The popular image of the Viking Age is of warlords and marauding bands pillaging their way along the shores of Northern Europe. In this fascinating history, Jesse Byock shows that Norse society in Iceland was actually an independent one-almost a republican Free State, without warlords or kings. Combining history with anthropology and archaeology, this remarkable study serves as a valuable companion to the Icelandic sagas, exploring all aspects of Viking Age life: feasting, farming, the power of chieftains and the church, marriage, and the role of women. With masterful interpretations of the blood feuds and the sagas, Byock reveals how the law courts favored compromise over violence, and how the society grappled with proto-democratic tendencies. A work with broad social and historical implications for our modern institutions, Byock's history will alter long-held perceptions of the Viking Age.

Viking Age Iceland

History

BYOCK, JESSE L.

Europe

Penguin??Books

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.

The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics)

Literature & Fiction

ANONYMOUS

United States

Penguin Classics

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.

Feud in the Icelandic Saga

History & Criticism

University of California Press

Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power

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.

The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer

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.

Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer

Viking Language 1 Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas, 2nd upgraded edition. Everything necessary to learn and teach Old Norse and saga literature. Graded lessons, saga readings, runic inscriptions, grammar exercises, pronunciation, study guides, and vocabulary. This specific printing with its own ISBN (book identification #) is a slightly smaller, lighter book size with no changes to the content. The lessons open the door to Old Scandinavian, myth, legend, Icelandic and Viking history. -- Download FREE ANSWER KEY found on www.oldnorse.org – NOW AVAILABLE, “Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader” deepening the learning with complete sagas, Norse poems of Scandinavian gods, heroes, and runes. The reader offers a full vocabulary with readings are designed to be used together with the lessons in Viking Language 1. ALSO AVAILABLE and very useful for learning Old Norse, two specially prepared audio MP3 download OLD NORSE PRONUNCIATION ALBUMS. Titled ”VIKING LANGUAGE 1: AUDIO LESSONS 1-8: (Pronounce Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas)” and Viking Language 1: “Audio Lessons 9-15." To search the “Viking Language audio lessons” go to under Amazon “all departments” and “MP3 music.” The pronunciation albums are also found on itunes and CDbaby.com -- For more information on the “Viking Language Series” and sample audio readings. Visit www. oldnorse.org and vikinglanguage.com

Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas (Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic Series)

Jules William Press

“Viking Language 1 - Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas” 2nd upgraded edition. Everything necessary to learn or teach Old Norse, runes, and sagas. Graded lessons, saga readings, runic inscriptions, grammar exercises, pronunciation, maps, history sections, student grammar guide, and vocabulary teach Old Norse, Vikings, Iceland, old Scandinavia, myth and legends. --- Download FREE ANSWER KEY www.vikinglanguage.com -- Now available, two audio MP3 download OLD NORSE PRONUNCIATION ALBUMS ”VIKING LANGUAGE 1: AUDIO LESSONS 1-8: (Pronounce Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas)” and Audio Lessons 9-15." Search “Viking Language audio lessons” under Amazon “all departments” and “MP3 music.” Also Itunes and CDbaby. -- VISIT www.vikinglanguage.com and oldnorse.org for information on “Viking Language Series” and sample audio readings -- Now available, “Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader” with complete sagas, poems of Scandinavian gods, heroes, Old Norse runes, and vocabulary.

Viking Language 1 Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader immerses the learner in the sagas, legends, runes, and myths of Vikings and Icelanders. Readings from Icelandic sagas, Viking Age runic inscriptions, and eddas take the student into the world of old Norse heroes, gods, and goddesses. Chapters on The Creation of the World and Ragnarok, the battle at the world’s end, where the gods meet their doom. Readings and maps about Viking Age Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland. Other chapters tackle eddic and skaldic verse with ancient stories from Old Scandinavia. Learn how to read runes and runic inscriptions. Where lessons contain exercises, answers given. Viking Language 1 and 2 are designed as workbooks. Students learn quickly and interactively. For more information, see our website: vikinglanguage.com

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader (Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic Series)

Altnordisch 1: Die Sprache der Wikinger, Runen und isländischen Sagas gliedert sich in fünfzehn inhaltlich aufeinander aufbauende Lektionen bestehend aus altnordischen Textpassagen, Runen, Grammatikbaukästen, Übungen, Karten, (mit gratis Online Lösungsschlüssel www. vikinglanguage.com). Das Buch enthält ein vollständiges Wörterverzeichnis, eine Kurzgrammatik sowie Hinweise zur (rekonstruierten) Aussprache. Hörbeispiele zur Aussprache sind als MP-3-Downloads erhältlich 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 Ausführliche Texte zur nordischen Mythologie sowie vollständige Sagas, Götter- und Heldenlieder finden sich in Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader. www.vikinglanguage.com

Altnordisch 1: Die Sprache der Wikinger, Runen und Isländischen Sagas (Viking Language Series) (German Edition)

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader (Book 2 in The Viking Language Series) is a treasure trove of Scandinavian lore, immersing the learner in Old Norse sources and runes. The book offers a large vocabulary, chapters on eddic and skaldic poetry, and a reference grammar. The learner reads complete sagas, myths, creation stories, legends, and runic inscriptions. There are passages and poems about Scandinavian gods, monster-slayers, dwarves, giants, and warrior kings, and queens. This book takes the reader deep into the world of the Vikings, their language, literature, and runes. Visit www.juleswilliampress.com and www.oldnorse.org

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader (Viking Language Old Norse Icelandic)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BYOCK, JESSE L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BYOCK, JESSE L.