The Saga of the Greenlanders (Grœnlendinga Saga) is one of the two Icelandic Sagas which make up the Vínland Sagas (Vínlandingasögur), along with The Saga of Erik the Red (Eiríks Saga Rauða), which tell the story of the Norse discovery of North America. 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: 'sǫgur' or 'sögur') translates as 'that which is said', or more widely: a 'saying', 'statement', 'story', 'tale', or 'narrative'.
This book contains:
- The Saga of the Greenlanders (Grœnlendinga Saga) (Old Norse Version)
- The Saga of the Greenlanders (Grœnlendinga Saga) (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 1,935 Norse words translated in to English, and 1,142 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.