The Saga of the Volsungs:
The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer
In his translation of The Saga of the Volsungs: the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, Jesse L. Byock compiles many versions of this famous Norse epic and creates a very important scholarly work. Of special importance is the introduction, which provides a central working background to base readings upon. There are several themes echoed throughout the translation that reflect accurately on this portion of history. Byock does a superb job of illustrating these important aspects in his work. While the tale Byock tells is a fairy-tale handed down by generations of families, within the reader can find tell-tale signs of important aspects of Norse culture. For instance, important aspects of family life and the role of men and women surface. Likewise, the importance of wealth and material possessions on the power and prestige of a king is also evident.
While these aspects are important to the discussion of the narrative, there is another more important aspect to the story. While it is not necessary to relay the entire contents of the translation, it is important to know that the discourse is focused on the rise and fall of Sigurd the mighty dragon slayer. All events leading up to his birth merely foreshadow the coming of a great yet fated king. All events following his life and death merely relate the damnation suffered by him and his closest family members. That said, it can be stated that one of the most central aspects of the work is the role that fate and divine guidance play on the family and friends of Sigurd. This, in turn, says much about the importance of fate and religion to the medieval Norse peoples.
Crucial to the epic of Sigurd is the presence of Odin. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that this tale is weaved with threads from each of Odin’s most divine characteristics: war, wisdom, death, and ecstasy. Only Odin is there to see this epic through from beginning to end. Indeed, it was Odin who set the events in motion. It could reasonably be asserted that despite the favor shown towards Sigurd, Odin knew of Sigurd’s eventual downfall and the downfall of his family. When Odin set the world in motion, he knew what events would transpire and that he would be there to see them through.
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...he was free to do so of his own accord. However, therein lies an important lesson to the Norse storyteller. When man is given free reign to make decisions of his own accord, he must accept that he has made his dent in the fabric of fate and that his actions will effect generations thereafter. Sins of the father are passed on. In summary, with the gift of free will comes the burden of accountability.
This translation tells a wonderful tale and it is amazing that it has been preserved for this amount of time. Byock does a fantastic job of editing and telling his story. His introduction sets the stage very well, as it gives historical and cultural insight into his work. Several important lessons can be taken from the work and applied to the study of medieval Norse peoples. One of the most important aspects is the role that fate and divine intervention have on the lives of everyday man and that nothing happens by accident. The guidance of Odin and the reliance on fate are echoed throughout the work and serve as the backdrop for each characters action. This insight allows historians to dig into the narrative and extract special significance from the text.
The paper will begin with a look at the life of Tolkien. This will serve the purpose of providing some context for the novel. Looking into the life of Tolkien will also serve to give the reader some insight into the mind that gave birth to such a rich land and why the novel may have some importance for sufferers of mental illness. Next will likely be a short summation of the
Why has religion always been such a complicated topic? Why can it not just be as simple as praying to God for good health? Religion has been the source of many problems for thousands of years including the time period in which two of the most famous works were written. Paganism being converted into Christianity was a vast issue presented during this time. Throughout this paper the dictional similarities of the purposes of the authors of the Dream of the Rood and Beowulf will be compared and discussed. Both authors present their goals by using characteristics of the Norse Mythological Gods, to describe the heroes in both poems to lead their readers, the Anglo- Saxons, to convert to Christianity.
Ancient, timeless, and very, very hard to read, Beowulf has plagued well-meaning college students for centuries with its cryptic passages and vague metaphors. Yet at the root it resonates with a sort of clear allegorical criticism aimed at Scandinavian warrior society. In the story of Beowulf, the unnatural fiends in the poem were each symbols for the political strife in the system. They formed the basic constructs in an allegory against the flawed nature of the warrior society at the time.
Over the course of the poem, Beowulf transitions from a heroic warrior to a noble king. The last lines of the epic, "kindest to kinfolk yet keenest for fame" undoubtedly refers to the transitions of roles the main character undergoes, as well as the differing values and responsibilities accompanying each role. Time and again in the poem the major themes of what makes a good king and what makes a good hero are presented. As both a warrior and a king, Beowulf must reconcile the opposing values and duties of each position in society. This essay seeks to show that the final line of the epic relates to the whole poem in terms of the tension between the roles of hero and king.
This essay discussed the poem Hamðismál and the actions that take place in it. There is quite a bit of killing that takes place in this poem of 31 stanzas. It begins with a woman describing an event that took place some time ago in which her daughter was killed by a king by the name of Jörmunrekkr. This woman, Guðrún, sends her two sons Hamðir and Sǫrli to avenge the death of their half-sister, Svanhildr. An account is given of the repercussions of this decision of Guðrún and the destiny of her family.
