Heimskringla : Or, the Lives of the Norse Kings

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Summary: A serious chronicle with lots of juicy tidbits
Review: Few topics might have a less boring promise to them than a a dreary, commented narration of the deeds of long-dead monarchs. But, as it happens, in the skilful hands of that remote, enigmatic figure that was Snorre Sturlason, this compendium becomes a thrilling subject likely to satisfy the mind of the professional historian and thirst for adventure of the young, budding intellectual turk.Mr. Sturlason is indeed a kind of mysterious figure. Icelandic by birth, he would no doubt feel at home in the world of modern politics; as a matter of fact, he might have one or two things to teach any well seasoned contemporary politician. Why he devoted his life to political scheming and Norse history, we shall never know for sure; but should be under no illusion about his prowess in both disciplines. He's no doubt the Herodotus of the northern latitudes - and the Machiavelli. Nonetheless, in analogy to other historical figures, he machinated and intrigued a bit too far, which brought him his demise, after an anyway rather long life. At the thirteenth century, the historical framework that saw the flourishing of Snorre Sturlason, the dynasties of Norwegian kings have come to an end. Not surprisingly so though, due to the extreme bellicosity and, from our late twentieth century point of view, hooligan-like features that characterized that string of monarchs. Snorre's tale starts at the mythical times of the creation of the world, eons ago, with a crisp narrative of the well-known old Norse cosmology. It is not clear where mythology terminates and history begins, and one cannot help but wondering if the scheming historian kept the ambiguity on purpose. At any rate, Snorre's prose flows easily and leads the reader deep into the old Norse world and customs, everyday life, nonchalantly describing grim, sometimes gruesome deeds, bringing us back to a period in which the conception of the world, ethics, morality and existence itself, were vastly different from ours in the West. The reader will no doubt be captured by the relentless, powerful sense of revenge implicit in the death of a Scottish chieftain, who succumbed to infection that set in due to the injuries done to his leg by the teeth of the head of a Norse invader, that he had cut off and tied up to this horse's saddle as a victory trophy; or by the moving, and the same time horrific, reaction of king Harald the Fairhaired at the death of his favourite lover Snaefrid, the details of which we leave for the inquisitive reader to discover. A milestone in the world literature and history, the Heimskringla will leave no one unmoved, and will surely expand the vision of many.

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Summary: the best of all icelandic sagas
Review: Heimskringla is the account of the kings of Norway, starting with the Norse god Odin as a great general and wizard and centered around the story of St. Olav, king of Norway for 15 years. The detailed account of his years as a king is over 200 pages long and the Old Norwegian terms will keep you reading the footnotes some of the time, but it helps.