Egil, the Viking Poet focuses on one of the best-known Icelandic sagas, that of the extraordinary hero Egil Skallagrimsson. Descended from a lineage of trolls, shape-shifters, and warriors, Egil’s transformation from a precocious and murderous child into a raider, mercenary, litigant, landholder, and poet epitomizes the many facets of Viking legend.

The contributors to this collection of essays approach Egil’s story from a variety of perspectives, including psychology, philology, network theory, social history, and literary theory. Strikingly original, their essays will appeal not only to dedicated students of Old Norse-Icelandic literature but also to those working in the fields of Viking studies, comparative ethnology, and folklore.

Laurence de Looze is a professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Western Ontario.

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Jón Karl Helgason is a professor in the Department of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Iceland.

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Russell Poole is a professor emeritus of the Department of English at the University of Western Ontario and the managing editor of the journal Viking and Medieval Scandinavia.

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Torfi H. Tulinius is a professor in the Department of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Iceland.

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‘This engaging addition to the Toronto series, begun in 2005, creates new lines of inquiry regarding on of the most-read and well-studied Icelandic works.’

Choice Magazine vol 54:02:2016

‘Egil, the Viking Poet is a scrupulously edited and cohesive volume that ought to be as warmly received by those who have long studied Egils saga Skallagrimssonar and the medieval Icelandic sagas, as by students and others newly interested in this rich body of medieval vernacular narrative.’

Journal of English and Germanic Philology vol 116:04:2017

‘I’ve no doubt that it will become essential reading for those with an interest in the Sagas of Icelanders and in Viking and Old Norse Studies, and it provides an exemplary model for future text-focused collections to follow.’

Saga-Book: Periodical of Viking Society vol 41:2017