One of the great books of world literature--an unforgettable tale of jealousy, unrequited love, greed, and vengeance.

Based on Viking Age poems and composed in thirteenth-century Iceland, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend, and sheer human drama in telling of the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires runic knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. Yet the saga is set in a very human world, incorporating oral memories of the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun and other warriors fought on the northern frontiers of the Roman empire. In his illuminating Introduction Jesse L. Byock links the historical Huns, Burgundians, and Goths with the extraordinary events of this Icelandic saga. With its ill-fated Rhinegold, the sword reforged, and the magic ring of power, the saga resembles the Nibelungenlied and has been a primary source for such fantasy writers as J. R. R. Tolkien and for Richard Wagner's Ring cycle.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas. Everything necessary to learn and teach Old Norse. Graded lessons, saga readings, runic inscriptions, grammar exercises, and pronunciation. With study guides and vocabulary. 15 lessons open the door to Scandinavian myth, legend, and Viking history. Download free answer key at www.oldnorse.org. NOW AVAILABLE: Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader, with complete sagas and Eddic poems of gods, heroes, and runes with readings and vocabulary to pair with the lessons in Viking Language 1. AUDIO PRONUNCIATION ALBUMS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD on Amazon (in digital music) and iTunes: Viking Language 1: Audio Lessons 1-8 and Viking Language 1: Audio Lessons 9-15 (Pronounce Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas). LEARN MORE AT oldnorse.org and juleswilliampress.com about the Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic Series, same lessons and audio, and instructional resources.

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader (Book 2 in The Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic Series) is a language workbook built around a treasure trove of old Scandinavian lore. Designed for beginners to those more advanced, this dynamic book includes translation exercises that immerses the learner in Old Norse sources and runes. Read complete sagas, myths, creation stories, and runic inscriptions with passages and poems about Scandinavian gods, monster-slayers, dwarves, giants, warrior kings, and queens. This book takes the reader deep into the world of the Vikings. The book also offers a large vocabulary, special chapters on Eddic and Skaldic poetry, and a full reference grammar. NOW AVAILABLE: Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas and Supplementary Exercises for Old Norse - Old Icelandic. LEARN MORE AT oldnorse.org and juleswilliampress.com about related books, answer keys, sample audio, and instructional resources.

Innovative and user-friendly, Viking Language 1 offers everything necessary to learn and teach Old Norse. The language of Vikings and Icelandic sagas, Old Norse is the basis of all modern Scandinavian Languages and is especially close to Modern Icelandic. Designed by a professor with 30 years' experience teaching Old Norse and Icelandic, Viking Language 1 assumes no previous language training. In a straight-forward way, Viking Language 1 employs a modernword frequency strategy that speeds learning. You quickly learn how to read original saga passages and Viking Age runes from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Grammar and exercises relate specifically to the reading passages of the lesson This way, the student focuses directly on the issues at hand. Accurate maps and history sections explain the Viking Age, the settlement of Iceland, seafaring as well as saga writing and mythology. The companion volume, Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader provides an additional treasure trove of Old Norse information. You will read whole sagas and runic inscriptions. Together, the two books are a thorough entry into the Viking World. -- Download on www.oldnorse.org FREE ANSWER KEY to the lesson exercises in Viking Language 1 -- NOW AVAILABLE on www.oldnorse.org: two audio MP3 download PRONUNCIATION ALBUMS, VIKING LANGUAGE 1: AUDIO LESSONS 1-8 and VIKING LANGUAGE 1: AUDIO LESSONS 9-15. For more information on the new Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic Series of books, eBooks, and bilingual saga editions visit www.oldnorse.org. The series also includes German, Italian, and Spanish editions.

Feud stands at the core of the Old Icelandic sagas. Jesse Byock shows how the dominant concern of medieval Icelandic society--the channeling of violence into accepted patterns of feud and the regulation of conflict--is reflected in the narrative of the family sagas and the Sturlunga saga compilation. This comprehensive study of narrative structure demonstrates that the sagas are complex expressions of medieval social thought.

