Alf Clayton, a struggling history professor at Wayward Junior College in New Hampshire, receives a request ... to provide his memories and impressions of the Presidential administration of Gerald Ford. Clayton has spent several years unsuccessfully attempting to write a new biography of President James Buchanan and the two projects intertwine as Clayton's mind shifts between them ...- Wikipedia: Memories of the Ford Administration
I have to begin by admitting that I didn't know Professor Paul Edwards (1926-1992) particularly well. He was one of the Academics in the Edinburgh English Department when I first arrived there in 1986. Judging from those dates above, He must have been 60 at the time, and I have to say that he looked it. I haven't been able to locate a photo of him online, so you'll have to envisage a rather red-faced, overweight, Rabelaisian figure, holding court in his large office upstairs in the David Hume Tower, which housed all of us Hamanities misfits.
So why am I writing about him?
One reason is because I knew his name pretty well long before I ever got there - though the picture of him in my mind's eye was nothing like the reality. You see, I'd already developed into a bit of an Icelandic Saga-ophile (if there is such a term) over my undergraduate years, partly as a result of having studied Old Norse for a year under the learned tutelage of Professor Forrest Scott of Auckland University.
Here's a list of the translations and books Edwards and his collaborator, Icelandic scholar Hermann Pálsson, composed on the subject, starting with Gautrek's Saga in 1968, and concluding with Vikings in Russia in 1989:
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Gautrek's Saga, and Other Medieval Tales (1968)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Arrow-Odd: A Medieval Novel (1970)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Legendary Fiction in Medieval Iceland (1970)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Hrolf Gautreksson: A Viking romance (1972)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] The Book of Settlements; Landnámabók (1972)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Eyrbyggja Saga (1973)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Egil's Saga by Snorri Sturluson (1976)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (1978)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Göngu-Hrólfs Saga (1980)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Seven Viking Romances (1985)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Knytlinga Saga: The History of the Kings of Denmark (1986)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Magnus' Saga: The Life of St Magnus, Earl of Orkney, 1075–1116 (1987)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's saga and Eymund's saga (1989)
I managed to meet Hermann Pálsson, too, shortly after I first got to Edinburgh. We'd concentrated on one of the shorter sagas, Hrafnkel's Saga, in my year of Old Norse at the University of Auckland, and Pálsson had written a critical monograph about it - as well as translating it for the Penguin Classics (along with some shorter works, including the thoroughly charming story of "Auðun from the West Fjords," whose best friend was a Polar Bear ...)
I believe it was Mark Twain who put it best:
There are three infallible ways of pleasing an author, and the three form a rising scale of compliment:I can't claim to have gone much beyond first base on that list with Pálsson, but he certainly seemed impressed that I'd read his 1966 monograph Siðfræði Hrafnkels sögu (1966 - published in English as Art and Ethics in Hrafnkel's Saga in 1971).No. 1 admits you to his respect; No. 2 admits you to his admiration; No. 3 carries you clear into his heart.
- to tell him you have read one of his books;
- to tell him you have read all of his books;
- to ask him to let you read the manuscript of his forthcoming book.
The classic account of that saga is to be found in Sigurður Nordal's 1949 book Hrafnkels Saga Freysgoða: A Study (translated into English in 1958). Nordal's exhaustive analysis of the local names and kinship systems in the region where the saga is set demonstrated beyond doubt that it had to be regarded as historical fiction, despite the presence of a few genuine place-names and people.
Nordal's book constituted the final nail in the coffin of the then still-current view that the so-called "Family Sagas" were nothing more than careful records of actual deeds and events in medieval Iceland. That may be true - to some extent - of some of them, but certainly not of this tale of the priest of Frey, Hrafnkel's Saga. Pálsson's 1966 account of the saga builds on Nordal's pioneering work to flesh out the complex connections between pure invention and fact in this early piece of prose fiction.
Anyway, Hermann and I had a nice little chat about it all. He seemed astonished to meet an English student who could actually read in a foreign language, and was interested in the Sagas. That was certainly not the norm among my fellow post-graduates.
Forrest Scott, my Icelandic teacher in Auckland, was positively obsessed with Eyrbyggja Saga, the rather episodic tale of the People of Eyri (which includes one of the best ghost stories I've ever read). Not content with the original manuscript sources preserved in Iceland, he'd spent a great deal of time in Copenhagen, looking through all the older paper copies of the text preserved in the National Library there.
