Viking Tales Illustrated Edition

Viking Tales is a historical children's book that recounts legends, myths and sagas of Vikings, their achievements, and the Viking ethos and culture. The journey starts in Norway with the birth of Harald Shock Hair, son of Halfdan the Black. Harald was the one who united the lesser kingdoms of Norway and formed a united, powerful nation. The best known part of his legend is that he vowed he would not cut his hair until he had defeated all his enemies, and become the great king, worthy of princess Gyda. From Norway, the book leads the way to Iceland, a land of ice and fire, and tells the stories of Viking leaders Ingolf and Leif who founded a colony on Iceland, Eric the Red being outlawed and discovering Greenland and founding a colony there, or Leif Ericson's discovery of Wineland (North America)

So the best skalds traveled much and visited many people. Their songs made them welcome everywhere. They were always honored with good seats at a feast. They were given many rich gifts. Even the King of Norway would sometimes send across the water to Iceland, saying to some famous skald: "Come and visit me. You shall not go away empty-handed. Men say that the sweetest songs are in Iceland. I wish to hear them."

CLASSIC VIKING STORIES/b> Viking Tales is a classic collection of stories that follows the life of Harald Fairhair. DETAILS: Includes the Original Illustrations

Viking Tales BY Hall, Jennie, 1875-1921 illustrators by Lambdin, Victor Ralph, 1876-1963 Content The baby -- The tooth thrall -- Olaf's farm -- Olaf's fight with Havard -- Foes'-fear -- Harald is king -- Harald's battle -- Gyda's saucy message -- The sea fight -- King Harald's wedding -- King Harald goes west-over-seas -- Homes in Iceland -- Eric the Red -- Leif and his new land -- Wineland the good. Story Plot: Nights were long in Iceland winters of long ago. A whole family sat for hours around the fire in the middle of the room. That fire gave the only light. Shadows flitted in the dark corners. Smoke curled along the high beams of the ceiling. The children sat on the dirt floor close by the fire. The grown people were on a long narrow bench that they had pulled up to the light and warmth. Everybody's hands were busy with wool. As the family worked in the red fire-light, the father told of the kings of Norway, of long voyages to strange lands, of good fights. And in farmhouses all through Iceland these old tales were told over and over until everybody knew them and loved them. Men who could sing and play the harp were called "skalds," and they called their songs "sagas." Eventually these stories were written down on sheepskin or vellum so that we can enjoy them today. We follow the fortunes of Harald from the time he is acknowledged by his father as a baby and given his own thrall at the cutting of his first tooth, through his exploits as a viking adventurer, to his crowning as King of Norway. It is when Harald is King of Norway that population pressures at home and eagerness for adventure and booty from other lands combine to drive some of the bolder Vikings to set forth from their native land. Sailing ever westward across the Atlantic, they hop along the chain of islands that loosely connects Norway with America-Orkneys and Shetlands, Faeroes, Iceland, and Greenland. It is from link to link of this chain that the characters in our story sail in search of home and adventure. Discoveries are made by accident. Ships are driven by the wind into unknown ports, resulting in landings and settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and America. The crude courage of these men and strangeness of their adventures appeal strongly to children, while their love of truth, hardy endurance, and faithfulness to the promised word make them characters to emulate. Suitable for children ages 9 and up to read to themselves and for children as young as 6 as a read-aloud

Iceland is a little country far north in the cold sea. Men found it and went there to live more than a thousand years ago. During the warm season they used to fish and make fish-oil and hunt sea-birds and gather feathers and tend their sheep and make hay. But the winters were long and dark and cold. Men and women and children stayed in the house and carded and spun and wove and knit. A whole family sat for hours around the fire in the middle of the room. That fire gave the only light. Shadows flitted in the dark corners. Smoke curled along the high beams in the ceiling. The children sat on the dirt floor close by the fire. The grown people were on a long narrow bench that they had pulled up to the light and warmth. Everybody's hands were busy with wool. The work left their minds free to think and their lips to talk. What was there to talk about? PART I IN NORWAY The Baby The Tooth Thrall Olaf's Farm Olaf's Fight With Havard Foes'-fear Harald is King Harald's Battle Gyda's Saucy Message The Sea Fight King Harald's Wedding King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas PART II WEST-OVER-SEAS Homes in Iceland Eric the Red Leif and His New Land Wineland the Good

A GREAT READ FOR YOUNG VIKINGS! In ancient Iceland every midsummer there was a great meeting. Men from all over the country came and made laws. During the day there were rest times, when no business was going on. Then some skald would take his harp and walk to a large stone or a knoll and stand on it and begin a song of some brave deed of an old Norse hero. At the first sound of the harp and the voice, men would come running from all directions, crying out: "A skald! A skald! A saga!" There they would stand for hours listening and shouting applause. When the skald was tired, another would take his place. The best skalds were well travelled and visited many people. Their songs made them welcome everywhere. They were always honoured with good seats at a feast and were given many rich gifts. Even the King of Norway was known to sometimes send across the water to Iceland for a skald to attend his court. Initially these tales, or sagas, were not written for few men wrote or read in those days. When at last people began to read and write, they first recorded the sagas on sheepskin, or vellum. Many of these old vellum books have been saved for hundreds of years and are now in museums in Norway and Iceland. Some pages have been lost, some are torn and all are yellow and crumpled. But they are precious. They tell us all that we know about that olden time. There are the very words that the men of Iceland wrote so long ago—stories of kings and of battles and of ship-sailing. Some of the most significant old stories are now told in this book. 10% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to UNICEF. ======= KEYWORDS/TAGS: Viking Tales, Jennie Hall, men, Thing, battle, beautiful, boat, died, door, Eric, father, feast, fight, fire, gold, great, Greenland, Gudrid, guests, hall, Harald, head, house, Iceland, Ingolf, king, King Harald, land, Leif Ericson, Leif Ericsson, man, night, Norsemen, Norway, Odin, Olaf, one, One, people, red, sail, sea, ship, shore, shouted, strange, sword, Thor, Thorfinn, thralls, three, together, Valhalla, vow, Vinland, America, USA, Canada, water, white, wife, Wineland, women, woods, Newfoundland, scald, saga

This spectacular collection of ancient Viking myths and legends was compiled by Jennie Hall - a leading enthusiast in Nordic mythology. The tales draw upon well-known legends involving the Nordic pantheon of the Gods, as well as the folk stories which follow a young hero named Harald. The two countries focused upon are Norway and Iceland, with the seafaring culture for which the Nordic peoples were renowned in the early Middle Ages receiving much prominence. Rich with swashbuckling heroism, the stories within this volume are recounted compellingly, starting with an account of King Harald's infancy. The stories are imbued by Hall's deep research into the Nordic culture - the hierarchy of their society, the means by which they set laws and settled disputes, how they married and partook in family life, and how they fought and died in war. Together with this book's thrilling stories, Jennie Hall imbues her own researches into the language pronunciations and cultural traits of the Nordic peoples.

Jennie Hall is most noted for her fascinating travel memoirs of the late eighteenth century. She produced vibrant narratives and brilliantly vivid descriptions that have made her popular among readers who wish to be transported into another area or time period. Her "Viking Tales" is an excellent example of that. The story follows the life of the Viking Harald from infancy to his crowning as King of Norway. It focuses on the Vikings' eagerness for adventure and new lands as they set forth from Norway and sail westward across the Atlantic, island-hopping on their way to America. The legends of these men were passed down through generations of families, while they sat around the fireside on bitterly cold winter nights playing harps and working with wool. This adventurous book will entertain young and old readers alike as they take a look at the lifestyle and world view of these mysterious people.