Why read The Sagas of Icelanders?

Book cover of The Sagas of Icelanders

Book description

In Iceland, the age of the Vikings is also known as the Saga Age. A unique body of medieval literature, the Sagas rank with the world's great literary treasures - as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Sagas of Icelanders as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Evgueniy Todorov

Author

I thought this was one of the most influential and important books of the 21st century.

I truly enjoyed the details and level of research that went into this book, as well as the wealth of information about the Vikings’ Icelandic settlements, their traditions, customs, and way of life. I felt transported back in time, when the first longships landed on the Icelandic shore, and I felt that I was living with those early settlers, not just reading about their lives.

I felt a very powerful connection with their struggles to establish their farms and regulate their communal life. I…

From Evgueniy's list on absurdly hilarious books on mythology.

Marcel Krueger

Author

Even though this is a massive tome with almost 800 pages, the book is the perfect introduction to the rich medieval literature of the sagas that form the foundation of Icelandic literature today. It contains many of the main sagas including the Egil's Saga, the Laxdæla Saga, and the Vinland Sagas as well as background information on saga history, medieval Iceland, and the Icelandic language. A collection full of the battles, witchcraft, poetry, monsters, and heroic journeys that influenced generations of writers from Jules Verne and J.R.R. Tolkien over to A.S. Byatt.

From Marcel's list on Iceland to read in winter.