rther on, is that not better than to
read about it? But it may be urged upon those that are pleased and moved
by the passion and power, the strength and deep truth of it, to find out
more than they now know of the folk among whom it grew, and the land in
which they dwelt. In so doing they will come to see how needful are
a few lessons from the healthy life and speech of those days, to be
applied in the bettering of our own.

H. HALLIDAY SPARLING.

ENDNOTES:
(1) Viking (Ice. "Vikingr"; "vik", a bay or creek, "ingr",
belonging to, (or men of) freebooters.
(2) "West over the Sea" is the word for the British Isles.
(3) See Todd (J. H.). "War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill".
(4) He was son of Ingiald, son of Thora, daughter of Sigurd
Snake-I'-th'-eye, son of Ragnar Lodbrok by Aslaug, daughter
of Sigurd by Brynhild. The genealogy is, doubtless, quite
mythical.
(5) A Collection of Sagas and other Historical Documents
relating to the Settlements and Descents of the Northmen on
the British Isles. Ed., G. W. Dasent, D.C.L, and Gudbrand
Vigfusson, M.A. "In the Press. Longmans, London. 8vo.
(6) "Orkneyinga Saga".
(7) Landtaking-book--"landnam", landtaking, from "at nema
land", hence also the early settlers were called
"landnamsmenn".
(8) To all interested in the subject of comparative mythology,
Andrew Lang's two admirable books, "Custom and Myth" (1884,
8vo) and "Myth, Ritual, and Religion" (2 vols., crown 8vo,
1887), both published by Longmans, London, may be warmly
recommended.
(9) Iceland was granted full independence from Denmark in 1944.
--DBK.
(10) These pirates are always appearing about the same time in
English State papers as plundering along the coasts of the
British Isles, especially Ireland.
(11) For all the old Scandinavian poetry extant in Icelandic, see
"Corpus Poeticum Borealis" of Vigfusson and Powell.
(12) Snake-tongue--so called from his biting satire.
(13) "Sigurd the Volsung", which seems to have become all but
forgotten in this century.--DBK.

TRANSLATORS' PREFACE.

In offering to the reader this translation of the most complete and
dramatic form of the great Epic of the North, we lay no claim to special
critical insight, nor do we care to deal at all with vexed questions,
but are content to abide by existing authorities, doing ou