Thick of skull

[threemonkeys]

I have just finished Egil's Saga. It is one of the major epic Icelandic sagas set in the heyday of the Viking raiders but probably composed in the 13th century - a mixture of history and fiction. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I didn't hate it either. The translation was very competent but the saga itself is pretty dull unless you are examining it for an analysis of the lives of the Norse - well a certain class of Norse noble really. I'm interested but not that interested. It was of some interest to see how consistent this saga was with more recent fiction set during those times. It isn't hard to see where modern writers are doing their research. I think I can safely say that I have done all the Icelandic saga reading I ever need to do.

Comments

[russellk.livejournal.com]

Ow, that hurt. I've got a reciprocal lattice growing on my face now. I have to admit, that was one of the less informative wikipedia articles I've read in a while.

And you're only just now becoming concerned about Gillian?

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

That wikipedia article manages to distill the mathematics of the concept without at any point discussing the physical meaning and application. The latter was essentially what my work was about. My supervisor had a really impressively huge beard - I never made the connection until now.

Lets just say that I know never to turn my metaphorical back on Gillian. :-)