Tales From The Viking Isles

Continuing the theme of stories from northern lands, this volume concentrates on the Sagas from Viking isles, such as Iceland and The Faroe Isles. These forms are also known as family sagas, and were often told by the “skald” bards. For the most part these sagas take the form of prose narratives and are mostly based on historical events that took place in the 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries. Many of these sagas are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history, and reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Island settlers.

The stories in this volume are taken from various collections including Andrew Lang’s Coloured Fairy Books, Jennie Hall’s Viking Tales and Nora Kershaw’s Stories and Ballads of the Far Past. They include original stories sourced from previous collectors such as Jón Árnason and collections such as Islandische Märchen and Neuisländischen Volksmärchen.