At the time I was rather surprised that his long-awaited edition of the poem never seemed to get any closer to completion - even after his retirement from the everyday duties of the English Department. Now, having retired myself from teaching at Massey University a couple of years ago, I think I understand him a little better. Books get harder, not easier, to complete as the years go by. The need to update and reformat all the work you've already done becomes more and more of an insuperable obstacle, and instead you decide to scribble a short article (or, for that matter, a blogpost) on some more easily circumscribed subject ...
Edwards and Pálsson's fluent and fast-moving Penguin Classics translation provided us students with a convenient crib to set alongside our own rough versions of episodes from the Eyrbyggja Saga, translated from the drafts of Prof. Scott's projected edition.
Penguin Books began their series of translations of the sagas under the aegis of Edinburgh-raised Icelander (and future TV personality) Magnus Magnusson - in collaboration, of course, with the ubiquitous Hermann Pálsson. These included:
- Njal’s Saga (1973)
- Njal’s Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1960. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972.
- The Vinland Sagas (1965)
- The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America – Grænlendinga Saga & Eirik’s Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1965. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971.
- King Harald’s Saga (1966)
- King Harald’s Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway – from Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1966. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971.
- Laxdaela Saga (1969)
- Laxdaela Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1969. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976.
Presumably Magnusson got too busy with his BBC broadcasting duties after that, so Hermann Pálsson thought he'd have a go on his own - hence the appearance of Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories with him as sole translator.
Pálsson must have concluded that the task of transforming the stark, implication-laden prose of the Sagas into idiomatic English prose was one which required a native-speaking collaborator, though, because a positive stream of sagas issued from the team of Pálsson & Edwards from 1972 onwards, many (not all) of them reprinted as Penguin Classics.
Paul Edwards had studied Icelandic in his youth, and his genial, informal approach to the subject - I remember him remarking to me once that he'd just completed an article on "spewing in Old Norse sagas" - definitely brought a breath of fresh air to the Penguin series.
I mentioned above his "holding court in his large office." You'll have to try and imagine a battered old wooden table, with him at the head, a set of glasses and a flask of (dreadful) red wine at his elbow, serving out drinks to all and sundry. There were loud guests and silent ones. I was one of the latter. But he was infinitely kind to me - even before I gradually revealed my respect for him and his work, and my love of the Sagas themselves.
More to the point, he offered me (and others) invaluable, non-pompous advice about how to navigate the strange cross-currents of Academic life, and particularly the crises of faith which tend to beset those working on large postgraduate dissertations.
I guess it was all so welcome because he did so strongly resemble Sir John Falstaff - with all of us cast as his tavern companions. A Falstaff without any of the malice and mendacity, though: just the ready with and the endless desire for fun and good company. I wish I could go back and listen to him discourse just one more time.
The truth of the matter is, however, that those of you who've already heard of "Professor Paul Edwards" will probably be wondering why I'm concentrating so much on the Icelandic Sagas. His main claim to fame is undoubtedly the book above. It's just the tip of the iceberg of his work on African literature, mind you. He was, in fact, the go-to guy for such matters for most UK universities at the time. Wikipedia, as usual, provides us with a few useful facts and dates to get us started:
After completing his education he worked in West Africa for nine years, teaching literature in Ghana and Sierra Leone. The demand of his African students for African literature propelled his encounter with Equiano.
Encouraged by Chinua Achebe, and helped by the historian of Sierra Leone Christopher Fyfe, in 1967 Edwards published an abridged edition of Equiano's autobiographical Narrative in Heinemann's African Writers Series, under the title Equiano's Travels. He subsequently published a facsimile version of the Narrative, and another edited version under the title The Life of Olaudah Equiano.He was, in fact, at the time that I met him, Professor of English and African Literature at Edinburgh. I guess if you're shocked at my description of him serving out red wine to students in his office on a regular basis you'll have to take my word for it that we did things differently then.
It was quite a shock to me when I got back to New Zealand to readjust to our rather puritan ways. In Edinburgh, all business and all social gatherings were conducted in the pub. Professors seldom stood their rounds, admittedly, but they were happy enough to have drinks bought for them by indigent students trying to curry favour.
