Reddit Reddit reviews The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

We found 28 Reddit comments about The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
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28 Reddit comments about The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition):

u/ConanofCimmeria · 14 pointsr/MedievalHistory

My area of particular interest is Old Norse stuff, and as far as I know there's little about band of criminals there, probably because of how their justice system worked. The sagas, though, represent a treasure trove of legal ideas, especially concerning what is to be an outlaw, and have all kinds of exciting juicy fighting bits. I'm going to link to to a few relevant sagas, but the translations are all from the 19th century (and thus in the public domain,) so they frequently are translated differently than they would be now. If you're interested enough, I recommend you buy The Sagas of Icelanders for some really top-notch modern translations.

u/Eusmilus · 11 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Every time questions similar to this pop up, people recommend Neil Gaimen. Well, his book is not bad (I own it), but recommending it to a person asking for a detailed recount of the original myths is downright silly. It's a pretty short collection of myths retold into short-stories by Gaimen. They're well written and absolutely closely based on the original myths, but he still invents new stuff, and again, it's a novel-like retelling, not a detailed account of the actual myths. Here are some further suggestions:

Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson is a great and thorough description of Nose myth and religion by an acclaimed specialist in the field. It's also laymen-friendly.

The Poetic Edda is arguably the single most important source of Norse myths. It's a collection of poems, written down in Christian times but many dating to well into the Pagan era. I've linked the new translation by Jackson Crawford (whose channel is great for learning about Norse myth, btw), but there are others.

Then there's the Prose Edda, which is likewise a very important original source. Whereas the Poetic Edda is a collection of poetry, the Prose Edda sees many of them retold into more consistent prose narrative (hence the title). As a source, however, the Prose Edda is less reliable than the Poetic, since the latter is a collection of actual Pagan myths, while the former is a compilation and retelling by an (early medieval Icelandic) Christian.

The Sagas of Icelanders important sources to Norse myth and particularly religious practice. The Sagas are actual prose stories (and good ones, too), written in the first few centuries after conversion. Figures from Norse mythology, particularly Odin, are often prominent, but the narratives tend not to primarily concern the mythology.

A notable exception is the Saga of the Volsungs, which is one of the most important narratives in Norse myth. Wagner's Ring Cycle and Tolkien's works were both heavily influenced by it. The Volsunga Saga features Norse gods, viking raids, dragon-slaying and much more.

There are more good books, but those ought to be a decent start.

u/Hufflepuffins · 9 pointsr/vikingstv

You'll probably have to buy them - quite a few translations of them are available. I went Penguin, which is a really solid collection.

u/MagnusMagi · 7 pointsr/Norse

This is where I usually send people looking into the Sagas for the first time. It is a compilation of the more popular Sagas, and the translation is in a moder, easy to understand format. The only downside is that the book is like 5 inches thick! So it's not really the best for bed time reading.

The Sagas occasionally reference one another, or overlap in their details, but they are not linear, and can be read in any order.

Good luck!

u/Ysmildr · 5 pointsr/vikingstv

Okay, let me break this down for you in very simple terms:

Every single book I have bought on Viking history goes to extensive lengths IN THE FUCKING INTRODUCTION to detail how Women were treated vastly different to modern day societies (even books written in the 1930s acknowledge this) and that they were warriors. Every. Single. Fucking. Book.

But no, you, who have obviously never read into the subject, know better. You want a list of books? I can provide that.

Book one

Book two

Book three

>Hell's Angels podcast, I don't care

And that's your ignorance showing once again. The podcast is fully sourced and it's done by a guy who majored in History. I'm not sure if he has a Bachelors or a Masters, but he has a degree specifically in History, and he fully sources everything for his podcast. It's not at all some "feminist agenda" podcast, it's actually good history.

LINK

I'm fucking done dude. You are ignorant, and instead of learning about it you arrogantly rant about this stuff.

u/-R-o-y- · 5 pointsr/Norse

This will keep you off the street for a while. 850 Pages. Is that big a chunk enough? :-)

u/katieofavalon · 5 pointsr/Norse

I don't remember if the Poetic Edda is included in this anthology, but I've always gone to Jane Smiley's The Sagas of Icelanders for the other sagas! It's pretty reasonably priced too, for an 800 page book.

u/Freyjugratr · 4 pointsr/Norse

This book is probably a good place to start. While it does not contain all sagas (such a book would be immensely thick), it has some of the best ones, such as Egill’s saga and Eirik the Red’s saga.
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031

u/MMeursault · 4 pointsr/books

For Norse sagas, Penguin classics has some fantastic editions:

u/QueenAtziri · 3 pointsr/MedievalNorseStudies

Here's two off the top of my head that are pretty great:

Viking Age Iceland is a GREAT primer on, well, Viking Age Iceland :)

The Sagas of Icelanders is a nice entry level compilation of sagas and thaettir (excluding the amazing Njal's Saga unfortunately) that got me into the Icelandic sagas.

u/Compton05 · 3 pointsr/history

Egil's Saga was indeed one of the most exciting pieces I've ever read. It's almost like you are reading a movie script. The book can be purchased here.

