PREFACE. ix 



and never-to-be-forgotten countries of the North, the birth- 

 place of a new epoch in the history of mankind. 



As ages roll on, England, the mother of nations, cannot 

 escape the fate that awaits all ; for on the scroll of time this 

 everlasting truth is written birth, growth, maturity, decay ; 

 and how difficult for us to realise the fact when in the fulness 

 of power, strength, and pride ! Where is or where has been 

 the nation that can or could exclaim, " This saying does not 

 apply to me ; I was born great from the beginning ; I am so 

 now, and will continue to be powerful to the end of time." 

 The ruined and deserted cities ; the scanty records of history, 

 which tell us of dead civilisations, the fragmentary traditions 

 of religious beliefs, the wrecks of empires, and the forgotten 

 graves, are the pathetic and silent witnesses of the great past, 

 and a sad suggestion of the inevitable fate in store for all. 



The materials used in these volumes, in describing the 

 cosmogony and mythology, the life, religion, laws and customs 

 of the ancestors of the English-speaking nations of to-day, are 

 mainly derived from records found in Iceland. These parch- 

 ments, upon which the history of the North is written, and 

 which are begrimed by the smoke of the Icelandic cabin, and 

 worn by the centuries which have passed over them, recount 

 to us the history and the glorious deeds of the race. 



No land has bequeathed to us a literature, giving so minute 

 and comprehensive an account of the life of a people. These 

 Sagas (or " say ") record the leading events of a man's life, or 

 family history, and date from a period even anterior to the first 

 settlement of Iceland (about 870 A.D.). 



Some Sagas bear evident traces of having been derived, or 

 even copied, from earlier documents now lost : in some cases 

 definite quotations are given ; others are evidently of a fabulous 

 character, and have to be treated with great caution ; but even 

 these may be used as illustrating the customs of the times at 

 which they were written. Occasionally great confusion is 

 caused by the blending of the similar names of persons living 

 at different periods. 



My method of putting together the series of descriptions 

 which will be found in the 'Viking Age' has been as 

 follows : 



