Sagas of Warrior-Poets

This collection contains a number of important sagas, with Kormak's Saga being perhaps the most well known. The poetry is well translated, and explained well, and the sagas are quite readable. These sagas, but in particular Kormak's saga, show some indirect influence from the Medieval Romantic traditions and can be important in terms of studying strands of medieval literature as well.Unfortunately, the whole genre seems to follow structurally similar plot lines, and I had trouble getting into the later ones in the book. However, the introduction and appendix provide a great deal of interesting information and are worth studying in their own right.For those looking for specific sagas in this book (see below), or for something different in the saga world, I recommend this collection. However, this is a book to read one part and put back on your shelf for a while. In most cases, reading it straight through may not be the most helpful way to approach this work.The sagas in this collection are:Kormak's SagaThe Saga of Hallfred Troublesome-PoetThe Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tonguethe Saga of Bjorn, Champion of the Hitardal PeopleViglund's Saga

This collection is a nice group of icelandic works based around the interesting figure of the Poet in Norse culture. These are truly fascinating works of early literature. They have very a modern feel and sensibility, very sparse and direct--those interested in fantasy novels might really enjoy these stories, just as much as those interested in medieval cultures and history. The sagas are full of action and drama, great and exciting reads. I have read all the icelandic sagas in english translation, but this little book is one I often go back to or suggest to friends.

It's a collection of five Icelandic Sagas which share thematic similarities: the main character of each is a skald (poet) and each story contains a troubled love affair. They were written in the 1200s about semi-historical people and events of the 900s and 1000s (around the time Christianity was adopted in Iceland and Scandinavia.) One of the sagas (Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue) is also included in the massive "Sagas of Icelanders," which I recommend highly. However, if you're curious about Icelandic Sagas and are leery of investing in such a huge book, this volume of "Warrior-Poets" is a good one to start with. The five sagas are all of manageable length and the plots are neatly focused around the main character of each, which makes for easy reading. The plain-spoken, efficient saga style of narration can be compared to Hemingway or Hammett and feels quite modern.Sagas were unique in the Middle Ages for being prose narratives in a vernacular language about people who were NOT of the nobility (during a time when literature was dominated by Latin, and by epic poetry whose main characters were of noble blood.) Though the stories are told in prose, these being sagas of warrior POETS, they are sprinkled generously throughout with verses of skaldic poetry. The skaldic style was very formal and consisted of lots of "kennings" which are ways of describing something by allusion and metaphor, without naming the thing itself. Some kennings are almost like riddles and have to be carefully deciphered (surely listeners in the cultural context of the Viking age understood them much more readily than we do today.) The translators have opted to render the verses as literally as possible, to preserve their integrity as Poetry. Explanations of the kennings are printed alongside the verses, to aid in comprehension.The five sagas in this book all share similar themes, although they have differences enough to make each one uniquely enjoyable. The characters are generally unruly and violent. Their talent as poets gains them recognition and rewards from kings, but it also gets them into trouble when they can't refrain from composing an insulting verse about their rival. In each saga, the main character in his youth falls in love with a woman, but for one reason or another he can't marry her right away. This unfulfilled love, along with the hero's sharp tongue, drives the conflict and provides motivation for an endless series of escalating feuds. One hero immaturely drags his feet until the girl is married off to someone else, then spends the rest of the story psychotically badgering her and her husband, depriving her of happiness. In another saga, the hero can't escape the bullying of another man who has hated him (for no apparent reason) since childhood and is constantly hatching cowardly plots against him - including the stealing of his betrothed. One hero, who is regarded around the neighborhood as a good-for-nothing, makes a deal with his beloved's father to go abroad and make a name for himself, then return to marry the girl after a set period of time. Of course, he comes home late to find she has been given to another... but he sleeps with her anyway, which sets the husband's vengeance in motion.Even with their melodramatic-sounding plots, these stories don't come across as romances. "Viglund's Saga," the latest one in this collection, has a fairy-tale ambience to it which reflects a Continental influence, but even so it still radiates a stark "manliness" which is a central trait of the Icelandic Sagas. The sagas are the most entertaining of Medeival literature, and readers definitely cannot go wrong with this little collection.