From Iceland — Saga Stories #2: Egils Saga


Photo by
Art Bicnick

This is the second in the ‘Saga Stories’ series from the Reykjavík Grapevine. Join Dr Matthew Roby on a blustery day in West Iceland, as he walks you through three tales from Egils saga: the story of Egill’s first poetic composition at his grandfather’s farm on Álftanes; the story of the deadly ball game between Egill and his father on Digranes, modern-day Borgarnes; and the story of Egill’s depression and poetic healing, following the death of his sons.

To watch, listen, and read more about the sagas, you can find Dr Matthew Roby’s blog HERE.

If you are struggling to understand the Icelandic names of people or places in these videos, don’t forget to turn on closed captioning.

The English translation of ‘Sonatorrek’ quoted in this video is by Bernard Scudder.

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