E-Book, Englisch, Band 5, 5302 Seiten
Reihe: Delphi Series Nine
E-Book, Englisch, Band 5, 5302 Seiten
Reihe: Delphi Series Nine
ISBN: 978-1-78656-101-5
Verlag: Delphi Classics Ltd
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection
* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to the sagas
* Concise introductions to the ancient texts
* A generous selection of sagas from four categories: Kings' Sagas; Sagas of Icelanders; Legendary Sagas; Bishops' Sagas
* Features many rare sagas appearing in English for the first time in digital publishing, including the Kings' Saga 'Sverris saga'
* Includes Frederick York's rare translations of Bishops' Sagas
* Images of how the sagas were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Includes seven bonus collections of Norse Sagas
* Special criticism section, with Conrad Hjalmar Nordby's book evaluating the influence of Old Norse literature on English literature
* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and genres
Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles
CONTENTS:
Kings' Sagas
Sverris saga (Tr. John Sephton)
Heimskringla (Tr. Samuel Laing)
The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson (Tr. James Johnstone)
Sagas of Icelanders
The Story of the Banded Men (Tr. William Morris and Eiríkr Magnússon)
Egil's saga (Tr. W. C. Green)
The Saga of Erik the Red (Tr. John Sephton)
The Saga of the Ere-Dwellers (Tr. William Morris and Eiríkr Magnússon)
Færeyinga saga (Tr. F. York Powell)
Gísla saga (Tr. by G. W. DaSent)
Grettis saga (Tr. William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)
The Saga of Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Rafn the Skald (Tr. William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)
The Saga of Howard the Halt (Tr. William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)
The Saga of the Heath Slayings (Tr. William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)
The Saga of Hrafnkell, Frey's Priest (Tr. John Coles)
The Saga of Hen-Thorir (Tr. William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)
The Saga of Cormac the Skald (Tr. W. G. Collingwood and J. Stefansson)
Laurentius saga (Tr. Oliver Elton)
Laxdæla saga (Tr. Muriel A. C. Press)
Njáls saga (Tr. George Dasent)
The Saga of Viga-Glum (Tr. Edmund Head,)
The Saga of Viglund the Fair (Tr. William Morris and Eiríkr Magnússon)
Legendary Sagas
Fridthjof's saga (Tr. Thomas and Martha Holcomb)
The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek (Tr. Nora Kershaw)
Volsunga saga (Tr. William Morris and Eiríkr Magnússon)
The Saga of Dietrich of Bern (Tr. M. W. Macdowall)
The Saga of Thorstein, Viking's Son (Tr. Rasmus B. Anderson)
The Story of Norna-Gest (Tr. Nora Kershaw)
The Tháttur of Sörli (Tr. Nora Kershaw)
Bishops' Sagas
Hunger-waker (Tr. Frederick York)
Saga of Saint Thorlak (Tr. Frederick York)
Saga of Bishop Paul (Tr. Frederick York)
Saga of John of Holar (Tr. Frederick York)
Collections of Norse Sagas
The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum
In the Days of Giants: A Book of Norse Tales by Abbie Farwell Brown
The Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology by Keary and Keary
Legends of Norseland by Mara L. Pratt-Chadwick and A. Chase
Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, by Nora Kershaw
Told by the Northmen: Stories from the Eddas and Sagas by E. M. Wilmot-Buxton
Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
The Criticism
The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature, by Conrad Hjalmar Nordby
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Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
86. On its voyage north the fleet lay for two or three days at a time in the same harbour. King Magnus’s men were very merry, and wherever they were delayed, spent much of the time in games; but the King usually spoke little. They lay two days in Karmsound; here they obtained accurate tidings of King Sverri’s movements from the merchants who came from the north. Thereupon the King despatched Eilif Orri, son of Clement of Grafdale, to Bergen, on the look-out. He sailed away on the Tuesday night, and came back to the King on the Wednesday with the news that there were three ships of the Birkibeins in the town, under the command of Svina-Petr. King Magnus bade his men take down the awnings with all speed, and start off on the voyage. “The Birkibeins are in Bergen,” he said, “and doubtless want a drinking bout with you; they will think you ought to pour out the drink for them.” When his men heard this they were glad; they hoisted the sails and used the oars, for there was a side-wind, accompanied with rain. King Magnus commanded the Skeggi, Orm Kings-brother the Skialdmey; Nikolas Kufung had the Erkisud, which the Archbishop had given him, a ship of twenty benches; Munan Gautsson had the Hrein, and the Gests the great Fley, a Baltic trader. The wind now began to rise high, and the mast of Munan’s ship broke, killing a man who was under it. On the prow of the Kings ship was a man named Thoraldi Thrym, and he said, “The front decks are all wet, and the rain drives over the prows; the men in the fore part think a slower pace would be better.” The King stood up and answered, “I knew not that fires should be kindled in the prows;” and he bade that not a sail should be reefed, but every rope strained to the utmost. On Thursday, half-way between mid-day and nones, the King sailed into the bay; the men went straight to the quays and sprang on shore. They were messengers of woe to the Birkibeins, who had no intelligence of King Magnus’s movements. They sprang up where each happened to be, some to their weapons, and all out of the town, as many as escaped with life. It was as if one saw a fire, to look up at the fell red with shields. Well-nigh thirty men were slain, some in the town, others above it. The Heklungs quickly stripped the dead of their clothes. King Magnus ordered that no one should have the audacity to bury the bodies before he came back to the town; and declared it their rightful due, to be left to raven and to dog. The King summoned an Assembly, at which he himself spoke, and said, “Here we look for troops and assistance from the men of this town; in former times you so aided both me and my father. Here I made my home continually while we were able to live in peace, and here are nearly all my kinsmen and foster-brothers. My first business now is to try if an encounter between me and Sverri can be brought about; and, after we separate, I ‘purpose to come here to the town with peace and joy for us all.” Great applause followed his speech. “God give you a safe return, Sire,” said they all; “may you win in this voyage all that you desire.” The King then went away to his ships, and gave the signal for departure. It is said that crows flocked to the King’s ship in such numbers that every rope was covered; so marvellous a sight had never been seen before. In the evening King Magnus left the town with all his fleet, except the Gesta-Fley which had grounded; it left the town in the night. King Magnus sails north into Sogn to find King Sverri,. 