Vikings!
We are a hardy race, being independent booksellers, so of course we are interested in those Norse entrepreneurs who made Europe a lively place in the so-called Dark Ages.
One of the standard-setting writers about medieval Scandinavia was Nobel Prize-winning Sigrid Undset. I have assembled all her works that we carry on this page, even though they technically do not involve Viking culture and history (a few are even contemporary to Undset’s own time). Other than that, she needs no defense as one of the greatest of historical novelists.
The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore
The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore
The greatest source of knowledge of Viking lore.
The mythology surrounding ancient Norse gods and heroes has inspired countless writers and artists, including Tennyson, Wagner, William Morris, Tolkien, Borges, and Auden. Compiled by an unknown scribe in Iceland around 1270 and based on sources dating back centuries earlier, these poems tell of the heroic deeds of gods and mortals: the giant- slaying Thor, the doomed Volsung family, the Hell-ride of Brynhild, and the cruelty of Atli (Attila the Hun). Eclectic, incomplete, and fragmented, the verses nevertheless retain a stark beauty and enthralling power, opening a window onto the thoughts, beliefs, and hopes of the Vikings and their world.