A great read for children and great for reading around campfires! Herein you will find sixteen stories and legends of the Norse and Viking inhabitants of Asgard – Odin, Freya, Thor, Loki, Baldur and many others. These are the legends of the actions and feats of these dwellers before time itself had begun, stories which give the background to the Marvel movies of Thor, including Loki, Heimdall, Sif and others which will give you the reader more understanding about how the legends of Thor and Loki came to be. But do not be put off - these are the contemporary versions of these legends and stories written with young adults in mind, and not the heavy, hard to understand versions which academics would revel in. The volume aptly begins with The beginning of things. Thereafter you will find the stories and legends of How odin lost his eye, Kvasir's blood, The giant builder, The magic apples, Skadi's choice, The dwarf's gifts, Loki's children, The quest of the hammer, The giantess who would not, Thor's visit to the giants, Thor's fishing, Thor's duel, In the giant's house, Balder and the mistletoe and The punishment of loki. They tell of Iduna and her golden apples, Loki’s mischief making, how Thor came by his hammer, why the dwellers of Asgard fought the giants and much, much more. So, after you have downloaded this unique volume, find a comfy chair, sit back with your reader and a steaming hot beverage and be prepared to be entertained for hours. 10% of the profit for the sale of this book will be donated to charities. ========== TAGS: folklore, fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, children’s stories, children’s stories, bygone era, fairydom, fairy land, classic stories, children’s bedtime stories, fables, cultural, setting, Norse, Viking, Asgard, Scandinavia, Midgard, Odin, Thor, Freya, Loki, Heimdall, Sif, inter-world, giants, beginning of things, How odin lost his eye, Kvasir's blood, giant builder, magic apples, golden apples, Iduna, Skadi's choice, dwarf's gifts, dwarves, Loki's children, quest of the hammer, giantess who would not, Thor's visit to the giants, Thor's fishing, Thor's duel, In the giant's house, Balder, mistletoe, punishment of loki

"This book is made of the stories told by the Northern folk,-the people who live in the land of the midnight sun, where summer is green and pleasant, but winter is a terrible time of cold and gloom; where rocky mountains tower like huge giants, over whose heads thunder rolls and crashes, and under whose feet are mines of precious metals."--p.1-2.

A GREAT READ FOR YOUNG VIKINGS! In ancient Iceland every midsummer there was a great meeting. Men from all over the country came and made laws. During the day there were rest times, when no business was going on. Then some skald would take his harp and walk to a large stone or a knoll and stand on it and begin a song of some brave deed of an old Norse hero. At the first sound of the harp and the voice, men would come running from all directions, crying out: "A skald! A skald! A saga!" There they would stand for hours listening and shouting applause. When the skald was tired, another would take his place. The best skalds were well travelled and visited many people. Their songs made them welcome everywhere. They were always honoured with good seats at a feast and were given many rich gifts. Even the King of Norway was known to sometimes send across the water to Iceland for a skald to attend his court. Initially these tales, or sagas, were not written for few men wrote or read in those days. When at last people began to read and write, they first recorded the sagas on sheepskin, or vellum. Many of these old vellum books have been saved for hundreds of years and are now in museums in Norway and Iceland. Some pages have been lost, some are torn and all are yellow and crumpled. But they are precious. They tell us all that we know about that olden time. There are the very words that the men of Iceland wrote so long ago—stories of kings and of battles and of ship-sailing. Some of the most significant old stories are now told in this book. 10% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to UNICEF. ======= KEYWORDS/TAGS: Viking Tales, Jennie Hall, men, Thing, battle, beautiful, boat, died, door, Eric, father, feast, fight, fire, gold, great, Greenland, Gudrid, guests, hall, Harald, head, house, Iceland, Ingolf, king, King Harald, land, Leif Ericson, Leif Ericsson, man, night, Norsemen, Norway, Odin, Olaf, one, One, people, red, sail, sea, ship, shore, shouted, strange, sword, Thor, Thorfinn, thralls, three, together, Valhalla, vow, Vinland, America, USA, Canada, water, white, wife, Wineland, women, woods, Newfoundland, scald, saga