In “Homer’s” epic poem the “Odyssey”, Odysseus the epic hero and the protagonist of the epic poem, falls into a series of trials and tribulations on his odyssey from Troy the sight of the Trojan War to his home and his rightful throne in Ithaca. Despite the presence of divine intervention throughout the “Odyssey”, the trials and tribulations he faces throughout his odyssey from Troy to Ithaca are due to his own choices. This can be seen in the characteristics of an Epic Hero that Odysseus contains, and the necessity for divine intervention.
For twelve winters, an evil monster ruled the Kingdom of Herot. This monster was known as Grendel, who lived in the darkness. He battled man, and lead many to their deaths, as Grendel was one against so many, but he stood victorious. The only ones who survived, were those who fled from Herot. Grendel’s motive was the happiness and joy of Herot, which he sought out to destroy. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, suffered in unbelief, the monster had taken his kingdom and left it deserted. The rumors and stories had reached the shores of other kingdoms, Herot was in distress.
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
A common theme in the sagas we read is revenge. Revenge in the sagas can be seen in many ways and connects with various different Scandinavian ideals such as honor and family. A blood vengeance is similar to the idea of an eye for an eye; its vengeance for bloodshed, by bloodshed, and typically it’s a never-ending cycle. The theme of revenge is most prominent in “The Saga of the People of Laxardal” and “The Saga of the people of Vatsndal”.
Vikings: A History (2012), by Neil Oliver, is an epic history of who the Viking were. The Vikings were made famous for the raping and pillaging of villages throughout Northern and Central Europe, and were admired for their violent, battle hungry warriors, but through past excavations and historical artifacts Oliver debunks what's myth and what was real in the Viking age. Neil Oliver is a Scottish journalist, archeologist, and historian in association with the BBC. The focus point of this book is the question of “who were the Vikings?” as well as tracing them from their initial ancestry.
The characterization of women proves that loyalty is essential to having a harmonious society that is under perpetual threats. Near the middle of the poem, a minstrel performs a tale for those in Heorot Hall. The tale is about the battle between the Danes and Frisians. The author characterizes Hildeburh as a gift, revealing that loyalty is important to keeping a harmonious society that is always threatened. He writes, “Finn was cut down, the queen brought away and everything the Shieldings could find inside Finn’s walls-the Frisian king’s gold collars and gemstones-swept off to the ship. Over sea-lanes then back to Daneland the warrior troop bore that lady home” (1153-1157:81). Here, Hildeburh acts as a mediator and remains loyal to her son and her brother despite their being on opposing sides. It is suggested that Hildeburh is acceptable of returning back to Denmark because as an Anglo-Saxon woman, she knows that she must abide by the rules of peace-keeping. The fact that the author does not include her reaction of coming hom...
Arguments for any interpretation of Beowulf have therefore described discursive configurations within the poem which have then been projected outside it to map, explicitly or otherwise, such a context of tradition, genre, ethos, Weltanschauung. The trouble is that the less aware the critic that this is his procedure, the more likely is he to be not “finding” but forming those very intratextual orders by projecting into the poem his own historical assumptions or the contemporary ideological and generic habits of his own reading. . . .Perhaps the central interpretive claim for B is that the monsters are “evil” and the hero “good,” and that the poem is articulated by a thematic conflict between good and evil. . . . (111-112).
The word “Vikings” conjures up a very specific and powerful image in the minds of those who hear it. An European from the eighth to mid-eleventh century would be struck with fear for Vikings were known as pillagers and barbarians that killed everything they saw (Magnússon, Magnús). Unlike today, when one hears “Viking” the image of a strong, rugged man with a horned helmet and a giant sword might come to mind. With many myths and fantastic stories, many historians and archaeologists have gone into the study of Vikings to find the truth. Rudolf Pörnter is a German historian and author of many books on the Holy Roman Empire and the Romans. F. D. Logan has a doctorate in Medieval Studies and was Professor of History at Emmanuel College, now Professor
...vidence why historians cannot distinguish a single cause for the Vikings drive to travel. Religion may be a factor but the most common or shared need among these varies groups of Vikings is urban marketing and trade. This is not an answer to the age-old question, “why did they invade”, but insight into “who” they were as a culture of many different identities with similar needs.
The grand story of Beowulf is challenged by Tolkien in his scholarly literary criticism, in to which he goes into substantial depth of the overall poem and its meaning. His literary criticism is the epitome of criticisms as he provides details to all of his claims, and shows an obvious understanding of the novel Beowulf and its background information. Tolkien provides the readers with his view of the book and its literary significance while making a thoughtful idea that revolves around the theme of mortality in Beowulf.