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/books

Sagas of Icelanders is worth every penny. The compilation would be amazing if it had just the stories, but the appendices really make this collection stand out. There are highly-detailed appendices containing information about Viking culture and customs. There are also several diagrams of longships and architecture. The Kindle version is pretty cheap too at only $3.

u/Wanderken · 3 pointsr/Norse
u/textandtrowel · 3 pointsr/AskHistorians

This is a really great question, and I was hoping it might have attracted the attention of some of our better qualified respondents. Alas, my recent focus has been mostly on 8-9c archaeology, which means I'm not terribly current with the sagas and other Old Norse literature, most of which wasn't written until late in the Viking Age or even shortly thereafter. But I can point you in a few good directions!

First off, I'd recommend the short and sweet blog post by Marianne Moen on Dangerous Women. Since we actually have very few surviving stories from a Norse perspective during the Viking Age, Moen does a good job bringing archaeological evidence to bear for demonstrating how powerful Viking Age women could be—as well as discussing why at least some archaeologists have been reluctant to do so.

Among the sagas, two characters who I can think of offhand are Aud the Deepminded and Melkorka. As I recall, you can read about them both in the Laxdæla Saga. It's available free online although it might be worth paying for a modern and more readable translation. There's an edition out by Penguin, which should be easy to find or order, and I think the same translation got used for the robust collection Sagas of the Icelanders (sorry: Amazon link).

And if you're up for a bit more, check out Nancy Marie Brown's The Far Traveler (also Amazon) about Brown's pursuit of information about the Viking Age woman Gudrid. Gudrid's story is exciting, and Brown's research techniques are interesting, so they make a useful pairing in this book. I think it does a good job bridging the textual and archaeological evidence for what life was like for women in the Viking Age.

u/skadipress · 3 pointsr/Viking

It can't be done, unfortunately. You'll always have to choose a compilation with some sort of selection of what is accessible in translation.

Penguin's Sagas of the Icelanders has a decent enough selection for a rather lower price than you were quoting.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sagas-Icelanders-World/dp/0141000031

u/stellalugosi · 3 pointsr/Norse

The Icelandic Saga Database
The Sagas of the Icelanders

I have a huge copy of the entire collected sagas entitled "The Icelandic Sagas", but I can't find a link to it online. While it may not be a "book" per se, they are out there as collected works in various forms and editions. Considering that many of the sagas demonstrate various values and traditions of the Norse culture, as well as giving some insight into the relationship between humanity and the gods, I think dismissing it as "low-context folk belief" is to ignore the importance of these "folk beliefs" to the overall world view.

u/shamalamastreetman · 2 pointsr/Norse

The best FREE online source (http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/)

The most important works on the subject are the EDDAS, the poetic and prose and your collection cannot be called complete without them (http://www.amazon.ca/The-Prose-Edda-Mythology-Classics-ebook/dp/B002RI9HRU/ref=pd_sim_kinc_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0M032MEETG0CVXAT539W) (http://www.amazon.ca/Poetic-Edda-Oxford-Worlds-Classics-ebook/dp/B00LKGBK1Q/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1CGS5F6Q2WWB3HR2DKFR)

Sagas of the Icelanders is a pretty comprehensive book and an easier than scholarly text read (http://www.amazon.ca/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425947217&sr=1-1&keywords=sagas+of+the+icelanders)

A great historical (a little mythology) view of the Vikings in John Clements the Vikings (http://www.amazon.ca/Brief-History-Vikings-Jonathan-Clements-ebook/dp/B00AJN9KHC/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1425947425&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=the+vikings+john+clements)

A great dictionary/listing of Viking myths can be found in Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (http://www.amazon.ca/Cassells-Dictionary-Norse-Myth-Legend/dp/0304363855/ref=sr_1_cc_8?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1425947500&sr=1-8-catcorr&keywords=dictionary+of+norse+myths+and+legend)

A great source for the kings of Norway and their (mis)adventuires would be the Heimskringla but there isn't as much mythology in there, more historical (http://www.amazon.ca/Heimskringla-History-Norway-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/0292730616/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425947617&sr=1-1&keywords=heimskringla)

There's a bunch of other sagas you may want to sink your teeth into: Njal's, Grettir's, etc... If you want to listen about some Viking sagas via podcast, I'd recommend Saga thing, both entertaining and informative (https://sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com/)

u/Tiako · 2 pointsr/AskHistorians

This collection from Penguin is very good, has a decent selection of sagas and an excellent introduction. If you have not read any of the sagas before, I don't think there is a better entry point. After going through those you will need to read Njal's Saga, generally considered the best one.

