Viking Myths & Sagas

grey hair was grimy and unkempt, coiling round her shoulders like winter snakes, her eyes unnaturally bright.She hailed me and began to speak in a clear, compelling voice. This is what she told me...’
The stories of the Viking Age rank amongst the world’s great narrative traditions. Preserved orally through countless generations and eventually transcribed in the 13th Century, their vividly imagined characters and high dramas are richly embroidered with dark humour and wisdom.
This definitive and unique collection presents thirty-four of the most important Viking myths, heroic legends and historical sagas, many previously known only within the academic world. Gods, giantesses, dwarfs, valkyries, ghosts and dragons mingle with real life queens, kings, slaves, lovers and outlaws. Visions of the mythical creation and end of the world contrast with a graphic account of the Vikings’ discovery of North America. It includes tales of the cursed ring that inspired Tolkien, and the story behind Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Written by a master storyteller in consultation with leading scholars, the book also contains proverbs, spells, poems, riddles, detailed notes and a comprehensive glossary, offering a unique insight into Viking Age culture and beliefs.
ROSALIND KERVEN has been collecting and retelling world myths and legends for thirty years. She has written over sixty books for publishers such as the British Museum, British Library, Cambridge University Press and Dorling Kindersley, highly acclaimed by reviewers and translated into numerous languages.
Cover image:
Viking Age rune-stone
repainted in its original colours.
Historiska museet, Stockholm.
Photo © Rosalind Kerven