Sagas of Warrior-poets

By Leifur Eiricksson, Diana Whaley (editor),

Book cover of Sagas of Warrior-poets

Book description

Kormak's Saga, The Saga of Hallfred Troublesome-Poet, The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue, The Saga of Bjorn, Champion of the Hitardal People, Viglund's Saga Set in the farmsteads of Viking age Iceland at a time when the old ethos of honour and heroic adventure merged with new ideas of romantic infatuation,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Sagas of Warrior-poets as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Samuel M. Sargeant

Author

If you ever want proof that medieval Iceland was far more complex than Vikings, I invite you to read this book. A series of shorter sagas that focuses upon the stories of skalds–or poets–who each face a doomed love affair. Be it Kormakr and his passionate poetry for Steingerðr or Gunnlaugr and how he loses his love even as he gains in prestige–these stories really made clear to me how complex and human ancient Iceland was.

Even now, we understand the dangers of falling in love with someone we should not, and which of us hasn’t made choices we regret…

From Samuel's list on Vikings and why they are more complicated than you thought.