The Saga of the Volsungs by Jesse L Byock

The Saga of the Volsungs by Jesse L Byock

The Saga of the Volsungs is an Icelandic prose epic whose anonymous thirteenth-century author based his story on the legends of Old Scandinavian folk culture. A trove of traditional lore, it tells of love, jealousy, vengeance, war, and the mythic deeds of the dragonslayer, Sigurd the Volsung. The Saga is of special interest to admirers of Richard Wagner, who drew heavily upon this Norse source in writing his Ring Cycle. With its magical ring acquired by the hero, and the sword to be reforged, the saga has also been a primary source for writers of fantasy such as J. R. R. Tolkien and romantics such as William Morris. 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.

Jesse L. Byock teaches Old Norse and medieval Scandinavian subjects at the University of California, Los Angeles and is the author of Feud in the Icelandic Saga (1982).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780520069046
ISBN 10	0520069048
Title	The Saga of the Volsungs
Author	Jesse L Byock
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of California Press
Year published	1990-03-27
Number of pages	145
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.