The Story of the Volsungs is an epic work by William Morris, numbering over 10,000 lines and notable for inspiring the high fantasy literature of J. R. R. Tolkien and other famous authors. In his lifetime, Morris was praised by contemporaries for this poem, inspired by the existing legends of Nibelungenlied and the Volsungs, dating to the Middle Ages. The warrior society these tales depict are thought to have a reasonable measure of grounding in the reality of Nordic life as it was during antiquity; a martial culture, where strength and iron playing their pivotal part. We are introduced to the legend with a wedding; King Volsung's daughter Signy marries Siggeir, king of the Goths. However the God Odin, disguised as an elderly man of benign appearance, enters the ceremony and drives a blade into a tree trunk. Inviting everyone in the room to draw their swords in response, it is to the shock of those attending the ceremony that only Sigmund, a young and otherwise undistinguished man, is able to do so.

The Story of the Volsungs is an epic work by William Morris, numbering over 10,000 lines and notable for inspiring the high fantasy literature of J. R. R. Tolkien and other famous authors. In his lifetime, Morris was praised by contemporaries for this poem, inspired by the existing legends of Nibelungenlied and the Volsungs, dating to the Middle Ages. The warrior society these tales depict are thought to have a reasonable measure of grounding in the reality of Nordic life as it was during antiquity; a martial culture, where strength and iron playing their pivotal part. We are introduced to the legend with a wedding; King Volsung's daughter Signy marries Siggeir, king of the Goths. However the God Odin, disguised as an elderly man of benign appearance, enters the ceremony and drives a blade into a tree trunk. Inviting everyone in the room to draw their swords in response, it is to the shock of those attending the ceremony that only Sigmund, a young and otherwise undistinguished man, is able to do so.

A life scarce worth the living, a poor fame Scarce worth the winning, in a wretched land, Where fear and pain go upon either hand, As toward the end men fare without an aim Unto the dull grey dark from whence they came: Let them alone, the unshadowed sheer rocks stand Over the twilight graves of that poor band, Who count so little in the great world's game Nay, with the dead I deal not; this man lives, And that which carried him through good and ill, Stern against fate while his voice echoed still From rock to rock, now he lies silent, strives With wasting time, and through its long lapse gives Another friend to me, life's void to fill. WILLIAM MORRIS.

Thus beginneth the tale, telling how that King Beli ruled over Sogn-land; three children had he, whereof Helgi was his first son, and Halfdan his second, but Ingibiorg his daughter. Ingibiorg was fair of face and wise of mind, and she was ever accounted the foremost of the king's children. Now a certain strand went west of the firth, and a great stead was thereon, which was called Baldur's Meads; a Place of Peace was there, and a great temple, and round about it a great garth of pales: many gods were there, but amidst them all was Baldur held of most account. So jealous were the heathen men of this stead, that they would have no hurt done therein to man nor beast, nor might any man have dealings with a woman there. Sowstrand was the name of that stead whereas the king dwelt; but on the other side the firth was an abode named Foreness, where dwelt a man called Thorstein, the son of Viking; and his stead was over against the king's dwelling. Thorstein had a son by his wife called Frithiof: he was the tallest and strongest of men, and more furnished of all prowess than any other man, even from his youth up. Frithiof the Bold was he called, and so well beloved was he, that all prayed for good things for him.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

That summer there was with Bardi in his Thing-journey one Thord, the goodman at Broadford in Waterdale; he had two horses, all white except for black ears. These horses he deemed beasts so dear, that he would not miss them for any other horses. But it befell for Thord's faring-mishap that both these horses vanished away.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

William Morris is normally thought of as a fantasy precursor of Tolkien, having written "The Wood Beyond the World" among others. But he was also a translator, along with Eirkr Magnsson, of tales originally in old Icelandic.

"Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Raven the Skald" is one of those efforts. It's an Icelandic saga composed in the 13th century, concerning the tragic rivalry of two poets, Gunnlag and Hrafn, for the hand of orsteinn Egilsson's daughter, Helga the Fair. The rivalry is carried out first in poetry, and later with weapons, as Gunnlaug challenges Hrafn to a holmgang -- a duel recognized by the Norse as a way to settle disputes.

The saga is the first Icelandic saga to be published in an English edition.

That summer there was with Bardi in his Thing-journey one Thord, the goodman at Broadford in Waterdale; he had two horses, all white except for black ears. These horses he deemed beasts so dear, that he would not miss them for any other horses. But it befell for Thord's faring-mishap that both these horses vanished away.