It may not be anything to skite about, but you couldn't walk for more than a few yards down any street in Edinburgh without running into a bar. The city was awash with booze. I remember my first impression of it as I approached my hall of residence in a taxi was seeing a drunk throwing up in a gutter. "Auld Reekie" certainly lived up to its name.
Certainly my friends and I always gathered in pubs. You could sit in the corner for hours debating the meaning of existence, and you could even get a snack there if you were sick of the Student Union pizzas. Halcyon days.
It is a bit vexing that I can't locate a picture of Paul Edwards. I suppose that his legacy is really two-fold. On the one hand, there's the beautiful edition of the Sagas published by the Folio Society around the turn of the millennium, which includes a few of his translations alongside all the ones by Pálsson and Magnusson:
- Au∂un’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)
- Grænlendiga Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1965)
- Eirík’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1965)
- The Tale of Thorstein Stangarhögg (Staff-Struck), trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)
- Egil’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1976)
- Hrafnkel’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)
- Eyrbyggja Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1972)
- Vopnfir∂inga Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- Bandamanna Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1975)
- Gunnlaug’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- The Tale of Thi∂randi and Thórhall, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- Njál’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1960)
- Ívarr’s Tale, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- Gísli’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1999)
- Ölkofri’s Tale, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- Laxdæla Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1969)
- Gunnarr Thi∂randabani’s Tale, trans. Alan Boucher (1981)
- Fóstbrœ∂ra Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1999)
- Hrei∂arr’s Tale, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- Vatnsdæla Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
- Hænsa-Thórir’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1975)
- Grettir’s Saga, trans. Denton Fox & Hermann Pálsson (1974)
On the other hand there's the memorial volume Romanticism and Wild Places: Essays In Memory of Paul Edwards, ed. Paul Hullah (Edinburgh: Quadriga, 1998). I can't find an image of that online, either. Perhaps, instead, I can conclude with a (partial) list of his own works. They at least are, I'm positive, going to live on.
Books I own are marked in bold:
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Books:
- [with Hermann Pálsson) Legendary Fiction in Medieval Iceland (1970)
- [with James Walvin] Black Personalities in the Era of the Slave Trade (1983)
- "Black writers of the 18th and 19th centuries." In The Black Presence in English Literature. Ed. David Dabydeen (1985): 50–67.
- "Three West African Writers of the 1780s." In The Slave's Narrative. Ed. Charles T. Davis and Henry Louis Gates (1985)
- West African Narrative: An Anthology for Schools (1963)
- Modern African Narrative: An Anthology (1966)
- Through African Eyes (1966)
- Equiano's Travels: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African by Olaudah Equiano. African Writers Series 10 (1967)
- Equiano’s Travels: His Autobiography. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African. 1789. Ed. Paul Edwards. 1967. London: Heinemann, 1982.
- A Ballad Book for Africa (1968)
- Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African. African Classics (1990)
- [with David Dabydeen) Black Writers in Britain: 1760–1830 (1991)
- [with Polly Rewt) The letters of Ignatius Sancho by Ignatius Sancho (1994)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Gautrek's Saga, and Other Medieval Tales (1968)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Arrow-Odd: A Medieval Novel (1970)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Legendary Fiction in Medieval Iceland (1970)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Hrolf Gautreksson: A Viking romance (1972)
- Hrolf Gautrekkson: A Viking Romance. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. New Saga Library 1. Edinburgh: Southgate, 1972.
- [with Hermann Pálsson] The Book of Settlements; Landnámabók (1972)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Eyrbyggja Saga (1973)
- Eyrbyggja Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. New Saga Library 2. Edinburgh: Southgate, 1973.
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Egil's Saga by Snorri Sturluson (1976)
- Egil’s Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976.
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (1978)
- Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. 1978. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1982.
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Göngu-Hrólfs Saga (1980)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Seven Viking Romances (1985)
- Seven Viking Romances. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1985.
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Knytlinga Saga: The History of the Kings of Denmark (1986)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Magnus' Saga: The Life of St Magnus, Earl of Orkney, 1075–1116 (1987)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's saga and Eymund's saga (1989)
- [with Hermann Pálsson] "Egil’s Saga" (1976) & "Eyrbyggja Saga" (1972). In The Icelandic Sagas. Vol. 1 of 2. Ed. Magnus Magnusson. Illustrated by Simon Noyes. 1999. London: The Folio Society, 2000. 67-246 & 275-384.
