“The story, The Vinland Saga, is an excerpt from The Saga of Greenlanders, one of the many Icelandic Sagas composed in the 11-13th centuries. The sagas were oral stories, memorized and recited for entertainment around feasting tables in Viking Age, Iceland. They recounted the adventures of Iceland’s greatest heroes and recorded the legacies of the first Norse families to settle there. The sagas are considered one of the great world literatures.”
“I learned the Sagas for my role as an interpreter for Parks Canada. I was fascinated by them. Stories that come down to us from centuries gone by can be quite inaccessible for the modern reader. Yet, when I read these Viking Age stories, they were so captivating and relatable that I could glimpse a world gone for a thousand years. I could see myself in some of the characters, people who lived in time so ill understood that we call it the Dark Ages. When we read these stories, we understand that those people were us. They valued hospitality and community. They were vain and cared deeply about their image. They loved their children. There is power in voices that come to us from long ago.”
"If there is a lesson I have taken from my studies of the Norse Sagas, it’s the unifying power of art. What do I have in common with a 10th century Norwegian sailor? Basically nothing, save humanity itself. And that is what these stories highlight and celebrate. The sagas were not composed to glorify a leader, nor to make money, nor to showcase the talent of an artist. They were composed because its what we do. We reach out with words to one another, and in the process we render the mundane humdrum of life into beauty and meaning. I think we need to remember that art is not only a matter of discipline and accolades, but something we should all engage in, organically, regardless of talent. Storytelling is as natural to us as breathing. Singing is as basic as eating. They can tie us together and remind us who we really are." - Ethian A.
Ethian wishes to share the words of Odin:
“Never let the grass
Grow on the paths
Between the houses of friends”
Special thanks to Gail Bradbury and Dale Wells from Parks Canada.
15 сен 2024
