The Hrafnista Sagas
Translated by Ben Waggoner
Troth Publications
ISBN: 978-0-557-72941-8
Translations of four legendary sagas centred on Ketil Trout of Hrafnista and his family. These tales follow heroic figures who face dragons, trolls, and other fantastical foes—stories that continued to resonate with their Icelandic descendants generations later.
Excerpt:
Hrafnista’s significance in Old Norse literature us far out of proportion to its size. A sequences of Old Norse sagas, collectively known as the Hrafnistasögur, tells the story of four different members of a family that lived on Hrafnista in the 9th century. Ketils saga hængs (The Saga of Ketil Salmon), Gríms saga loðinkinna (The Saga of Grim Shaggy-Cheek), and Örvar-Oddr saga (The Saga of Arrow-Odd) relate the lives and exploits of three successive generations of the men of Hrafnista, as they face human enemies as well as giants and various supernatural entities. Áns saga bogsveigis (The Saga of An Bow-bender) is mostly set elsewhere in Norway, but its hero is also descended from the Men of Hrafnista.
Who is this book for?
While this book is not quite new – having been published in 2012 – few might know that it exists as it is published by a small company. It was be another good addition to those interested in Icelandic sagas.
The Translator
Ben Waggoner describes himself as “been studying Old Norse (close to modern Icelandic) in my copious spare time since about 2006. Now I translate, study, annotate, and periodically publish Old Norse sagas.” He has translated several other Icelandic sagas with The Troth, a website interested in Norse paganism.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
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