Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes
Hervor and Heidrek - Hrólf Kraki and His Champions
Jackson Crawford
Hackett Publishing Company, 2021
Inherited through the line of the berserker Angantýr and his war-loving daughter
Hervor, the ever-lethal, shining sword Tyrfing and its changes of hands frame
the uncanny story of The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek. A second heroic saga,
Hrólf Kraki and His Champions, recounts the daring deeds of the members and
entourage of the ancient Danish house of Skjoldung. Passed down orally in
pre-Christian Norse times, transmitted in writing in medieval Iceland, and here
wielded by the hand of Jackson Crawford, the tales told in this volume retain
their sharp edges and flashes of glory that never fail to slay.
"Hervarar saga and Hrólfs saga kraka are among the best of the Icelandic mythical
heroic sagas and are both high points of medieval literature. Jackson Crawford's
new translation is eminently readable and with its accompanying Introduction
and notes will serve as an excellent introduction to this fascinating material."
- M.J. Driscoll, Professor Old Norse Philology,
University of Copenhagen
"Jackson Crawford's devoted readership will welcome this new translation
of two lesser-known sagas, which in every way lives up to the standards his
previous translations from Old Norse have set. These vivid 'sagas of ancient
times,' or fornaldur sögur, will be of particular interest to teachers and students
of Beowulf."
- Martin Chase, Professor Emeritus of English,
Fordham University
After more than a decade as a full-time Instructor in Scandinavian Studies at such institutions as the
University of Colorado Boulder, the University of California - Berkely, and the University of California - Los Angeles,
Dr. Jackson Crawford became a full-time public educator in all things Old Norse in 2020.
Among other accomplishments, he has built up a large YouTube following and served as an Old Norse language
and runes consultant on major multimedia projects, including some of today's most popular films and video
games. He is currently a Resident Scholar at the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Learn more at JacksonCrawford.com.
(The text above comes from the back of the book)