Life and Death of Cormac the Skald

"Kormaks saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of the 10th century Icelandic poet, Kormkr Ogmundarson, and Steingerdr, the love of his life. The saga preserves a significant amount of poetry attributed to Kormakr, much of it dealing with his love for Steingerdr. Though the saga is believed to have been among the earliest sagas composed it is well preserved. The unknown author clearly relies on oral tradition and seems unwilling to add much of his own or even to fully integrate the different accounts he knew of Kormakr. Often he does little more than briefly set the scenes for Kormakr's stanzas.

Heimskringla or Chronicle of the Kings of Norway

Heimskringla is the best known of the old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179 - 1242) ca. 1230. The name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts (kringla heimsins - the circle of the world).

Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Raven the Skald

Gunnlaug answers, "Neither Onund nor Thorfin are men as good as my father. Nay, thou thyself clearly fallest short of him--or what hast thou to set against his strife with Thorgrim the Priest, the son of Kiallak, and his sons, at Thorsness Thing, where he carried all that was in debate?"

Fridthjof's Saga

King Bele of Sogn had two sons, Helgi and Halfdan, and a daughter named Ingeborg. Across the fjord, lived the king's friend Thorstein Vkingsson whose son Fridthjof (Frijfr), called "the bold," was the bravest among men. Fridthjof had been raised with Ingeborg by their foster-father Hilding. Both Bele and Thorsteinn died in war whereupon Helgi and Halfdan ruled the kingdom. They were jealous of Fridthjof's excellent qualities and denied Fridthjof Ingeborg's hand. They took her to Balder's sacred enclosure where no one dared touch her. Still, Fridthjof visited Ingeborg and their love for each other continued to grow. This angered Helgi and Halfdan and Fridthjof was banished to Orkney.

Egil's Saga

Egil's Saga covers five generations of Egil's family, starting with his grandfather in Norway, who seems to be a werewolf, and ending with Egil's grandchildren starting murderous feuds in Iceland. In between we have the family falling in and out of favor with the man who makes himself King of Norway, massacres of Finns, Viking raids in Denmark and the British Isles, massacres of Norwegians, Egil committing his first murder at the age of eight (precocious, even in the sagas), massacres of Danes, Egil serving as a mercenary with the English against the Scots, massacres of Scots, ...