Document Type
Book Review
Organization
The Mythopoeic Society
Publication Date
10-18-2021
Abstract
The Saga of the Volsungs: With the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok is a treat. Both compositions in the volume contain larger than life heroes and heroines who engage in adventures and who fight for the survival and wealth of their clans. They are also consumed--generation after generation--by the blood-feud and by the compulsion to fulfill, to the letter-of-the-word, their unwise vows, and executing them to their last logical and bitter consequences. The stories consist of heart wrenching episodes of treachery, violence, incest, and infanticide. But, both sagas can grow on a reader. They are also tales about an action-oriented people who compete against other families for the scarce resources of the harsh Icelandic natural environment. The reader sees intense love and equally intense hatred. In either case, the stories are not dull and their cumulative effect is to leave the reader with a sense of the tragedy and inevitability of a never-ending fight for survival, love, and the vengeance of the blood-feud. The reader can also see, especially in The Saga of the Volsungs, a source of the inspiration of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and the other works of his legendarium.
Publication Title
Mythlore
Volume
40
Issue
1
First Page
261
Last Page
264
Recommended Citation
Fitzsimmons, Phillip, "The Saga of the Volsungs: With the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, translated by Jackson Crawford" (2021). Faculty Articles & Research. 46.
https://dc.swosu.edu/libraries_articles/46