Grettir's Saga

by Byock, Jesse

• ISBN13: 9780192801524
• ISBN10: 019280152X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

'You will be made an outlaw, forced always to live in the wilds and to live alone.'A sweeping epic of the Viking Age, Grettir's Saga follows the life of the outlaw Grettir the Strong as he battles against sorcery, bad luck, and the vengefulness of his enemies. Feared by many, Grettir is a warrior and also a poet and a lover, who is afraid of the dark. Unable to resolve thedispute that has outlawed him, he lives outside the bounds of family life and he roams the countryside, ridding Iceland and Norway of berserker warriors, trolls, and the walking dead. The saga presents a poignant story of medieval Icelandic society, combining details of everyday legal disputes withfolklore and legend. Written in the fourteenth century, but based on earlier oral and written sources, Grettir's Saga, with its scathing humour, explicit verses, and fantastic monsters, is among the most famous and widely read of Iceland's sagas.This new translation features extensive illustrative material to elucidate the story.

Author Biography

Jesse Byock is a specialist in North Atlantic and Viking Studies, and director of the Mosfell Archaeological Project in Iceland. His previous translations from Old Norse include The Prose Edda (Penguin, 2005), Sagas and Myths of the Norsemen (Penguin, 2006), The Saga of the Volsungs (University of California Press 1990), and The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (Penguin, 1998). He has also participated in documentaries on the Vikings for the BBC and the History Channel.