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The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue (Gunnlaugs Saga Ormstungu) is the story of a promising young man named Gunnlaug who achieves fame for his bravery and poetry in the courts of kings and earls throughout the Norse world. However, a prophetic dream foretells a love rivalry, betrayal, and tragedy. The rich tradition of Icelandic literature survived by oral tradition over several centuries before being written down in the 13th Century.
Old Norse is a North Germanic language spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. Old Icelandic is a variety of Old West Norse that emerged during the Norse settlement of Iceland in the second half of the 9th century.
The meaning of the word 'saga' (plural: 's¿gur' or 'sögur') translates as 'that which is said', or more widely: a 'saying', 'statement', 'story', 'tale', or 'narrative'.
This book contains:
- The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue (Old Norse Version)
- The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue (Old Icelandic Version)
The texts are presented in their original Norse, with a literal word-for-word line-by-line translation, and a Modern English translation, all side-by-side. In this way, it is possible to see and feel how the Norse language worked and how it has evolved. Also included is a word list with 3,019 Norse words translated in to English, and 1,846 English words translated into Norse.
This book is designed to be of use and interest to anyone with a passion for the Old Norse or Old Icelandic language, Norse history, or languages and history in general.
