Iceland: Its Scenes and SagasOff at last! Farewell comfort, ease, good food, snug beds! Welcome hard riding, rain and cold, scanty diet and the ground for a couch! So begins Sabine Baring-Gould's account of his journey on horseback around Iceland in 1862. Aged twenty-eight, the young writer and teacher was fascinated by the tradition of the Icelandic sagas, and this was the catalyst for his adventure and the book that emerged from it. His voyage took him from the then tiny settlement of Reykjavik through remote and hostile terrain, passing through the empty expanse of Iceland's countryside. He observed mountains and glaciers, volcanoes and geysers, wondering at the wild beauty of the landscape. He also recorded the rich flora and fauna that he saw--and, to his chagrin, that his companions shot. But Baring-Gould's account is more than a travelogue. extraordinary characters and events of these age-old stories. Evoking a world of trolls, witches and magic, he explores the mythology and language of Icelandic lore. He also turns a critical eye on his fellow travellers and the Icelanders he meets, passing judgment on food such as stuffed puffin, pungent fish and ptarmigan. By turns amusing and acerbic, Baring-Gould provides a detailed and colourful account of an Icelandic society that has long since disappeared. Illustrated with Baring-Gould's own drawings, Iceland: Its Scenes and Sagas is an entertaining and eccentric insight into a world of myth and legend as well as a classic of natural and human observation. |
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Page 106
... Grímr ! " I cried sharply , as a horrible suspicion flashed across me ; " what is the matter with that ptarmigan at the top of the stew ? — the fellow you skinned — it is swollen out and looks so fat , that — Why , Grímr ! you never ...
... Grímr ! " I cried sharply , as a horrible suspicion flashed across me ; " what is the matter with that ptarmigan at the top of the stew ? — the fellow you skinned — it is swollen out and looks so fat , that — Why , Grímr ! you never ...
Page 175
... Grímr never finished the sentence , and ever after showed an invincible repugnance to setting his foot within the Governor's door . The end of the matter was , that Grímr disputed the right of the Governor to send him , will he nil he ...
... Grímr never finished the sentence , and ever after showed an invincible repugnance to setting his foot within the Governor's door . The end of the matter was , that Grímr disputed the right of the Governor to send him , will he nil he ...
Page 184
... Grímr's perverse , " Now we shall go slow , " said invari- ably , when I urged the horses out of a walk , was now unregarded ; we trotted in spite of him . Grímr had picked up a dingy theological acquaintance at Akureyri , a spare young ...
... Grímr's perverse , " Now we shall go slow , " said invari- ably , when I urged the horses out of a walk , was now unregarded ; we trotted in spite of him . Grímr had picked up a dingy theological acquaintance at Akureyri , a spare young ...
Contents
FOREWORD by Martin Graebe | xiv |
PREFACE | xli |
Chapter One | 1 |
Copyright | |
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according to Faber Akureyri Alpine Althing answered Arcturus asked Baring-Gould basalt bird Bjarg blue boat boiling bonder breeds Briggs brother called church clouds cold colour Danish Dettifoss door Drangey eggs Egill eruption exclaimed eyes farm farmer father feet fish fjord Forn Geysir Glámr grass Greenland Grettir grey Grímr Grimsey head heithi Hekla Herr Preyer hill Hólar horses Hrolleifr Icel Iceland Icelandic horse Icelandic name Illugi Ingimund island Jökull Jón Katla King Kolr Krafla lake lava look miles morning mountain Myvatn natives never night Oddr Ofeigr pony priest quoth reached Reykjahlith Reykjanes Reykjavík ride river rock rode round saddle Saga side snow species spot spring steam stone story summer Svínavatn swans Thingvalla Thorbjorn Thorfin Thorgils Thorhall Thorir Thorstein Trölladyngja tún turf vale Vatnsdalr visited whilst whimbrel wild wind winter