Sagas
Icelanders will tell you that the greatest of the sagas contain everything you need to know about life. And while it is certainly true that no other ancient literature can match them for gripping, laconically told tales of individuals caught in inexorable, often terrible fates, getting acquainted with them will also reveal something of the people, culture and history of Iceland. The word saga itself simply means "thing told", and several types exist. Written between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, in a language similar to the Icelandic spoken today, that we have the manuscripts today is down, in the main, to just one man, Arni Magnusson (1663-1730). As the Icelanders became increasingly poor under Danish rule, when many manuscripts could be found stuffing holes in farmhouse walls, Arni Magnusson made it his mission to save them and take them to Copenhagen for storage. Once there, however, they were nearly all destroyed in a fire, though Arni saved many himself. Following Iceland's independence in 1944, a strong political movement arose to return the manuscripts from Copenhagen and an institute was established to receive them. Such was the political importance attached to these priceless artifacts that some were brought back by gun boat. On reading a saga, the first thing you notice is the hard-boiled style: unemotional and sparing on external description, but with details given early on that become deeply significant as the tales unfold. When we first meet Hallgerd as a child in Njal's Saga, for example, we are told of her striking long hair, which goes on to play a key part in the death of one of the saga's heroes. Whether these tales are actually true or not is a matter of intense scholarly debate, with one school believing them to be the final, written stages of a long oral tradition, and another arguing that they are creative outpourings of individual artists. In the end, this doesn't matter - what does is that, when read today, they feel immediate and believable. There are many good translations available, most of the major ones published by Penguin (especially Egil's Saga, Njal's Saga and the Laxdaela Saga). A recent anthology The Sagas of Icelanders collects a number of good translations, taken from the complete series of English translations The Complete Sagas of Icelander's (Leifur Eiriksson Publishing). Sagas range in subject from those about Icelandic bishops ( biskupasogur ); saints' lives ( heilagra manna sogur ); the massive saga of the Sturlung age ( Sturlunga saga ); sagas of the Norse Kings, either individual sagas or collected in Snorri Sturlusson's Heimskringla ; and chivalric stories of knights in armour ( riddarasogur ) and the fornaldarsogur , stories of mythical times past, with dragons, dwarves and heroic figures. The most famous and original of all, however, are the so-called "sagas of Icelanders", or Islendinga sogur . These were written down mainly in the thirteenth century, but tell of events around the Settlement three hundred years earlier, during what became known as the saga age . They read like histories, being set in real places (many of which still bear the same name today), and usually begin with a series of genealogies establishing the "historical" origins of the main characters. Some are biographies of individuals - such as poets, such as Egil's Saga , or of outlaws, such as Grettir's Saga . Many tell of long-running feuds, from origin to conclusion - such as Njal's Saga . Others are identified by a focus on a particular area - the Laxdaela Saga is a good example of this.
ANDREAandrea cuevas says "to make better foods// and to cut diz web site
" IcelandAaliyah says "Iceland is a beautiful country! Make sure to bring all your necessities. And have fun,exploring this wonderful country!" This Has To Be!PoorStudent says "This has to be the lamest country ever!" coolioomjay im so cool says "omjay iceland is like sooooo totally awsome ya knw check it out" Icelandcrackhead says "iceland sux, go f*** yourself" ................ says ".........................................is diz tirng ern ?????????????????????????????????????......................................................................" alohaAshley says "this sounds like a good country but you need a liitle more food" alohaAshley says "this sounds like a good country but you need a liitle more food" greathorse world says "the food here is amazing, don't knock it until you try it. this is a place where you can expierence the breathtaking landscapes, the extreme outdoors, delicious foods, a distinctive culture, and many other wonders. " how rude!unknown says "This is a well recpected web sit and it is upsetting to know some of you guys are leaving rude comments. I understand that you have your opinons but if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say nothing all. Well I been to Iceland and the place is absoultly beatuiful." yUR MOM`UNkNOWN' says "AlRiTE lETSz CEE'h hERE,
i CANt EVEN BEGiN tOO' StARt WitH WHy` yEW GUySz EAt ALl tHAT NASty StUFF...MANNNN...
lEMME`h tElL yEW GUySz NEEd tO COM tO tHE UNitEd StATES Of AMERiCA`ANd HAVE SOM CHiCkEN OR PATAtOES, BEANSz && RiCE, AHAHAHHHAHA,,,
HOpE yEW liKE WHAt i ROtE M.P,,, = ]
lAtERRR`*" WTFNot 4 u 2 know says "y da h3!! d0 u guys 3at dat nasty m3ss ram t3sticl3s wow ya!! must hav3 nothin 3!s3 to 3at im d0in a r3p0rt 0n u guys n i hav3 2 ask wat da fr3akin he!! was in ur mind w3n u at3 that crap , u guys need 2 c0m3 2 da U.S n get some human food cuz seriously ram t3sticl3s wtf . (d0nt 4get chick3n , p0tat0es , bread !0! . 1 m0re qu3sti0n y da h3!! do u guys 3at sharks i rath3r lick puss.i !0!" lollipoplanie says "lick lick lick like a lollipop!!" lolandrea says "lmbo!!! (laugh my butt of)" lolandrea says "lmbo!!! (laugh my butt of)" ~Giggle~ASH says "Iceland sux why waste your time!!" you sucknot gonna tell ya says "All you pu**y B***h people suck... So f**k off" reall f0000dsAnge Burns says "you icelandics shoruld really try thaiiii foooood"
Your Tip for Iceland
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Iceland - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Iceland - visit the main Iceland forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Iceland webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
