All About History Viking Sagas - 4th Edition 2022

150 Pages·2022·52 MB·English

W
E
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♦ BrynhilÐ ♦ St Olaf ♦ ragnar loðbrŌK
Epic
facts &
tales
inside!

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The tRuth Behind the tales Of the Ancient nOrth
H N
OURTDITIO
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Welcome to
O
ver a thousand years ago, a king in the north called for a tale. From the
shadows of the mead hall stepped forth a skald, one of the renowned poets
of the Viking Age, responsible for memorising and interpreting the history
and law of the land – and for entertaining its populace. He needed no book
– those came later. Instead he carried it all in his head, as his forefathers
had done before him for centuries. An expectant hush fell over the court as the famed
storyteller took a breath and slowly, melodiously intoned the first, evocatively worded
phrases of one of the great Viking sagas, or epic tales.
More than a millenium later, those sagas still have the power to enchant and enthrall.
The stories of the gods, heroes (and heroines) and the ancient royal houses of the Norse
lands are replete with myth, mystery, adventure and excitement. Sorceresses narrate
arcane prophecies, men and women set forth on quests for magical swords and rings,
and are elevated to greatness or consumed by curses that echo down generations of their
family; would-be rulers skirmish and clash over old realms and new lands. Destiny rolls its
loaded dice for gods and kings alike. The skald’s audience often knew what was going to
happen as the saga unfolded; it was the telling itself that they took pleasure in.
Now you too can enjoy the rich, fascinating world of the Viking sagas. This book brings
to life some of the best-loved tales of the medieval north, from the origin stories of its gods
and heroes to the deeds of its noble kings and the adventures of its bold explorers. They’re
not confined to the chilly shores of Scandinavia either – these stories travel south, east,
and west to Europe, Byzantium, Russia, Persia, Africa, India, Asia, even North America.
Step into the rich world of the sagas, and begin your very own Viking adventure.

Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA
Bookazine Editorial
Editor April Madden
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All About History Editorial
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Viking Sagas Fourth Edition (AHB4533)
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Part of the
bookazine series
C
ontents
Discover the myths, legends, heroes, kings and explorers
who were immortalised in the Viking sagas
Vikings legends
10 D iscover the Vikings 56 V iking heroes

Learn about the Norse raiders and traders of How Vikings saw their heroes
the medieval world
18 L ost kingdoms of the 58 H ervarar saga

ok Heiðreks
Vikings

The magical sword Tyrfing
Discover Viking territories far from their
northern homelands 70 Þ orsteins saga

28 W hat is a Vikingssonar

Viking saga? Adventures of a Viking’s son

Explore how the Vikings told stories and 74 F riðþjófs saga
recorded facts
ins frœkna

Why Frithjof was the boldest Viking
78 V ölsunga saga

The tale of the cursed ring 44
86 R agnars saga loðbrókar
The ultimate Viking hero
myths
94 R agnarssona þáttr
The sagas move into history
36 Viking myths

An introduction to the gods and cosmology of
the pre-Christian Norse lands
38 Völuspá

A witch is summoned from her grave by the
god Odin, and prophecises the end of the world
44 T he Poetic Edda
Explore a compendium of the skaldic poetry of
the ancient storytellers of Scandinavia
28
50 The Prose Edda

The Vikings’ most famous poet rewrites the old
myths for a 13th century, Christian audience
6
Contents
74
Kings
100 The beginning of history

Identify the greatest inventions and discoveries
we have inherited from this ancient society
102 Flateyjarbók
78
An incredible historical book
106 Heimskringla

Tales of the Norwegian kings
114 Sverris saga

A usurper tricks his way onto the throne
of Norway
118 Egils saga

A spiteful warrior-poet hell-bent on a quest f
or vengeance
38 122 Knytlinga saga
The history of the royal house of Cnut the Great
126 Sturlunga saga

The skalds themselves are immortalised in a saga
136
Voyages
132 Yngvars saga viðförla

Yngvar the Far-Travelled ventured eastwards into
Russia and Asia on his astonishing adventures
136 Groenlendinga saga

Leif Eriksson and his brothers and sister were
among the first Vikings to reach North America
86
7
V
ikings
Find out about the ancient Norse civilisation and
how they recorded their history and legends
10
Discover the

Vikings 10
Learn about the Norse raiders and
traders of the medieval world
18
Lost kingdoms of

the Vikings

Discover Viking territories far from
their northern homelands
28
What is a

Viking saga?

Explore how the Vikings told
stories and recorded facts
“For centuries
the Viking sagas
were spread word
of mouth via the
skalds of the day”
8
Vikings
18
28
9
Vikings
V
discover The
ikings
Portrayed as bloodthirsty pirates, pillaging
innocent villagers, Vikings also ruled the waves
with a lucrative trade network
Written by Frances White
T
he great white sail cracked as the ‘Viking’. The portrayal of the Norse tribesmen as
vicious Atlantic wind lashed against it, rapists and pillagers is so prevailing that it’s often
but still the ship sailed on. Long and forgotten that the word Viking itself means to go on
sleek, the warship, crafted from mighty an expedition. It is easy to fall into the assumption
oak, crashed through the waves, that these people were nothing more than pirates –
sending a sharp spray of water across the deck. The taking from those too weak to defend themselves.
men inside rowed as one, their mighty muscles And it is undeniable that this happened: the
straining as they plunged the oars deep into the Viking invaders sailed from Scandinavia to the
water and drove the ship forward through coasts of the British Isles and far beyond,
the turbulent waves. Their strength invading villages and monasteries,
alone brought the ship to land and killing the inhabitants and stealing
they poured out onto the beach. their riches. It’s spoken about
Vikings
Dressed in thick woollen tunics, in first-hand accounts and it’s
the warriors were armed had excellent still being evidenced today in
with an array of weapons, the reams of hidden hoards
from long sharpened spears hygiene, bathing discovered on the lands
to hefty battle-axes. With of anxious townsfolk who
at least once a
a booming voice one man hurried to hide their riches
yelled to the others, thrusting week from the merciless invaders.
his sword into the air, and the However, this only tells half
rest bellowed in response. Then the story. Two things powered the
onward he ran, as the united force Viking civilisation: the vicious raids
thundered uphill against the billowing they’re famous for, and something else –
wind. Their destination? trade. Not only did Vikings set up new colonies
A coastal monastery bursting full of gold, gems in the lands they invaded, but they also created
and a hefty amount of food supplies ripe for the powerful trade routes that helped them to become
taking, and only a collection of quiet, unassuming one of the most prosperous societies in the world.
monks to protect it. For the majority of the year, the same Vikings
This image of monstrous invaders laying siege who had pillaged the towns worked the land,
to innocent monasteries and pillaging them of tirelessly toiling in the field, or crafted intricate and
their precious items is the first one that leaps to valuable ornaments and jewellery to fund their
mind when many are confronted with the word blossoming civilisation.
10