The Saga of Grettir the Strong

Download or read book The Saga of Grettir the Strong written by Örnólfur Thorsson and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2005-05-26 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Composed at the end of the fourteenth century by an unknown author, The Saga of Grettir the Strong is one of the last great Icelandic sagas. With a mesmerizing combination of pagan ideals and Christian faith, it relates the tale of Grettir, an eleventh- century warrior struggling to hold on to the values of a heroic age as they are eclipsed by Christianity and a more pastoral lifestyle. Unable to settle into a community of farmers, Grettir becomes the aggressive scourge of both honest men and evil monsters—until, following a battle with the sinister ghost Glam, he is cursed to endure a life of tortured loneliness away from civilization, fighting giants, trolls, and berserks.