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    Seven Viking Romances

    Author Various
    Translated by Hermann Pálsson, Paul Edwards
    Paperback
    $19.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
    5.1"W x 7.76"H x 0.72"D  
    On sale Jan 07, 1986 | 304 Pages | 9780140444742
    Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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    Combining traditional myth, oral history and re-worked European legend to depict an ancient realm of heroism and wonder, the seven tales collected here are among the most fantastical of all the Norse romances. Powerfully inspired works of Icelandic imagination, they relate intriguing, often comical tales of famous kings, difficult gods and women of great beauty, goodness or cunning. The tales plunder a wide range of earlier literature from Homer to the French romances—as in the tale of the wandering hero Arrow-Odd, which combines several older legends, or Egil and Asmund, where the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops is skilfully adapted into a traditional Norse legend. These are among the most outrageous, delightful and exhilarating tales in all Icelandic literature.

    Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing 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.
    Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, writer and editor. His 2026 books include If This Be Magic: the unlikely art of Shakespeare in translation, and translated novels from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala.

    Padma Viswanathan is author of three novels and a memoir, published in eight countries and shortlisted for the Pen Center USA Fiction Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and others, and has translated four books from Brazilian Portuguese. View titles by Various
    Translated by Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards

    Introduction
    Maps: Europe of the Viking Romances
    Note on the Texts and Translations
    Bibliography

    Seven Viking Romances
    Arrow-Odd
    King Gautrek
    Halfdan Eysteinsson
    Bosi and Herraud
    Egil and Asmund
    Thorstein Mansion-Might
    Helgi Thorisson

    Appendix: Sources and parallels of Arrow-Odd
    List of Proper Names

    About

    Combining traditional myth, oral history and re-worked European legend to depict an ancient realm of heroism and wonder, the seven tales collected here are among the most fantastical of all the Norse romances. Powerfully inspired works of Icelandic imagination, they relate intriguing, often comical tales of famous kings, difficult gods and women of great beauty, goodness or cunning. The tales plunder a wide range of earlier literature from Homer to the French romances—as in the tale of the wandering hero Arrow-Odd, which combines several older legends, or Egil and Asmund, where the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops is skilfully adapted into a traditional Norse legend. These are among the most outrageous, delightful and exhilarating tales in all Icelandic literature.

    Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing 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.

    Author

    Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, writer and editor. His 2026 books include If This Be Magic: the unlikely art of Shakespeare in translation, and translated novels from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala.

    Padma Viswanathan is author of three novels and a memoir, published in eight countries and shortlisted for the Pen Center USA Fiction Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and others, and has translated four books from Brazilian Portuguese. View titles by Various

    Table of Contents

    Translated by Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards

    Introduction
    Maps: Europe of the Viking Romances
    Note on the Texts and Translations
    Bibliography

    Seven Viking Romances
    Arrow-Odd
    King Gautrek
    Halfdan Eysteinsson
    Bosi and Herraud
    Egil and Asmund
    Thorstein Mansion-Might
    Helgi Thorisson

    Appendix: Sources and parallels of Arrow-Odd
    List of Proper Names

    Other Books by this Author

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