This is the story/saga of a poet, poor and proud, with all the strength of a Viking and all the weakness of genius. He loves a fine lady, a spoiled child; who bewitches him, and jilts him, and jilts him again. In true Viking style he fights for her, kills for her, writes verse for her, and rises, for her sake, to the height of all that a man in his age could achieve. Then, after years, he has her at his feet, and learns of her heartlessness and worthlessness. He bids her farewell; but in the end dies with her name on his lips. The motive of the book is very modern, yet at the same time as ancient as the human race itself. It is dramatic and imaginative in the sense that it is told by one who was an artist in his craft of saga-telling. The diction is of the simplest and there is no fine writing, but the plot is balanced like a Greek play and the action drives along to its close. The result is conveyed without a word of moralizing. The characters are broadly drawn, and their types are still valid today. Without needless detail, there are touches enough of realism. It reads like a novel, and yet it is a true story. 10% of the net profit from the sale of this book will be donated to Charities. ============== Keywords/Tags: ashore, Asmund, battle, beauty, Bersi, blood, brother, Saga of Cormac the Skald, country, Dalla, day, dead, farm, father, fell, field, fight, firth, forth, fought, glory, goddess, gold, good, great, Halldor, Harald, healed, Helga, Holmgang, horse, house, Hrutafiord, Iceland, king, lady, little, Mel, Midfiord, mother, mountains, Narfi, Norway, ocean, Odin, Ogmund, point, riding, ring, sacrifice, Saga, Saurbæ, shame, ship, shore, Skald, Skeggi, Skofnung, slaughter, son, song, Steinar, Steingerd Steinvor, summer, sword, Thambardal, Thorarin, Thord, Thordis, Thorgil, Thorkel, Thorvald, Thorvard, Thorveig, Tinker, Tongue, Tunga, Vali, valley, voyage, weapon, weapons, wedding, Whitting, woman, wounded

The general details and course of events given in this story about King Alfred are, in the main, as written by Asser, the King’s chaplain. One or two further incidents of the Athelney period are from the later chroniclers--notably the sign given by St. Cuthberht--as are also the names of the herdsman and the nobles in hiding in the fen. But all the characters can be found here – King Alfred, Queen Ealhswith, their daughters, Asser, Odda, Osmund, Cuthbert, Guthrum, Hubba, St. Neot, Athelstan Godred, Ethelred, Thiodolf, Thora and the other significant players of the age. The story is told by Ranald Vemundsson, son of the late Vemund, king of Southmereland, Norway, slain by Jarl Rognvald on the orders of Harald Fairhair. For his own safety Ranald fled Norway after being given a place on Jarl Einar’s ship - and so he came to England and the Danelaw. Whether Ranald actually was Alfred’s Viking is conjecture. That Alfred put his first fleet into the charge of "certain Vikings" is well known, though the name of their chief is not given. These Vikings would certainly be Norse, either detached from the following of Rolf Ganger, who wintered in England in 875 A.D. the year before his descent on Normandy; or else independent rovers who, like Rolf, had been driven from Norway by the high-handed methods of Harald Fairhair. Indeed, the time when a Norse contingent was not present with the English forces, from this period till at least that of the battle of Brunanburh in 947 A.D. would probably be an exception. There are, therefore, good historic grounds for the position given to the hero of the story as leader of the newly-formed fleet. The details of the burning of his supposed father's hall, and of the Orkney period, are taken from the Sagas. =============== KEYWORDS/TAGS: King Alfred’s Viking, Norse, Seek, Sword Helmbiter, Gifts, Two Heroes, Odda, Ealdorman Of Devon, Jarl Osmund, Daughter, Meetings, England, Action, Adventure, Anglia, Athelney, battle, brave, Bridgwater, Cannington, chainmail, Chippenham, Christian, Combwich, comrades, Danes, Danish, Denewulf, Devon, ealdorman, Edington, Einar, England, Etheldreda, Ethelnoth, Ethelred, Exeter, father, fleet, Glastonbury, Godred, golden, Guthrum, Harald Fairhair, Harek, heart, Helmbiter, eregar, Heregar, horses, Hubba, jarl, Jarl, kingdom, Kolgrim, Lady, laugh, laughter, maiden, Mercia, mound, Norsemen, Norway, Odda, Odin, Osmund, Parret, peace, people, Polden, Quantocks, ramparts, Ranald, river, round, runes, Saxon, Saxon, scald, Selwood, ships, Sigehelm, Sigurd, St Neot, stones, sword, Taunton, thane, Thiodolf, Thora, Thord, three, thunder, tongue, Vemundsson, Wareham, weapons, Wessex, wild, Black, Combwich, Cuthbert, Dance, Edington, Fight, Greatest Victory, King Alfred's Will,Pixies, Sign Of St. Cuthberht, Twelfth-Night, Winning Of "The Raven"

