Icelandic Tales 3 (Íslendinga þættir 3)

Old Icelandic is a variety of Old West Norse that emerged during the Norse settlement of Iceland in the second half of the 9th century. The rich tradition of Icelandic literature survived by oral tradition over several centuries before being written down in the 13th Century. The meaning of the word 'saga' (plural: 'sǫgur' or 'sögur') translates as 'that which is said', or more widely: a 'saying', 'statement', 'story', 'tale', or 'narrative'. As well as the 'saga', there is also the short story called the 'Þáttr' (plural: 'Þættir'), meaning a strand of rope or a yarn, comparable to the word 'yarn' in English sometimes used to refer to a story. This book contains:
- The Tale of Thorstein the Staff-Struck (þorsteins Þáttr stangarhǫggs)
- The Tale of Halldor Snorrason II (Halldórs Þáttr Snorrasonar inn síðari)
- The Tale of Thorleif, the Earl's Poet (þorleifs Þáttr jarlsskálds)
- The Tale of Hreidar the Fool (Hreiðars Þáttr heimska) The texts are presented in their original Norse, with a literal word-for-word line-by-line translation, and a Modern English translation, all side-by-side. In this way, it is possible to see and feel how the Norse language worked and how it has evolved. Also included is a word list with 2,867 Norse words translated in to English, and 2,129 English words translated into Norse. This book is designed to be of use and interest to anyone with a passion for the Old Norse or Old Icelandic language, Norse history, or languages and history in general.