these great stories were compiled and written down by Christians after the conversion, they preserve in their tales of our pagan ancestors much that we should know.

Some Sagas have been lost to history. We read of their existence or see reference to these lost Sagas in other works, and it is impossible to not feel the tragic loss. But a large body of work has been preserved, and it forms an amazing resource and foundation for our reconstruction of the heathenry of our Ancestors, in our modern times.

Contained in this volume are nearly 800 pages of Icelandic Sagas. Read, learn, and enjoy these tales of our Ancestors.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

In 1943, a group of brave Danish and Norwegian hunters carried out one of the most dramatic operations of World War II. Using dogsleds to patrol a stark 500-mile stretch of the Greenland coast, their wartime mission was to guard against Nazi interlopers - an unlikely scenario given the cruel climate. But one day, a footprint was spotted on desolate Sabine Island, along with other obvious signs of the enemy. Not expecting to find the trouble they did, the three Sledge Patrol members escaped to the nearest hunting hut only to have the Germans pursue on foot. In the dead of the Arctic night, the men escaped capture at the last instant and, without their coats or sled dogs, walked fifty-six miles to get back to base.

While the Sledge Patrol had only hunting rifles, resilience, and their knowledge of outdoor survival, the Germans were armed with machine guns and grenades and greatly outnumbered them. David Howarth skillfully relates the tensely exciting true tale of how the men of the Sledge Patrol fought capture or death in desolation by outwitting and outlasting the enemy. This is a saga of human skill, faith, and endurance - and one of the most remarkable Allied victories ever recorded.