“byock jesse l int”

"This is a book of the highest importance. No one should attempt to teach about Viking society or claim to understand it without being familiar with this chilling and enduring myth."--Eleanor Searle, Past President of the Medieval Academy of AmericaA trove of traditional lore, this Icelandic prose e... More

Journey into a realm of legend, where heroes from an ancient age do battle with savage monsters, and every man must live or die by the sword. When a dragon threatens the people of the north, only one man can destroy the fearsome beast.JElsewhere, a mighty leader gathers a court of champions, includi... More

Feud stands at the core of the Old Icelandic sagas. Jesse Byock shows how the dominant concern of medieval Icelandic society--the channeling of violence into accepted patterns of feud and the regulation of conflict--is reflected in the narrative of the family sagas and the "Sturlunga saga" compilati... More

"Byock's book is a "tour-de-force of historical argument. He brilliantly reconstructs the inner workings of an intriguing society, not elsewhere to be found in the Western world."--David Herlihy, History Book ClubThe history of medieval Europe is incomplete if it does not take Iceland into account. ... More

Based on Viking Age poems and composed in thirteenth-century Iceland, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend, and sheer human drama in telling of the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires runic knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. Yet the saga is set in a very human ... More

The stirring, bloody, and tragic saga that inspired such artists as Wagner, Borges, and Tolkien Written in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, "The Prose Edda" is the source of most of what we know of Norse mythology. Its tales are peopled by giants, dwarves, and elves, superhuman ... More

Written by an anonymous author in fourteenth-century Iceland, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki is built on almost a thousand years of oral traditions, many of which are related to the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. It recounts the tragedy and strife within Denmark's royal hall during the migration period (fi... More

Nobody should have to die in pain. Nobody should have to die alone. This is Ira Byock's dream, and he is dedicating his life to making it come true. "Dying Well" brings readers to the homes and bedsides of families with whom Dr. Byock has worked, telling stories of love and reconciliation in the fac... More