Gwyn Jones (1907–1999)
Author of A History of the Vikings
About the Author
Works by Gwyn Jones
The Norse Atlantic Saga: Being the Norse Voyages of Discovery and Settlement to Iceland, Greenland, and North America (1986) 81 copies
The Green Island 3 copies
The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare (special binding in full morocco leather by Hiscox, one of 100 copies) (1960) — Editor — 2 copies
Richard Savage. [A novel.] 2 copies
Erik The Red 1 copy
Visions of the Sleeping Bard 1 copy
Garland of Bays 1 copy
Associated Works
Little reviews anthology — Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
Argosy (UK) [Vol. IV No. 5, June 1943] — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Jones, Gwyn
- Birthdate
- 1907-05-24
- Date of death
- 1999-12-06
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- Wales, UK
- Birthplace
- New Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK
- Place of death
- Aberystwyth, Wales, UK
- Places of residence
- Monmouthshire, Wales, UK
Aberystwyth, Wales, UK
Cardiff, Wales, UK - Education
- University College, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Occupations
- historian
novelist
literary critic
translator
professor (welsh and norse) - Relationships
- Jones, Mair (wife)
Rees, Alice (wife) - Organizations
- University College, Cardiff
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth - Awards and honors
- Order of the Falcon (Knight's Cross, 1963|Commander's Cross, 1987)
Commander, Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1965)
Medal of the Honorable Society of Cymmrodorion (1991)
Members
Discussions
Vikings (Gwyn Jones vs Neil Price) in Folio Society Devotees (August 20)
Reviews
Some of the sagas in this collection really wouldn't have been out of place in Tolkein's [b:Unfinished Tales|797114|Unfinished Tales|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1207407366s/797114.jpg|2961645]. They read very much like rough early drafts of tales from Middle Earth.
The first few sagas drag somewhat. They mostly consist of vast genealogies (though apparently the translator Gwyn Jones removed some of the extraneous family-tree parts) and then a drawn out blood feud wherein two families will take it in turns avenging some crime that has long since been forgotten.
Amongst these is Eirik the Red, a saga famous for recording the settling of Greenland and an Icelandic expedition to North America; it's also a pretty good read.
The best saga is saved till last. King Hrolf and his Champions is by far the longest tale in the collection — albeit still only a hundred pages or so. But this is ample time to actually get involved in the story and allow it to build to a fine climax. The final battle in this saga that closes the book is both suitably epic in scale and surprisingly moving. A fine book overall.… (more)
The first few sagas drag somewhat. They mostly consist of vast genealogies (though apparently the translator Gwyn Jones removed some of the extraneous family-tree parts) and then a drawn out blood feud wherein two families will take it in turns avenging some crime that has long since been forgotten.
Amongst these is Eirik the Red, a saga famous for recording the settling of Greenland and an Icelandic expedition to North America; it's also a pretty good read.
The best saga is saved till last. King Hrolf and his Champions is by far the longest tale in the collection — albeit still only a hundred pages or so. But this is ample time to actually get involved in the story and allow it to build to a fine climax. The final battle in this saga that closes the book is both suitably epic in scale and surprisingly moving. A fine book overall.… (more)
Lists
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 34
- Also by
- 14
- Members
- 2,426
- Popularity
- #10,574
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 19
- ISBNs
- 48
- Languages
- 2
- Favorited
- 1
The first few sagas drag somewhat. They mostly consist of vast genealogies (though apparently the translator Gwyn Jones removed some of the extraneous family-tree parts) and then a drawn out blood feud wherein two families will take it in turns avenging some crime that has long since been forgotten.
Amongst these is Eirik the Red, a saga famous for recording the settling of Greenland and an Icelandic expedition to North America; it's also a pretty good read.
The best saga is saved till last. King Hrolf and his Champions is by far the longest tale in the collection — albeit still only a hundred pages or so. But this is ample time to actually get involved in the story and allow it to build to a fine climax. The final battle in this saga that closes the book is both suitably epic in scale and surprisingly moving. A fine book overall.… (more)