Reviews for The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer

The average rating for The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-02-01 00:00:00 Gymmy Boy "Now Sigurd rode away. His ornamented shield was plated with red gold and emblazoned with a dragon. Its top half was dark brown and its bottom half light red, and his helmet, saddle, and buffcoat were all marked in this way. He wore a mail coat of gold and all his weapons were ornamented with gold. In this way the dragon was illustrated on all of his arms, so that when he was seen, all who had heard the story would recognize him as the one who had killed the great dragon called Fafnir by the Vaerings." Move over, St. George. Step aside, St. Michae. And save some of that ale and meat, Beowulf. For there is another dragon slayer in town, and his name is Sigurd. Most of us have heard of these other dragon slayers, but few have heard of Sigurd. Maybe more of us has heard of him by his German name Siegfried, from the tales of the Nibelungenlied. Some people might know the name of this hero from the composer Richard Wagner who drew from both the Icelandic and German sagas for inspiration while creating his grand musical dramas. Unless you are from one of the cold Nordic countries, you probably have not had much of an opportunity to hear about the exploits of the warrior Sigurd. Sigurd is descended from the Volsung family, and let me tell you, this is one crazy, brutal, blood to the shoulder kind of family. Any perceived slight is a cause for violence; odds such as 10 to 1 or 100 to 1 are never calculated. More men just means more skulls to crack, more arms to lob off, and more spleens to split. A Volsung sword once unsheathed is a weapon that will not be put away without blood dripping from the tip. A lot of these old sagas would be lost, except for the diligent interest and meticulous work shown by Icelandic writers. "It is not by chance that in Scandinavia so much of the narrative material about the Volsungs was preserved in Iceland. Fortunately for posterity, writing became popular among the Icelanders in the thirteenth century, when interest in old tales was still strong. Almost all the Old Norse narrative material that has survived---whether myth, legend, saga, history, or poetry---is found in Icelandic manuscripts, which form the largest existing vernacular literature of the medieval West." After reading that, my mind just kind of goes KABLOOEY. The tiny, sparsely populated, volcanic churning, bitter cold country of Iceland is where the Northern oral traditions were best preserved? Still to this day, Icelanders are intense readers who have a wonderful reading tradition that is a part of their Christmas holiday. It is no surprise that they are one of the most literate countries in the world. "The Nordic countries dominated the top of the charts, with Finland in first place and Norway in second, and Iceland, Denmark and Sweden rounding out the top five. Switzerland followed in sixth, with the US in seventh, Canada in 11th, France in 12th and the UK in 17th place." Hey United Kingdom, what gives? Let me introduce Sigurd's father: "Sigmund had a much smaller force. A fierce battle commenced, and, although Sigmund was old, he fought hard and was always at the front of his men. Neither shield nor mail coat could withstand him, and again and again that day he went through the ranks of his enemies, and no one could foresee how it would end between them. Many a spear and arrow was cast in the air. Sigmund's spaewomen (female spirits), however, shielded him so well that he remained unscathed, and no one could count how many men fell before him. Both his arms were bloody to the shoulder." You thought I was kidding about the bloody to the shoulder thing, didn't you? Sigmund has many rather bizarre encounters in his lifetime, including this French snogging action with a she-wolf. "She licked his face all over with her tongue and then reached her tongue into his mouth. He did not lose his composure and bit into the wolf's tongue. She jerked and pulled back hard, thrusting her feet against the trunk so that is split apart." Patooey...wolf slobbers!! Behind all of these circumstances is that shifty, one-eyed bastard Odin who appears out of the mist to offer his "help" and then disappears into the mouth of the chaos he has left behind him. There are numerous Lady Macbeth characters sprinkled throughout this saga. Women who are more ambitious and, in many ways, more vicious than their men. They goad their husbands/lovers into rash, usually violent actions. It goes well beyond Eve tempting Adam with an apple, as war or revenge are the usual objective. There is also a healthy dose of betrayal, jealousy, incest, sorcery, gore, greed, unrequited love, fratricide, and filicide. One shudder worthy moment was a mother serving a father wine in the skulls of his sons. There are stories in this saga that would make Quentin Tarantino turn a paler shade of white. Michael Ridpath's intriguing Icelandic mystery Where the Shadows Lie turned me onto The Saga of the Volsungs which, now that I've read that story, has encouraged me to pursue even more ancient tales, such as Njal's Saga, The Saga of Grettir the Strong, Egil's Saga, The Vinland Sagas, The Nibelungenlied, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, and The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok. These will, of course, lead to more sagas, and as I gain a working knowledge of these tales, my enjoyment of them will continue to grow as well. If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit I also have a Facebook blogger page at:

Review # 2 was written on 2018-07-07 00:00:00 Caleb Marsh List of Maps Introduction, by Jesse L. Byock Note on the Translation --The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer Notes Eddic Poems Used by the Saga Author Glossary