Laxdæla Saga
A Medieval Icelandic Saga of Feud, Honor, Kinship, Desire, and Tragic FateBy Anonymous
Length7h 24m
About this audiobook
Laxdæla Saga is one of the masterpieces of medieval Icelandic prose, tracing several generations of the powerful people of Laxárdalur from the settlement age through the eleventh century. Its central drama concerns Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, whose intelligence, ambition, and emotional complexity shape the tragic conflict between the noble friends Kjartan Ólafsson and Bolli Þorleiksson. Combining genealogy, political maneuvering, romance, feud, prophecy, and sudden violence, the saga exemplifies the restrained, economical style of the Íslendingasögur: extraordinary passions are conveyed through understated dialogue, telling gestures, and an apparently impartial narrative voice. Its historical world is enriched by the transition from pagan custom to Christianity, while its literary design transforms inherited oral traditions into a subtle meditation on honor, desire, memory, and fate. The saga's author is unknown, as is true of most Icelandic family sagas, and the surviving text was probably written in the thirteenth century, generations after the events it recounts. That distance allowed its composer to shape genealogical and family traditions into a sophisticated narrative suited to a society that valued ancestry, legal reputation, and communal memory. The work also reflects the intellectual environment of medieval Iceland, where oral storytelling, Christian learning, and manuscript culture met. Its nuanced portrayal of Guðrún especially suggests an author attentive to the psychological and moral consequences of social pressure. Laxdæla Saga is essential reading for anyone interested in medieval literature, Icelandic history, or the development of the novelistic tradition. It rewards close attention to its compressed language and recurring patterns of prediction, rivalry, and loss, while remaining compelling as a story of love and betrayal. Readers will find in it both a vivid portrait of Viking-Age Iceland and a remarkably modern exploration of human motives.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (2.9K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreGeneral Fiction, Literary Classics
Length7 hrs 24 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 26, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Croatian Tales of Long Ago (Annotated)
2THE LAXDALE SAGA
3Of Ketill Flatnose and his Descendants, 9th Century A.D.
4Ketill's family
5Ketill and his Sons prepare to leave Norway
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6Ketill's Sons go to Iceland
7Of Bjorn in Iceland
8Ketill goes to Scotland, A.D. 890
9Unn goes to Iceland, A.D. 895
10Unn Divides her Land
11Of the Wedding of Olaf "Feilan," A.D. 920
12The Birth of Hrut and Thorgerd's Second Widowhood, A.D. 923
13Hoskuld's Marriage, A.D. 935
14Of Viga Hrapp
15About Thord Goddi and Thorbjorn Skrjup
16Hoskuld Buys a Slave Woman
17Hoskuld Returns to Iceland, A.D. 948
18The Murder of Hall, Ingjald's Brother
19Thorolf's Escape with Asgaut the Thrall
20Thord becomes Olaf's Foster Father, A.D. 950
21About Viga Hrapp's Ghost, A.D. 950
22Of the Drowning of Thorstein Swart
23Hrut Comes to Iceland
24Melkorka's Marriage and Olaf the Peacock's Journey, A.D. 955 Of Thorliek Hoskuldson
25Olaf the Peacock goes to Ireland, A.D. 955
26Olaf the Peacock comes Home to Iceland, A.D. 957
27The Marriage of Olaf Peacock and Thorgerd, the Daughter of Egil, A.D. 959
28The Building of Herdholt, A. D. 960
29About Hoskuld's Sons
30The Death of Hoskuld, A.D. 985
31The Funeral Feast for Hoskuld
32The Birth of Kjartan, Olaf's Son, A.D. 978
33Olaf's Second Journey to Norway, A.D. 975
34About Giermund and Thured, A.D. 978
35Thured's Second Marriage, A.D. 980
36Of Osvif Helgeson
37Of Gest Oddleifson and Gudrun's Dreams
38Gudrun's First Marriage, A.D. 989
39Gudrun's Second Marriage, A.D. 991
40About Kotkell and Grima
41About Hrut and Eldgrim, A.D. 995
42The Death of Stigandi. Thorliek leaves Iceland
43Of Kjartan's Friendship for Bolli
44Kjartan and Bolli Voyage to Norway, A.D. 996
45Bolli returns to Iceland, A.D. 999
46Bolli makes love to Gudrun, A.D. 1000
47Kjartan comes back to Iceland, A.D. 1001
48Kjartan comes home, A.D. 1001
49Kjartan marries Hrefna, A.D. 1002
50Feast at Herdholt and the Loss of Kjartan's Sword, A.D. 1002
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