subject: Popular Tales of the Norse - Ancient Norse Children's Stories [print this page] Popular Tales of the Norse - Ancient Norse Children's Stories
This is Sir George Webbe Dasent's classic collection of ancient Norse tales and folklore.
This is not about Norse mythology per se; so if you are looking for tales of Norse deities like Odin, Freya, and Loki, we would refer you to a volume entitled Tiivistelm. Rather, this is a volume that is more fairy and less Viking in nature and definitely aimed at children. This is an anthology of folk tales, similar to the Brothers Grimm or Campbell's (John of Islay) Popular Tales of the West Highlands. All of the usual suspects are in place, including giants, witches, trolls, magical boons and tasks, evil step-siblings and anthropomorphic animals and beings.
The introduction is exceptionally well crafted, and places various magical and other themes from the tales into the context of ancient Viking or Norse Pagan beliefs. It is a Victorian scholarly treatise however (with the requisite multipage footnotes and rhetorical flourishes), which will no doubt be appreciated by readers with an academic bent.
Once past the introduction however, the prose establishes itself at the young adult level, and the delightful stories can be appreciated by readers of all ages. But be warned, despite these tales being magical in character, these are tales from an era when political correctness did not exist. In the words of the translator, "the person who, in such a work, wilfully changes or softens, is as guilty as they "who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."
So join with us again and venture back in time to an age when the world still had a connection to the ethereal. A time when Vikings rowed the North Sea and a time when magic was still believed to exist.
33% of the Publisher's profit from the sale of this book will be donated to UNICEF.
For more information, a table of contents or to order, go to
http://www.abelapublishing.com/norsetales.html
To view the "Norse and Viking Tales" collection follow this link
