Vikings & Anglo-Saxons!
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.
Many books have emerged on the conflicts, the tensions, and the meldings between the Vikings and the inhabitants of what would become the British isles, so I have expanded the topic to include the Picts, the Druids, and Anglo-Saxons.
Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas
Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas
Over the centuries, Northern mythology has exerted much influence on Western customs, language, and literature. Its principal theme of the perpetual struggle of the beneficent forces of nature against the injurious, and its twin characteristics of dark tragedy and grim humor, tinge much European literature and music, most notably Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
In this volume, a noted scholar of myth and folklore has assembled a rich collection of Northern mythology as preserved in the Eddas and sagas of Iceland. These are perhaps the purest versions of the original myths, thanks to the island’s remoteness and lack of contact with outside influences. Both grand and tragical, the age-old tales tell of the creation of the world; the heroic deeds of such gods and heroes as Odin, Thor, and Siegfried; the machinations of the evil Loki; the fantastical adventures of giants, dwarfs, and elves; the twilight of the gods; and much else. Sixty-four marvelous, atmospheric illustrations add an additional dimension of charm.
In this convenient, reliable edition, Myths of the Norsemen offers not only hours of reading entertainment but also valuable insights into the nature and meaning of myth and how it constitutes part of the deep and ancient wellspring of Western culture.
Reprint of the George G. Harap, London, 1909 edition.