This story about Rolf, a youth and son of Hiarandi the Unlucky, who lives in early Christian Iceland during the days when the Icelandic society was transforming from the old Norse religion to Christianity. At the urging of his wife, Hiarandi does an unprecedented thing and lights a signal fire on a dangerous point of his land, challenging the accepted custom which places lucrative salvage at higher value than the saving of life. However, the life that is saved that night causes his own death and eventually, the unjust outlawing of his son Rolf. Rolf loses first his father, then his property, and finally his freedom to a scheming neighbour. Then he is outlawed from Iceland at the Althing (Council) and travels abroad, meeting with shipwreck, enslavement, Viking berserkers, and many other dangers and adventures. All the while, Rolf searches for a way to prove his father was killed unjustly and win back his own property and freedom. Even more difficult, Rolf must end the cycle of enmity, vengeance, and pride that hangs like a curse over his family Rolf's response to the injustice done to him creates a suspenseful, thought-provoking and page-turning tale which is difficult to put down. ============ KEYWORDS/TAGS: Rolf and the Viking’s Bow, Norse, Archery, , abroad, Althing, Asdis, ashore, atonement, baresarks, beacon, beserkers, blood, bow, Broadfirth, carline, chapmen, cliffs, cloak, Cragness, crags, Earl, Einar, evil, father, Fellstead, Flosi, Frodi, Gisli, gold, Grani, Grettir, Hallmund, Hallvard, Hawksness, heart, Helga, Hiarandi, home, Iceland, judges, Kari, Kiartan, kinsman, Kolbein, money, mound, neighbours, Ondott, Orkney, Outlaw, outlawry, Priest, Quarter, Rolf, Scots, sea, shepherd, shield, ship, shipmaster, shoot, smithy, smote, Snorri, son, storehouse, storm, strength, Sweyn, sword, Thorfinn, thrall, Thurid, Tongue, travel, Vemund, vengeance, viking, warship, weapons, whittle, winter, witnesses, wounds

