The story of Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Raven the Skald is the first Icelandic saga to be published in an English edition. William Morris is normally thought of as a fantasy precursor of Tolkien, having written The Wood Beyond the World among others. But he was also a translator, along with Eirikr Magnusson, of tales originally in old Icelandic. Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Raven the Skald is one of those efforts. It's an Icelandic saga composed in the 13th century, concerning the tragic rivalry of two poets, Gunnlag and Hrafn, for the hand of thorsteinn Egilsson's daughter, Helga the Fair. The rivalry is carried out first in poetry, and later with weapons, as Gunnlaug challenges Hrafn to a holmgang -- a duel recognized by the Norse as a way to settle disputes.

Author Biography

William Morris ( 1834 - 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, novelist, translator and socialist activist. Associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement, he was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he played a significant role in propagating the early socialist movement in Britain. Eirikr or Eirikur Magnusson (1833 - 1913) was an Icelandic scholar who was Librarian at the University of Cambridge, taught Old Norse to William Morris, translated numerous Icelandic sagas into English in collaboration with him, and played an important role in the movement to study the history and literature of the Norsemen in Victorian England.