Myths and Legends of the Vikings

The motifs of the tales of Northern Europe permeate our entire culture - from Wagner's operas to Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". From the songs of the "Edda" and "Kalevala", from the Scandinavian legends of the Nibelungs, threads extend to chivalric romances and the cycle of King Arthur. And folk tales about elves, gnomes, and trolls gave birth to the genre of fairy tale fantasy - from the "Chronicles of Narnia" to "Harry Potter", "Game of Thrones", and "The Witcher".

The tales born in the lands of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, in regions we know as the lands of the fearless Vikings, are filled with the clashing of swords and the magic of runes, where the most fantastic creatures and the greatest heroes dwell.

The Russian reader was introduced to the legends of Thor and Odin, dragons and Valkyries in the mid-19th century by historian, literary scholar, and translator Pyotr Polevoy. His collection of myths and legends of Scandinavia became for Russian schoolchildren as much of a revelation as Koon’s "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece". A century and a half later, this book returns to us with magical illustrations by Joseph Alanen, Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Ferdinand Leeke, Arthur Rackham, and other famous artists.