The Vikings and Norsemen have always had a rich tradition of storytelling. How else would they pass the long, northern, winter nights? Herein are 11 strange and wonderfully illustrated tales from Northern Seas. Tales of strange Finns, lusty women, mariner ghosts, and sea demons haunt the coastal lands of Norway, the setting for this popular collection from 1893. Be transported to a strange, salty world of maelstroms and maleficent spirits, boat builders and dream-wreckers. These tales come from northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle. The tales in this volume are: The Fisherman And The Draug Jack Of Sjöholm And The Gan-Finn Tug Of War The Earth Draws The Cormorants Of Andvær Isaac And The Parson Of Brönö The Wind-Gnome The Huldrefish Finn Blood The Homestead Westward In The Blue Mountains It's Me So, we invite you to download and read these weird tales from the northern latitudes. Tales which will entertain you for hours. 10% of the net income from the sale of this book will be donated to charities. ========== KEYWORDS/TAGS: Viking, norsemen, Fisherman, Draug, Jack, Sjöholm, Gan-Finn, Tug Of War, Earth Draws, Cormorants, Andvær, Isaac, Parson, Brönö, Wind Gnome, Huldrefish, Blood, Homestead, Westward, Blue Mountains, Its Me, boat, sea, longship, Finn, Elias, Eilert, girl, sail, general, water, laughter, fishing, Toad, black, Gan-Finn, Bardun, summer, parson, Bernt, Christmas, mountain, father, sail, ashore, Draug, gold, Femboring, bottom, kitchen, autumn, jacket, wench, Isaac, daughter, church, island, Seimke, perceiv, reindeer, iron, boathouse, mistress, skerries, yellow, swain, mountains, headland, master, planks, rudder, Kjel, Eve, children

The author has endeavoured to tell the events preceding the Norman Conquest in a popular manner, and to give an idea of the principal personages who figured in England at the period when that memorable event took place. He also endeavoured to treat the subject in a popular and picturesque style, without sacrificing the of historic truth. He has delivered a sweeping history of the major events in British history from the ninth century AD to the end of the Norman Conquest more than 200 years later, featuring the fascinating stories of the series of Vikings, Saxons, and Normans who blazed their way across England during that tumultuous time. Read of Rollo the Norman (“Rolfganger”), a Viking and first duke of Normandy, and his most famous descendent, William the Conqueror; and of the Danish invasion under Earl Godwin, the restoration of the Anglo-Saxon kings under Edward the Confessor, and many others, including the adventurers Siward the Dane, Harold Hardrada the Norwegian, Hereward the Saxon and others. =============== About the author: John George Edgar (1834–1864) was, despite his short life, a prolific English writer who produced fifteen books devoted to English and Scottish history, as well as being the first editor of Every Boy's Magazine. His life and work were tragically cut short by encephalemia at the young age of thirty. =============== KEYWORDS/TAGS: Danes Saxons and Normans, sweeping history, norman conquest, principal characters, ninth century, eleventh century, 9th C, 11th C, 10th C, Vikings, Rollo, Rolfganger, action, adventure, historical, fact, confessor, Ulf Uspakson, Alfred, Archbishop, army, assembly, Atheling, barons, Battle abbey, battle, Bayeux, Beauclerc, Bishop, Britain Briton blood, british history, English history, Canute, castle, cavalry, ceremony, Conqueror, Cospatrick, Count, country, crown, Danes, Danish, Denmark, duke, Durham, Earl, Edgar, Edward, Edwin, England, English, escape, Ethelred, exile, expedition, Fight Fitzosborne, Flanders, France, French, God, Godwin, gold, great, Hardicanute, Hardrada, Harold, Hastings, heart, Henry, Hereward, Holy, Hugh, Invade, Ivo, king, knights, Lanfranc, Leofric, London, Malcolm, Matilda, monks, Morkar, nobles, Norman, Normandy, north, Northumberland, Norwegians, oath, Odo, palace, Philip, Prince, Princess, Queen, Robert, Rolfganger, Rouen, royal, Rufus, Saxon, Scotland, Scots, Scottish, Siward, soldiers, spirit, Sweyn, sword, throne, Tostig, vanquish, Waltheof, war, warriors, Welsh, Westminster, William, Winchester, York,

