A01=Dagrun Osk Jonsdottir
anthology
Author_Dagrun Osk Jonsdottir
Category=JBGB
Category=VXQM
Elves
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_mind-body-spirit
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
fjords
folklore
heathen beliefs
Iceland
Icelandic folk legends
Icelandic Sagas
Icelandic society
legends
magic
ravens
rites
runes
supernatural happenings
translated tales
volcanoes
witches
Product details
- ISBN 9781836390251
- Dimensions: 156 x 208mm
- Publication Date: 01 May 2025
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This unique and enchanting book opens the door to a captivating world of Icelandic folk legends. The six chapters of this anthology are each based on a different setting: farm, wilderness, darkness, church, ocean and shore. It provides translated tales from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as introductions by the editor which place these often-supernatural happenings in the context of Icelandic society. The legends include stories of hidden people, trolls, ghosts, sea monsters and even polar bears, exploring themes of love, revenge and conflict. The book highlights the tension between Christianity and paganism, past and present, nature and humanity, and divides within society.
Drawing from a wide variety of Icelandic sources, this book makes these colourful, entertaining, lively folk legends available to non-Icelandic speakers, many for the first time.
Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir teaches folkloristics at the University of Iceland and has published widely in the field of Icelandic folk legends.
