The Saga of the Volsungs
by Anonymous · Völsunga saga
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 1250-1300
- Era
- Medieval
- Form
- Epic poetry
- Language
- Other
- Length
- Short · 110 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Saga of the Volsungs, translated by Jesse L. ByockPenguin Classics, 1999A clear prose translation with an introduction on the legend's history and its use by Wagner and Tolkien.
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An Icelandic prose saga retelling in order the poems of the heroic Edda. It follows the Volsung family from Odin's descendant Volsung through Sigmund, who draws the god's sword from a tree, to his son Sigurd, who kills the dragon Fafnir, wins its cursed gold, wakes the valkyrie Brynhild from her enchanted sleep, and then, drugged into forgetting her, marries Gudrun and wins Brynhild for Gudrun's brother Gunnar. Brynhild has Sigurd murdered and kills herself; Gudrun's later marriage to Atli ends with the slaughter of her brothers and her revenge on her husband.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Saga of the Volsungs are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
