Thrand of Gotu: Two Icelandic Sagas

Bonnie Bates is a reference librarian at the National Gallery of Canada.

Thrand of Gotu transports the reader back in time to a period of travel
and discovery. Set sometime in the 13th century, both of the sagas in
this book tell of the popular history of Iceland, part of the “Sagas
of Icelanders.” Originally an oral history, these sagas were some of
the first to be written down and served as an influence for later
Icelandic literature.

Like Beowulf and the Iliad, these two sagas recount large events that
sometimes leave the reader lost, trying to catch up with the pace of the
tale. George Johnston has done a fine job with the translation of the
works, but he does not give readers new to this subject much support
throughout the text. Although a brief introduction gives some background
to the sagas and endnotes further explain points raised in the text, the
book would have benefited from the inclusion of a map of the areas
discussed in the sagas as well as a family tree; in the absence of the
latter, the reader is often left wondering how each of the characters is
related to the other. Nevertheless, Thrand of Gotu will interest fans of
history, anthropology, and medieval literature, as well as those wishing
to document their genealogy in an alternative fashion.