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Summary: Viking Ghost Stories - Eyrbyggja Saga
Review: Eyrbyggja Saga is the most "supernatural" of all of the Norse sagas. Throughout the story, the Ere-Dwellers are confronted by death and disaster, which in turn result in ghosts, eerie occurrences, and hauntings. Eyrbyggja Saga was one of the best sources I located when developing my on-line article about Norse ghosts. There are "shiver up the spine" sections, and also typically droll Norse humor (such as one unique exorcism wherein the people being haunted drive off the ghosts by bringing a formal Norse lawsuit against them). Eyrbyggja Saga is one of the most enjoyable of the sagas to read. Ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night.
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Summary: Icelands Early Settlers
Review: I have read a number of the Norse sagas and found this to be amongst the most interesting, from a story point of view. It is a little difficult to follow the relationship of the characters in the begining, however some of the tools that are provided are very useful in sorting out who's who. For example a List Of Characters and their family relationships is provided at the start of the book and a glossary of personal names at the end.I re-read the introduction after finishing the book and was satisfied that I had the full story (and history). I agree with Sir Walter Scott's assessment that "Of all the various records of Icelandic history and literature, there is none more interesting than Eyrbyggja Saga." Wade Johnson
Rating:
Summary: Icelands Early Settlers
Review: I have read a number of the Norse sagas and found this to be amongst the most interesting, from a story point of view. It is a little difficult to follow the relationship of the characters in the begining, however some of the tools that are provided are very useful in sorting out who's who. For example a List Of Characters and their family relationships is provided at the start of the book and a glossary of personal names at the end. I re-read the introduction after finishing the book and was satisfied that I had the full story (and history). I agree with Sir Walter Scott's assessment that "Of all the various records of Icelandic history and literature, there is none more interesting than Eyrbyggja Saga." Wade Johnson
Rating:
Summary: "Famished Ravens Will Feed on the Flesh of Men"
Review: Imagine a society in which someone gets really cheesed off about his neighbor and decides to bushwhack him, and maybe his whole family and his servants while they're at it. Forget the police, forget the army. There isn't any. If you're unhappy about this, you try to get your favorite chieftain to intervene. Of course you'd better have a whole bunch of armed followers to show that you mean business. You can bet the murderer will too as a matter of course. How you come off in this hypothetical society depends on how much influence you wield on your neighbors. If you're willing to go to bat for them -- and vice versa -- your power will increase. Unless, of course, someone decides to swing an axe at your hatrack in the meantime. This is Medieval Iceland in the 13th century, when this and all the other great sagas were written. The EYRBYGGJA is one of the best of the sagas -- provided that you can handle all the genealogies. (Virtually all the people in the saga were real people; and many of today's Icelanders can trace their families back almost 1,000 years.) If there is any hero in the EYRBYGGJA, it is Snorri the Priest. He manages to maintain his power despite several threats that unfold during the several generations of this story. At times, as in the case of the feud with Arnkel, Snorri seems to be in the wrong. But he is consistently faithful to his friends and therefore has no problem raising the forces to back up his position. His life bridges the conversion to Christianity in the year 1000: Snorri proves his adaptability by going from a priest of Thor to an advocate of the new religion. In all the Icelandic sagas I've read, most of the characters do not seem to be wholeheartedly committed to either the old or the new religion; but all are superstitious about the restless dead, which brings me to one of the most fascinating aspects of this saga: the ghost episodes that seem to proliferate. I particularly like Thorolf Twist-Foot, a disagreeable old man who keeps coming back from the dead and causing trouble -- which Snorri deals with in most inimitable fashion by holding an ancient legal proceeding called a "door court" to expel them. My only criticism: This book needed a good set of maps for following the action. The lone map provided is inadequate.
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Summary: icelandic lore
Review: this is one of the most unusual of the sagas, full of drama and characters, and as immediate and clear as if it were written yesterday. a profound and grateful salaam to herman palsson for translating so many of these wonderful medieval stories!
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