Arrow-Odd: A Medieval Novel

166 Pages·1970·8.43 MB·English

by  Paul Edwards

$5.95
MKOW-Om
translated by
Paul Edwards and
Hermann Pdlsson
Translated with fluency and ease,
this is the 14th-century Icelandic tale
of Arrow-Odd who was given—or
cursed with—a life span of 300 years. At
first reading it appears to be a linear,
picaresque narrative with few linking
elements. However, there are persist­
ent, recurring themes that give it a
cyclic form.
The story opens in Norway, but
quickly carries us to the icy lands of the
Lapps, on Viking expeditions to Rus­
sia, over to Ireland and across the
Greenland Sea. Sometimes Odd is a
warrior-Viking of considerable greed,
at others a pilgrim in the wilderness in
the Holy Land; at one time the captive
of French priests, at another the dimin­
utive lover of a giantess. At different
times a warrior, poet, king, and buf­
foon, he finally returns to the place of
his birth in search of his lost child­
hood. His cyclic journey ends on this
nostalgic note.

ARROW-ODD: A Medieval Novel

ARROW-ODD: A Medieval Novel
Translated with an introduction by
Paul Edwards and Hermann Pálsson
New York: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
London: UNIVERSITY OF LONDON PRESS LTD
1970
Copyright © 1970 by New York University
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-116991
SBN: 8147-0458-1
Manufactured in the United States of America
This translation is dedicated with affection
to Mrs. Nora Chadwick, Fellow of Newnham College,
Cambridge.