Book description
Compiled by an unknown scribe in Iceland around 1270, and based on
sources dating back centuries earlier, these mythological and heroic
poems tell of gods and mortals from an ancient era: the giant-slaying
Thor, the doomed V lsung family, the Hel-ride of Brynhild and the
cruelty of Atli the Hun. Eclectic, incomplete and fragmented, these
verses nevertheless retain their stark beauty and their power to
enthrall, opening a window on to the thoughts, beliefs and hopes of the
Vikings and their world. ANDY ORCHARD is Professor of English and
Medieval Studies in the University of Toronto, and since 2007 Provost
and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College. He is the author of The Poetic
Art of Aldhelm (1994), Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of
the Beowulf -Manuscript (2nd edition 2003), The Cassell Dictionary of
Norse Myth and Legend (3rd edition 2002), and A Critical Companion to
Beowulf (2nd edition 2005), as well as editor and co-editor of several
collections, scholarly journals and academic series.