87. King Magnus sailed through the sounds on his voyage north and turned into Sogn-Sea. The wind was light. When the men of Sogn heard of his coming many rowed out in boats to meet him, and going on board his ships, sailed on the voyage with him. They told him the tidings that King Sverri had sent off many of his troops, all the bravest of them, and himself lay in Norafiord with few ships, after doing much evil there. These tidings were a great joy to many, and they said that at last the struggle was bound to end, for it was God’s will to overthrow that riotous band, the author of so much evil in Norway that the land must wait long for a recovery. There was a distinguished man, named Ivar Elda, who lived at Syrstrand. He was seated at table when King Magnus’s ships were seen sailing past. He rose up at once and went to his ship, then rowed out to the King’s ship and went on board. The King welcomed him heartily, and Ivar went with him. King Magnus proceeded to the place where the fiord divides, and then turned into Norafiord. He had with him twenty-six ships, almost all large, and well equipped with men and weapons. King Sverri s preparations for battle, and his speech to his men. 88. We must now tell of King Sverri. On the Friday after he had burnt the homesteads in Soknadale, he lay off Haugastrand, near a place called Fimreiti. He had twelve ships with him, two having remained behind in Soknadale. It was the hour of nones, and he sat at meat, and there were watchmen on the look-out opposite the King’s ship. When the men had sat a while at meat King Sverri heard the watch say that they saw several ships sailing towards them along the Sogn-Sea. Sometimes they saw six or seven; but when the ships were more scattered and sailed farther apart, ten or twelve could be seen. The watchmen were discussing what ships these might be: some said they were ferry-ships which the men of Sogn must have brought in a fleet from Bergen; others said the sails were more like those of long-ships. When the King heard this talking he rose up from the table and went on shore to the watch, followed by others from the ships. Each man now gave his own opinion what ships they were. The King stood up a while, looked at them, and then said, “We must not hide from ourselves that this is an enemy; those are certainly the sails of long-ships.” Then he summoned all his men straightway to land; and when they were come together he began to speak, and thus said: — “It may happen again to us Birkibeins, as it has happened before, to have work upon our hands. For there is no use hiding from ourselves, it seems to me, that King Magnus will soon come to visit us. You all know that a large part of our force has gone away from us: some south to Bergen, and what fate has befallen them is in God’s hands: others to the market-town to burn it, and they can afford us no help. And though when encounters have occurred with King Magnus we have often been inferior in numbers, yet I expect, if we await him here, we shall most likely never have had to face greater odds than now. I will, therefore, that we now take counsel together: shall we offer resistance with such force as we have, or do you think it better to abandon the ships and go on shore? You will doubtless feel that we have not made good friends of the people that dwell here in Sogn. Our condition is clear if we leave the ships; wherever we go King Magnus and his force will march after us, and the whole multitude of the inhabitants with him. And to tell the truth, considering the great labour and difficulty I endured before obtaining these ships, it seems certain that if I should now lose them I will never again attempt to acquire ships in Norway, and every one of us will have to look to himself. Now, I do not wish to lead you, by any self-will of mine, into such great danger, if you all see that it should not be done; but if the men of our force think it better to offer resistance, I shall not falter through fear.” When the King finished his speech his men thought they perceived what he desired, and it seemed good to all of them to applaud what they saw to be his wish, although they did not see the promise of success. And now well-nigh all at once answered, and said they certainly wished for battle, and never without a contest would submit to flight, for which there was no cause whatever. They had constantly fought against great odds, they said, and yet won victory. And the King answered: “You have now chosen the course which is the more agreeable to my mind; and I may tell you something which will make you more eager to fight, and more valiant — you will send this day a king to his grave.” This speech caused great anxiety to many: “Which King would it be?” Then King Sverri commanded the awnings to be taken, down, and the ships to be rowed up the fiord close to land. “A cutter,” he said, “shall row with all speed up to Soknadale to our ships there, and bid them come to us. Of the three men in each half-cabin, let one sit at the oar, a second row in boats to land and fetch stones, the third, as well as ail others who are free, prepare the ships and set up the war-bulwarks.” It was done as the King commanded; they took the nails which the King had given them, fastened rings of walrus hide all round the inner part of the ships’ sides, fixed in them the supports, and attached the war-bulwarks. Every man was now busily engaged, and it was easy to see that the Birkibeins were practised in such labour. The men sent with the cutter up the fiord met their comrades rowing down, and told them the rumour; and the crews of the long-ships bestirred themselves, struck in their oars and rowed with all their might. As they approached the fleet they came so close to each other, rowing in eager strife, that the oars collided and broke. “There is other business than smashing oars that you must see to,” said the King. And he bade them turn to shore, there to wait for King Magnus. Stones were then brought from land, as many as they wished, and the ships’ war-bulwarks set up. The King now commanded the stem-cables of all the ships to be brought on...
