Eirik the Red: And Other Icelandic Sagas (Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press).)

Rating:
Summary: A Very Nice Compendium of Some of the Lesser Sagas
Review: Gwyn Jones here gives us his very smooth and stylish translations of some of the lesser, and lesser known, sagas in the Icelandic literary opus. From the title piece, "Eirik the Red's Saga", to his rendering of the Hrolf Kraki saga, these are all nicely wrought translations of some of the smaller gems in the old Norse literary tradition. Among my favorites are "The Vapnfjordmen" and the "Tale of Spike Helgi". These brilliantly demonstrate, in spare saga style, the way in which the best of these old Norse works capture and crystallize real people through an archaic and slightly clouded lense. But the images shining through are starkly real and resonate with our modern sensibility in a way which is surprising for such medieval fare. Of course, the title piece and the Hrolf Kraki piece which end the book go to the other extreme: the realm of legend and fantasy. Modern scholars tend to believe that the "Greenlanders' Saga" is an older and more reliable tale concerning the Norse excursions to Vinland than is the "Eirik's Saga" (this book's title piece) though "Eirik's Saga" is richer, by far, in literary motifs and more rife with fantastic elements, while yet being more literary overall than the plainer, sparer "Geenlanders' Saga" (which Jones did not choose to include here). And few will dispute that Hrolf Kraki's tale, this book's end-piece, is mainly one of myth and legend, albeit an exciting and well-told tale in its own right. In sum, Jones selected the most literary of the smaller sagas for this work, sandwiching in between two more legendary pieces, some more solidly realistic tales. But all with sufficient literary merit to warrant inclusion here. A nicely done collection for the saga aficionado!