Altnordisch 1. Die Sprache der Wikinger, Runen und isländischen Sagas. Fünfzehn inhaltlich aufeinander aufbauenden Lektionen, in denen sich neben altnordischen Textpassagen, Grammatikbaukästen und abwechslungsreich gestalteten Übungen eine umfangreiche Zusammenstellung an Karten, Bildern, Runen, und Begleittexten finden lassen. Au erdem verfügt das Buch über ein vollständiges Wörterverzeichnis, eine ausführliche Kurzgrammatik sowie Hinweise zur (rekonstruierten) Aussprache der altnordischen Sprache. Da sich die Grammatik des Isländischen im Laufe der Jahrhunderte nur geringfügig verändert hat, erleichtern Altnordisch-kenntnisse auch den Zugang zum Neuisländischen. Um den kostenlosen Lösungsschlüssel für die in Altnordisch 1 (www.oldnorse.org/altnordisch/) behandelten Aufgaben zu herunterzuladen besuch uns im Internet.

Die einzelnen Lektionen sind der altnordischen bzw. altisländischen Sprache, den Runen, der Geschichte Islands und Skandinaviens, der nordischen Mythologie und der altnordischen Literatur gewidmet. Jede Lektion beschäftigt sich mit ganz bestimmten Aspekten der Sprache, des Lebens und der Kultur der während der Wikingerzeit und im Mittelalter lebenden Menschen. Während sich die ersten beiden Lektionen auf die Besiedlung Islands und Grönlands konzentrieren, wenden sich die daran anschlie enden Kapitel anderen Schauplätzen der Wikingerwelt zu; darunter Dänemark, Schweden, Norwegen, den Britischen Inseln, Europa, dem Ostseeraum, Russland, Byzanz und dem Orient. Die Fahrten der Wikinger werden durch eine gro e Auswahl an Karten veranschaulicht. Alle Lektionen beinhalten Grammatikbaukästen und Übungen.

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader (das zweite Buch der Altnordisch-Reihe) taucht noch ein Stück weiter in die Welt der altnordischen/-isländischen Literatur ein. Es beinhaltet Texte über die altnordische Mythologie, komplette Sagas und skandinavische Götter- und Heldenlieder und runische Inschri en sowie ein umfangreiches Wörterverzeichnis und eine vollständige Kurzgrammatik.

Altnordisch 1: Die Sprache der Wikinger, Runen und isl ndischen Sagas gliedert sich in f nfzehn inhaltlich aufeinander aufbauende Lektionen bestehend aus altnordischen Textpassagen, Runen, Grammatikbauk sten, bungen, Karten, (mit gratis Online L sungsschl ssel www. vikinglanguage.com). Das Buch enth lt ein vollst ndiges W rterverzeichnis, eine Kurzgrammatik sowie Hinweise zur (rekonstruierten) Aussprache. H rbeispiele zur Aussprache sind als MP-3-Downloads erh ltlich auf amazon.com (unter Viking Language 1 Audio Lessons 1-8, und 9-15 unter Alle), auf iTunes und cdbaby.com. Weitere Informationen unter vikinglanguage.com Ausf hrliche Texte zur nordischen Mythologie sowie vollst ndige Sagas, G tter- und Heldenlieder finden sich in Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader. www.vikinglanguage.com

The Saga of the Volsungs is an Icelandic epic of special interest to admirers of Richard Wagner, who drew heavily upon this Norse source in writing his Ring Cycle and a primary source for writers of fantasy such as J. R. R. Tolkien and romantics such as William Morris.

A trove of traditional lore, it tells of love, jealousy, vengeance, war, and the mythic deeds of the dragonslayer, Sigurd the Volsung.

Byock's comprehensive introduction explores the history, legends, and myths contained in the saga and traces the development of a narrative that reaches back to the period of the great folk migrations in Europe when the Roman Empire collapsed.

The history of medieval Europe is incomplete if it does not take Iceland into account. Jesse Byock's reassessment of medieval Iceland uses all the available sources--the medieval Icelanders' historical writings, extensive saga literature, and intricate laws--to explore the way Iceland's social order functioned.

Feud stands at the core of the Old Icelandic sagas. Jesse Byock shows how the dominant concern of medieval Icelandic society--the channeling of violence into accepted patterns of feud and the regulation of conflict--is reflected in the narrative of the family sagas and the Sturlunga saga compilation. This comprehensive study of narrative structure demonstrates that the sagas are complex expressions of medieval social thought.