The Sagas of Kormak and the Sworn Brothers by Hollander, Lee M. (translator)

Princeton/New York. 1949. Princeton University Press for the American-Scandinavian Foundation. 1st American Edition. Very Good. No Dustjacket. Translated from the Old Icelandic & With An Introduction & Notes by Lee Hollander. 218 pages. hardcover. FROM THE PUBLISHER - These two sagas from 13th century Iceland are here linked together as an interesting contrast in biographic sagas. One is a saga of love, the other of revenge; both are rich in the lore and practice of olden times, yet strangely modern in their insights and in their concern with character study. KORMAK'S SAGA, a love tale amazingly fiery for an age notably clear-eyed and unsentimental, illustrates the truth of the Old Norse adage that a man's character is his fate; it is Kormak's problematic character which is the core and substance of this curious saga. This is indeed a problem tale for the psychologists, of a passionate lifetime love repeatedly frustrated by what we call superstition. THE SAGA OF THE SWORN BROTHERS, the saga of revenge, centers around the fate and character of Thormod, the loyal scorn brother, adventurer. lover and poet. We cannot commend his violence, but we can admire his loyalty to his friend Thorgeir and to his king, Saint Olaf. The saga is excellent storytelling, both from local tradition and in the invention of the narrator. inventory #33566