'Fate must find someone to speak through. Whatever is meant to happen will happen.' Based on oral tales that originated from historical events in tenth-century Iceland, these two sagas follow the fate of a powerful Viking family across two generations, from its early Norwegian ancestry through to fierce battles to defend its honour. Gisli Sursson's Saga is a story of forbidden love and divided loyalties, in which the heroic Gisli vows to avenge the murder of his 'sworn brother' and sets in motion a chain of bloody events that culminate in tragedy. The Saga of the People of Eyri continues the story with Snorri, a cunning leader of the next generation, who uses his intellect to restore social order. Blending gripping narrative, humour, the supernatural and shrewd observation, these tales reveal the richness of the saga tradition and present a vivid record of a society moving from ruthless individualism to a Christian ethic of reconciliation and order.

V+¬steinn +ôlason is Head of the +ürni Magn+¦sson Institute in Reykjavic and has published numerous books on literary history and criticism, including the Literary History of Iceland.