Echoes of Valhalla

The Afterlife of the Eddas and Sagas

Jon Karl Helgason

$39.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Reaktion Books
02 June 2017

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literary studies: general; Social & cultural history; Folklore, myths & legends

Tolkien's wizard Gandalf, Wagner's Valkyrie Brunnhilde, Marvel's superhero the Mighty Thor, the warrior heading for Valhalla in Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and Donald Crisp's portrayal of Leif Eriksson in the classic film The Viking-these are just a few examples of how Icelandic medieval literature has shaped human imagination during the past 150 years. Echoes of Valhalla is a unique look at modern adaptations of the Icelandic eddas (poems of Norse mythology) and sagas (ancient prose accounts of Viking history, voyages, and battles) across an astonishing breadth of art forms.

Jon Karl Helgason looks at comic books, plays, travel books, music, and films in order to explore the reincarnations of a range of legendary characters, from the Nordic gods Thor and Odin to the saga characters Hallgerd Long-legs, Gunnar of Hlidarendi, and Leif the Lucky. Roaming the globe, Helgason unearths echoes of Nordic lore in Scandinavia, Britain, America, Germany, Italy, and Japan. He examines the comic work of Jack Kirby and cartoon work of Peter Madsen; reads the plays of Henrik Ibsen and Gordon Bottomley; engages thought travelogues by Frederick Metcalfe and Poul Vad; listens to the music of Richard Wagner, Edward Elgar, and the metal band Manowar; and watches films by directors such as Roy William Neill and Richard Fleischer, outlining the presence of the eddas and sagas in these nineteenth- and twentieth-century works.

Altogether, Echoes of Valhalla tells the remarkable story of how disparate, age-old poetry and prose originally recorded in remote areas of medieval Iceland have come to be a part of our shared cultural experience today-how Nordic gods and saga heroes have survived and how their colorful cast of characters and adventures they went on are as vibrant as ever.

By: Jon Karl Helgason
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 476g
ISBN: 9781780237152
ISBN 10: 1780237154
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 02 June 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jon Karl Helgason is Professor of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Iceland.

Reviews for Echoes of Valhalla: The Afterlife of the Eddas and Sagas

<i>Echoes of Valhalla</i> effectively underlines the ways in which many of our favorite modern narratives are interwoven with enduring ancient Nordic threads. --Terry Gunnell, University of Iceland