Reviews
In reality, few scholars could claim to rival the depth of [Jesch's] knowledge about the Old Norse material of associated with the islands. Her new translation of the saga represents the culmination of many years of meticulous scholarship, and is likely to become the standard English translation... this is not simply a story about the Viking Age, but a living cultural inheritance
TLS
A new look at the Saga was long overdue and Judith Jesch has completed a meticulous work going back to what she describes as the "patchwork of manuscript fragments", that survive
Orkney News
Scholars have been editing and translating Orkneyinga Saga for hundreds of years... Now Judith Jesch has come forward with her own English translation. It supersedes all its predecessors, and will be of the greatest use for historians and others who need to use the text
Shetland Times
Although the edition is eminently accessible for the interested lay person, it also provides a valuable, fresh and exciting translation for academic audiences, and an entry point into the debates surrounding the sagas as historical sources… an immersive and authentic translation of the saga
Journal of Medieval History
About the Book
This fascinating history of the Earldom of Orkney, which was established in the Viking Age, records the adventures, feuds and battles of powerful Norsemen during its first three centuries. The medieval earls of Orkney owed allegiance to the kings of Norway but their influence ranged from Britain and Ireland to Sweden and Russia, and they travelled as far as Narbonne, Crete and Jerusalem. Advised by bishops and formidable women, they and their henchmen jockeyed for power with each other and with neighbouring rulers in Scotland, often with murderous outcomes. In between the high politics and violence, the world of the earls was one of piety, poetry and feasting.
The Saga also provides rare glimpses of culture and everyday life in northern Scotland when it was central to the Viking diaspora. Set in a recognisable landscape, it mentions features, sites and even buildings that can still be seen today.
This new translation of the manuscripts of the Saga uses an innovative approach to presenting medieval sources to non-specialist audiences, highlighting textual variations that affect its interpretation. It also reflects saga style and language more closely than previous translations and is ideal for both research and reading aloud. This is an essential, detailed and up-to-date resource for academics and general readers who wish to know more about Viking and Norse Scotland.
The Author
Judith Jesch
Judith Jesch is Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham with research interests in runes, sagas and Old Norse poetry. She was educated at the Universities of Pennsylvania, Durham, Oslo and London, is a Fellow of the British Academy and is an international working member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy for Swedish Folk Culture, Uppsala, Sweden.
You may also like…
-
Paperback | Pub: 23 May 2019£25.00For much of its history, Orkney had its own language, culture and institutions. The prehistoric inhabitants created monuments which are unmatched anywhere in Europe, and the medieval period saw the magnificent earldom that expressed itself through...
-
Paperback | Pub: 12 Mar 2015£10.99Orkney lies only 20 miles north of mainland Scotland, yet for many centuries its culture was more Scandanavian than Scottish. Strong westerly winds account for the scarcity of trees on Orkney and also for the tradition of well-constructed stone...
-
Paperback | Pub: 23 Sep 2021£25.00Since the middle ages, Orkney has proved remarkable for the volume and the quality of its literary output. From the skalds and sagamen of the Viking age, through to the colourful folklorists, polemicists and translators of the Victorian era, and the...
-
Paperback | Pub: 20 Jul 2023£20.00
The medieval earldoms of Orkney and Caithness were positioned between two worlds, the Norwegian and the Scottish. They were a maritime lordship divided, or united, by the turbulent waters of the Pentland Firth. This unlikely combination of island...