Penguin has published several of the other ones, but personally I was not able to read all of them until I had access to a university library.

u/Acsiaf · 2 pointsr/VisitingIceland

Bought this one in Reykjavik, is mostly nordic but Iceland is nordic so there is no escaping that :)
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031

u/Scrivver · 2 pointsr/Firearms

Not a pagan, but I have read the Poetic Edda (Hollander's edition) after being inspired by the works of JRR Tolkien and his son Christopher's excellent commentaries on them. The Edda is really awesome.

There is also the Prose Edda, and I would recommend The Sagas of Icelanders

u/TocYounger · 2 pointsr/Malazan

I've been looking online and can't seem to find anything. I searched google for "Visigoth primary sources" and just found some law texts that they wrote out and a little bit of history "The history of Jews in Spain" which I don't think would be very inspirational for writing an epic fantasy.

Buy by the sound of it, you might be interested in this one book The Sagas of the Icelanders .

I really enjoyed it, give it a shot.

u/Jjex22 · 1 pointr/history

Well it follows an interpretation of compounded tales, mentions and claimed relations of Ragnar Lodbrok. In terms of accuracy we don’t actually know if he even existed at all with any certainty.. and if he did, we equally have no idea how much or any of the original tales, legend and documented record would actually refer to him or to each other, so go from there.

It’s very likely to be more accurate than any Robin Hood or King Arthur show basically.

But they’ve done a good job I think in making a show that’s entertaining, revived interest in the old Norse sagas (instead of just focusing on a few bits of Norse mythology as was common before), history and awareness of the period, and has a good portrayal of some aspects of life at the time, even if in a very HBO kind of way.

For the actual history of the times, history text books, the history channel are really the place to go, but if you want to know more of the Saga’s this book is great place to start:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0141000031

u/Rhydnara · 1 pointr/AskHistorians

I just ordered this.

I'm not sure if it has Bosa Saga in it. 13th century dick jokes are a particular favorite of mine, so I'll be bummed if it's not included.

Thanks!

u/S_Chaplin · 1 pointr/vikingstv

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141000031

I just got this book back in September.

Good read so far.

u/andro1ds · 1 pointr/MedievalHistory

And on vikings - primary sources though not all of battles - here’s a quick overview of sources https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-knowledge/archaeology-and-history/written-sources-for-the-viking-age/

They may be found around the web but here are links to a few to buy

I can recommend the
Icelandic sagas, personally I find them great fun lots of skull bashings - you may have to buy them.

at least some are here https://sagadb.org Or here https://archive.org/details/sagalibrarydonei01snoriala


Icelandic sagas
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=icelandic+saga&qid=1559118780&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Saxo gramattucus or Saco’s saga (13th century danish ‘history’ of kings
https://www.amazon.com/Saxo-Grammaticus-History-English-Commentary/dp/0859915026


Snorris saga
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Norse-Kings-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/8209101730 - not sure if there is a newer more comprehensive translation as I read in original language

and the Eddas

Younger Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Edda-Illustrated-Snorri-Sturluson-ebook/dp/B00NCCEJ6O/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118593&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Elder Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Elder-Edda-Viking-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140435859/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118649&s=gateway&sr=8-11


And on vikings - primary sources though not all of battles

I can recommend the
Icelandic sagas, personally I find them great fun lots of skull bashings - you may have to buy them.

at least some are here https://sagadb.org Or here https://archive.org/details/sagalibrarydonei01snoriala


Icelandic sagas
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=icelandic+saga&qid=1559118780&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Saxo gramattucus or Saco’s saga (13th century danish ‘history’ of kings
https://www.amazon.com/Saxo-Grammaticus-History-English-Commentary/dp/0859915026


Snorris saga
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Norse-Kings-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/8209101730 - not sure if there is a newer more comprehensive translation as I read in original language

and the Eddas

Younger Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Edda-Illustrated-Snorri-Sturluson-ebook/dp/B00NCCEJ6O/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118593&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Elder Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Elder-Edda-Viking-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140435859/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118649&s=gateway&sr=8-11