Leif Ericsson, also known as “LEIF THE LUCKY”, was the second son of Erik the Red and certainly displayed the Viking spirit of action, adventure and exploration. As a young man Leif Ericsson visited Norway, where he converted to Christianity. He was charged with returning to Greenland to convert the populace, but instead sailed further west and is believed to have landed somewhere in Nova Scotia. He spent a year in North America before returning home to Greenland, where he served as governor. THE Anglo-Saxon race was in its boyhood in the days when the Vikings lived. For every heroic vice, the Vikings laid upon the opposite scale an heroic virtue. They plundered and robbed, but where they raided, they traded, as most men did in the times when “Might made Right.” Yet the heaven-sent instinct of hospitality was in the marrow of their bones. No beggar went from their doors without alms; no traveller asked in vain for shelter. As cunningly false as they were to their foes, just so superbly true were they to their friends. Above all, they were a race of conquerors, whose knee bent only to its proved superior. Their allegiance was not given to the man who was king-born, but to the man who showed himself their leader in courage and their master in skill. The film The Viking (1928) was based on this novel, which has, to some extent, been based on Viking history. 10% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to Charities.

This book was inspired by Wagner's "The Valkyries" which is an operatic drama in the Ring Cycle. Many have heard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” a wonderful piece of classical music so often used in film to underscore dramatic action scenes. However, not many know, who or what the Valkyries were or how they came to be. This volume seeks to translate Wagner’s operatic prose into a novel, and does remarkably well. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas, the Volsungs and the Nibelungenlied and is quite often referred to as the Ring Cycle. In the Rheingold the stage is set. In Heaven above, around the rainbow-girt of Valhalla, and in the dark, stir the forces beneath the earth. Alberich and the Niebelungs, enter the arena waiting for the sons of men to assert their rightful lordship over the earth. This drama was originally titled "Siegfried and Sieglinde: The Valkyrie Punished" but was later renamed “The Valkyries.” It is the most performed of all books of the Cycle. It starts with a storm, during which Sieglinde gives shelter to a wounded stranger. They find themselves drawn to each other. He is Siegmund, the twin from whom Sieglinde was separated in childhood. Unknown to them, their father is Wotan, the most powerful of the gods. Through Siegmund, Wotan hopes to retrieve a gold ring of ultimate power that he cannot take himself (sound familiar?) Brother and sister fall in love and flee, taking with them Nothung, a sword destined for a hero. As goddess of marriage, Wotan’s wife Fricka angrily demands Wotan must not protect his incestuous children to serve his own ends. Wotan bitterly concedes. However, Wotan’s daughter Brünnhilde, a Valkyrie, takes it on herself to save Siegmund. Wotan stops her, and Siegmund is killed in battle, his sword shattered. Brünnhilde rescues Sieglinde, whom she knows is pregnant with Siegmund’s son, who is destined to become the hero Wotan desires. Brünnhilde pleads with her sister Valkyries to help save Sieglinde. They try to hide Siegmund but flee at Wotan’s wrath. As punishment for defying him, Wotan incarcerates Brünnhilde in a deep sleep on a mountaintop, protected by magic fire provided by Loge, the demigod of fire. There, on the mountain-top Brunnhilde sleeps, waiting for the coming of he, who she is destined for, to be awakened to the joy of human life. And there, till Siegfried leaps the barrier of flame, we leave her. What happens next? Well you’ll have to keep a lookout for the other books in the Ring Cycle published by Abela Publishing. =============== KEYWORDS/TAGS: Valkyries, Ring Cycle, Norse, Viking, Norse Mythology, legends, Norse Saga, House Of Hunding, The Stranger, Story Of The Stranger, Recognition, Strife, Wotan, Fricka, Siegmund, Lot Cast, cast a lot, Fight, Flight, Brunnhilde, Sentence, Sleep Of Brunnhilde, coming, cry, day, death, earth, eyes, face, father, forest, gods, heart, house, light, love, might, night, shield, Sieglinde, sisters, soul, spring, stood, stranger, sword, voice, Walhalla, Valhalla, wife, woman, wrath, Wagner, Opera, soul, spear, anger, incest, maid, rose, Volsung, Wolsung, sorrow, sweet, hero, heroes, vengeance, shelter, storm, bosom, breast, disobey, sword-hilt, Victory, overcome, shameful, chariot, Grane, Alberich, deliverance, tempest, lovers, Nuthung, destiny,