The Sagas of the Icelanders

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

This massive 782 page book from penguin is a christmas present I just got. I like it so far, but was wondering if anyone else besides Saint has read any Norse Sagas.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I ha...
oh.
besides me.

[EUOL]

Um, it's been a long, LONG time.  In fact, most of my memory of them comes from DeCamp's "Enchanter" series--which is about a guy from our world who gets thrown in to norse mythology.  It's kind of cool, since he's a fencer, and he confuses them all to no end with his sneaky, precise way of fighting.  They laugh when they lift up their massive hammer and compare it to his rapier--then he sticks them through the heart.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

Well, I've read the Ragnarok manga my friend has. Not sure if that counts. But there is a lot of Norse-ology in it. Not sure if its totally true to the myths and such.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

but its not myth... not really, just oral tradition and its somewhere between myth and reality, I guess thats why I think its really cool.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

uh... yeah, it's myth. Just like Beowulf and Arthur and the Iliad and the Odyssey are myth. All started as oral traditions. Written v. oral has nothing to do with the work's status as a myth/legend

[Eagle Prince]

I agree on that point SaintEhlers.  However, I'm under the impression that the Norse believed in their mythology a lot more than the Greeks.  I could be wrong, since I think there's actually temples and such to various Greek gods, but that's the impression I get.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I dont' think that suspicion has much grounding. Of course, my feeling about most of these cultures is that we over rate their faith systems. I don't think that agnosticism or atheism is any more prominent now than then, just more accepted socially. If the Norse DID have more faith than the Greeks, than it's only because all the Norse gods are conveniently easy to belive and worship (since the gods all want what the culture wants).

True, most cultures make their gods in their own image, but the Greeks had so many conflicting interests that it was complicated to follow the pantheon, which is why it's so easy for Plato to represent Socrates doubting that piety has anything to do with doing what the gods want.

Or maybe you just feel the Greeks were less pious because they HAD philosophy, while the NOrse just liked to drink and fight. it's a compelling argument, I agree.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Well the ones Ive been reading read more like diaries... or personal histories. When I get home I'll post an example.