ENDNOTES: (1) Viking (Ice. "Vikingr"; "vik", a bay or creek, "ingr", belonging to, (or men of) freebooters. (2) "West over the Sea" is the word for the British Isles. (3) See Todd (J. H.). "War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill". (4) He was son of Ingiald, son of Thora, daughter of Sigurd Snake-I'-th'-eye, son of Ragnar Lodbrok by Aslaug, daughter of Sigurd by Brynhild. The genealogy is, doubtless, quite mythical. (5) A Collection of Sagas and other Historical Documents relating to the Settlements and Descents of the Northmen on the British Isles. Ed., G. W. Dasent, D.C.L, and Gudbrand Vigfusson, M.A. "In the Press. Longmans, London. 8vo. (6) "Orkneyinga Saga". (7) Landtaking-book--"landnam", landtaking, from "at nema land", hence also the early settlers were called "landnamsmenn". (8) To all interested in the subject of comparative mythology, Andrew Lang's two admirable books, "Custom and Myth" (1884, 8vo) and "Myth, Ritual, and Religion" (2 vols., crown 8vo, 1887), both published by Longmans, London, may be warmly recommended. (9) Iceland was granted full independence from Denmark in 1944. --DBK. (10) These pirates are always appearing about the same time in English State papers as plundering along the coasts of the British Isles, especially Ireland. (11) For all the old Scandinavian poetry extant in Icelandic, see "Corpus Poeticum Borealis" of Vigfusson and Powell. (12) Snake-tongue--so called from his biting satire. (13) "Sigurd the Volsung", which seems to have become all but forgotten in this century.--DBK. TRANSLATORS' PREFACE. In offering to the reader this translation of the most complete and dramatic form of the great Epic of the North, we lay no claim to special critical insight, nor do we care to deal at all with vexed questions, but are content to abide by existing authorities, doing our utmost to make our rendering close and accurate, and, if it might be so, at the same time, not over prosaic: it is to the lover of poetry and nature, rather than to the student, that we appeal to enjoy and wonder at this great work, now for the first time, strange to say, translated into English: this must be our excuse for speaking here, as briefly as may be, of things that will seem to the student over well known to be worth mentioning, but which may give some ease to the general reader who comes across our book.