viii Preface 



simile, he has aimed at supplying enough dough to 

 properly imbed the plums. And he has brought the 

 historical portions into as close relations as were 

 possible to the experiences of the present-day sight- 

 seer. He has designedly, too, availed himself of trans- 

 lations (of the Sagas, etc.), wherever such translations 

 were available, expecting or hoping that the reader 

 would be tempted to continue this class of reading for 

 himself. The translations of the Hcimshringla Saga, 

 by Laing, and of the Njals Saga or Njala, by Dasent, 

 are the works most frequently quoted from. Only in 

 the case of certain metrical renderings, and of one 

 or two passages from the Longer Olafs Saga Trygg- 

 vasonar, have original translations been given. 



The reader may be glad if we add a short list of 

 books through which he can, if he chooses, continue for 

 himself the study of the subjects treated of in the 

 chapters of this volume. 



Corpus Foeticum Boreale (Prose translation of Old Norse 



Poetry), by Vigfusson and Powell. 

 Teutonic Mythologij, by Rydberg (translated by R. 



Anderson). 

 The Story of Burnt Njal (Translation of Njala), by Sir 



G. W. Dasent. 

 The Story of Grettir the Strong (Translation of Grettis 



Saga), by W. Morris and E. Magnusson, 



