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King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway from Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (Classics)
 
 
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King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway from Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (Classics) (Paperback)

by Snorri Sturluson (Author), Hermann Palsson (Introduction, Translator), Magnus Magnusson (Introduction, Translator) "Harald Sigurdsson was a half-brother of King Olaf the Saint; they had the same mother.1 ..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Impression edition (28 April 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140441832
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140441833
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 40,858 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #2 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Poetry > Genres > Norse & Icelandic Sagas
    #2 in  Books > Biography > Essays, Journals & Letters > Classical & Medieval
    #14 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Essays, Journals & Letters > Classical, Early & Medieval

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Product Description

Product Description

This compelling Icelandic history describes the life of King Harald Hardradi, from his battles across Europe and Russia to his final assault on England in 1066, less than three weeks before the invasion of William the Conqueror. It was a battle that led to his death and marked the end of an era in which Europe had been dominated by the threat of Scandinavian forces. Despite England’s triumph, it also played a crucial part in fatally weakening the English army immediately prior to the Norman Conquest, changing the course of history. Taken from the Heimskringla – Snorri Sturluson’s complete account of Norway from prehistoric times to 1177 – this is a brilliantly human depiction of the turbulent life and savage death of the last great Norse warrior-king.
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Harald Sigurdsson was a half-brother of King Olaf the Saint; they had the same mother.1 Read the first page
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction to the sagas, 8 Nov 2002
By A Customer
On a long car trip, my very cool 16-year-old son finally gave in to my urgings and started grudgingly to read this book (the only one in the car). After grumbling his way through the first page or so, he became completely caught up in it and started to exclaim aloud: "Whoa! Listen to this! Harald has just put out the Byzantine emperor's eyes!" "He just threw all the prisoners overboard so that the pursuing fleet would have to stop and rescue them!" "He just told the enemy earl to 'kiss my thin-lipped axe'!"

The saga starts with the fifteen-year-old Harald fleeing for his life through the Norwegian forest after the battle that killed his older brother, King Olaf (Saint Olaf). Harald is a historical figure, and if one-tenth of the stories about him are true, he was a towering leader and villain.

The translation is wonderful, the language is vivid, and the emotions and intelligence of these eleventh-century figures are as modern as those of any story of our own times. I can't think of a better introduction to the world of the sagas.

After this, read Njals Saga and Egils Saga!

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A life enough for ten men, 28 Dec 2000
Harald fits into English history as the character who sapped Harold's strength in 1066, distracting him north to Stamford Bridge before his defeat by William in the south. This saga shows Stamford Bridge was the climax of a far more fascinating life. A swash buckling epic around the Mediterranean, Africa, Russia, the Byzantine Empire and Scandanavia. Written around the 1220-30s, this is epic stuff in a pithy style.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Politics is a dirty business, 20 Aug 2007
By Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This saga is a series of wars, mercenaries, plundering, raiding, razing, destructions (`islanders lost their lives there, flames devoured their houses'), murders, revenges, jealousies, cruelties, maiming, confiscations, taxations by an autocratic and vindictive king (`I kill without compunction').
But in the end, `birds of carrions follow to feast on valiant seamen.'
All in all, this tale is not a very beautiful picture of one of the masters of mankind.

Snorri Sturluson wrote a unique and original (a mixture of poetry and prose) historical document.
He builds fluently the historical events into a saga. But at the end he is very hard for his hero: `He was brutal to his enemies ... he was exceptionally greedy for power and valuable possessions ...he went to war for fame and power and he forced everyone he could into submission.'
His ultimate fate was well deserved: `and so he was killed in another king's land.'

Not to be missed by all lovers of world literature.
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