Popular in the 19th century for its sweeping, adventurous, romantic plot and tender love story, the Saga of Fridthjof the Bold was largely neglected in the 20th century. Now, a new and fresh translation of both versions of this Old Norse saga restores it to glory. Also included is the swashbuckling Saga of Thorstein Vikingsson, the father of the hero Fridthjof; the Tale of King Vikar, telling of Fridthjof's descendants; and plenty of notes and commentary giving the saga's historical and cultural background. These tales of adventure, war, magic, and love can still thrill the heart today, as they did centuries ago.
Fridthjof's saga, also spelt Friedhof's saga, starts with King Bele of Sogn who had two sons, Helgi and Halfdan, and a daughter named Ingeborg. Across the fjord, lived the king's friend Thorstein Vikingsson whose son Fridthjof (Frio jofr), called "the bold," was the bravest among men. Fridthjof had been raised with Ingeborg by their foster-father Hilding. Both Bele and Thorsteinn died in war whereupon Helgi and Halfdan ruled the kingdom. They were jealous of Fridthjof's excellent qualities and denied Fridthjof Ingeborg's hand. They took her to Balder's sacred enclosure where no one dared touch her. Still, Fridthjof visited Ingeborg and their love for each other continued to grow. This angered Helgi and Halfdan and Fridthjof was banished to Orkney. They also demanded tribute. While he was away they burnt down his homestead and married Ingeborg to the aged king Ring of Ringerike. When Frithjof returned with the tribute, he burnt down Balder's temple and left to live as a viking. After three years he wintered with king Ring. Fridthjof's identity became apparent and the dying king appointed Fridthjof earl and made him the care-taker of Ring's and Ingeborg's child. After Ring's death, Fridthjof and Ingeborg married and he became the king of Ringerike. He declared war on Ingeborg's brothers, killed one and made the second his vassal. Tegne'r's poem, "Fridthjof's Saga," has been printed in Sweden in many editions and in almost every possible style. It has been illustrated and it has been set to music most famously by Heinrich Hofmann but also by Bruch and Johan Wagenaar. Moreover it has been rendered into English by eighteen different translators, and has been translated into nearly all the modern European languages. 33% of the net profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charity."
The Norse men and women who sailed to Iceland brought stories with them-stories of their lives and their ancestors, passed down for centuries, going back in time to great Vikings, legendary heroes, and even the ancient gods and goddesses. A new wave of stories entered with Christianity-stories of exotic lands and beasts, of saints and holy men facing demons and monsters. A third wave of stories came to Iceland via Norway, whose king had commissioned translations of tales of chivalry-of the courtly love of gallant knights and beautiful ladies. And all of these blended together in Iceland, creating swashbuckling sagas unlike any other medieval literature. This book presents eleven sagas and six shorter texts tracing the growth of these sagas of adventure, from Norse legends of King Half and Asmund Champion's Bane, to the life of the Apostle Bartholomew, to tales of Parceval and King Arthur, to the sagas of heroes like Vilmund the Outsider and Yngvar the Far-Traveler and Samson the Fair.
The Norwegian island of Hrafnista was long remembered in medieval Iceland as the ancestral home of a family of powerful chieftains, who were said to have faced and triumphed over dangers ranging from tyrant kings, to storms and famines, to giants, dragons, and sorcery. Descendants of these Men of Hrafnista settled in Iceland and gave rise to prominent families, who passed on tales of their ancestors for generations until they were written down. For the first time, the Old Norse sagas of the Men of Hrafnista-the Saga of Ketil Salmon, the Saga of Grim Shaggy-Cheek, the Saga of Arrow-Odd, and the Saga of An Bow-Bender-have been collected in one volume, in English translation. Enter the world of Viking legend and lore with these tales of high adventure.
The Blood Covenant: A Primitive Rite and its Bearings on Scripture is a work by Henry Clay Trumbull. It examines the ideas and methods recognized by civilizations all over the world, even in more modern times, concerning blood sacrifice and, particularly, covenant.
