Crimsoning the Eagle's Claw (Arc Classic Translations): The Viking Poems of Rognvaldr Kali Kolsson, Earl of Orkney (Arc Classics: New Translations of Great Poets of the Past) - Softcover

Rognvaldr Kali Kolsson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908376600 ISBN 13: 9781908376602

Publisher: Arc Publications, 2014

Synopsis

A genuinely unique European treasure, this volume bristles with the Viking verses of Rognvaldr, Earl of Orkney, recorded in Orkneyinga Saga. Full of highly stylised, often grotesque images, Ian Crockatt's masterly translations convey the skill, vigour and daring of the original.

Skaldic poetry is one of the most elaborate and original in European literature and this collection finally brings it to the deserved attention of the English-language reader. Rich narratives and old Norse mythology blend with familiar place-names and landscapes to create a peculiarly alluring, sometimes comic, world that never quite settles around the reader. Spirited and generous, these poems give us precious glimpses of a life lived to the full.

About this title

About the Author

Rognvaldr jarl Kali Kolsson was born on his father's extensive estates in East Agoar, Norway, around 1100 - the exact year is not known. His mother inherited estates in Orkney and her brother ruled half the Orkney earldom before his martyrdom and subsequent canonisation as St. Magnus. When Kali, having adopted the name R gnvaldr after a previous successful earl, assumed the earldom in 1135, he founded the cathedral at Kirkwall and dedicated it to his uncle's memory. R gnvaldr is best remembered for his building of the cathedral, for his adventurous exploits during a three year pilgrimage to Jerusalem, described in the thirteenth century Orkneyinga Saga, and for his magnificently skilful skaldic poetry. In 1158 he was killed in an ambush in Caithness by political opponents, and in 1192, following his own canonisation, his remains were translated to Kirkwall Cathedral.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arc Publications
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908376600
• ISBN 13: 9781908376602
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 104
• Editor: Jean Boase-Beier