- Blake, N. F. ed. The Saga of the Jomsvikings: Jómsvíkinga Saga. Nelson’s Icelandic texts, ed. Sigurður Nordal & G. Turville-Petre. London: Nelson, 1962.
- Dasent, George. M., trans. The Saga of Burnt Njal: From the Icelandic of Njal’s Saga. Everyman’s Library. London & New York: J. M. Dent & E. P. Dutton, n.d.
- Hight, George Ainslie., trans. The Saga of Grettir the Strong: A Story of the Eleventh Century. Everyman’s Library 699. 1914. London & New York: J. M. Dent & E. P. Dutton, 1929.
- Hreinsson, Viðar, ed. The Complete Sagas of Icelanders (including 49 Stories). General Editor: Viðar Hreinsson, Editorial Team: Robert Cook, Terry Gunnell, Keneva Kunz & Bernard Scudder. Introduction by Robert Kellogg. 5 vols. Iceland: Leifur Eiriksson Publishing Ltd., 1997.
- Vinland / Warriors and Poets
- Foreword
- By the President of Iceland
- By the Icelandic Minister of Education, Culture and Science
- By the Former Director of the Manuscript Institute of Iceland
- Preface
- Credits
- Publisher's Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Vinland and Greenland
- Eirik the Red's Saga
- The Saga of the Greenlanders
- Warriors and Poets
- Egil's Saga
- Kormak's Saga
- The Saga of Hallfred the Troublesome Poet
- The Saga of Bjorn, Champion of the Hitardal People
- The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue
- Tales of Poets
- The Tale of Arnor, the Poet of Earls
- Einar Skulason's Tale
- The Tale of Mani the Poet
- The Tale of Ottar the Black
- The Tale of Sarcastic Halli
- Stuf's Tale
- The Tale of Thorarin Short-Cloak
- The Tale of Thorleif, the Earl's Poet
- Anecdotes
- The Tale of Audun from the West Fjords
- The Tale of Brand the Generous
- Hreidar's Tale
- The Tale of the Story-Wise Icelander
- Ivar Ingimundarson's Tale
- Thorarin Nefjolfsson's Tale
- The Tale of Thorstein from the East Fjords
- The Tale of Thorstein the Curious
- The Tale of Thorstein Shiver
- The Tale of Thorvard Crow's-Beak
- Foreword
- Outlaws / Warriors and Poets
- Outlaws and Nature Spirits
- Gisli Sursson's Saga
- The Saga of Grettir the Strong
- The Saga of Hord and the People of Holm
- Bard's Saga
- Warriors and Poets
- Killer-Glum's Saga
- The Tale of Ogmund Bash
- The Tale of Thorvald Tasaldi
- The Saga of the Sworn Brothers
- Thormod's Tale
- The Tale of Thorarin the Overbearing
- Viglund's Saga
- Tales of the Supernatural
- The Tale of the Cairn-Dweller
- The Tale of the Mountain-Dweller
- Star-Oddi's Dream
- The Tale of Thidrandi and Thorhall
- The Tale of Thorhall Knapp
- Outlaws and Nature Spirits
- Epic / Champions and Rogues
- An Epic
- Njal's Saga
- Champions and Rogues
- The Saga of Finnbogi the Mighty
- The Saga of the People of Floi
- The Saga of the People of Kjalarnes
- Jokul Buason's Tale
- Gold-Thorir's Saga
- The Saga of Thord Menace
- The Saga of Ref the Sly
- The Saga of Gunnar, the Fool of Keldugnup
- Tales of Champions and Adventures
- Gisl Illugason's Tale
- The Tale of Gold-Asa's Thord
- Hrafn Gudrunarson's Tale
- Orm Storolfsson's Tale
- Thorgrim Hallason's Tale
- An Epic
- Regional Feuds
- Regional Feuds
- The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal
- The Saga of the Slayings on the Heath
- Valla-Ljot's Saga
- The Saga of the People of Svarfadardal
- The Saga of the People of Ljosavatn
- The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and of Killer-Skuta
- The Saga of Thorstein the White
- The Saga of the People of Vopnafjord
- The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck
- The Tale of Thorstein Bull's Leg
- The Saga of Droplaug's Sons
- The Saga of the People of Fljotsdal
- The Tale of Gunnar, the Slayer of Thidrandi
- Brandkrossi's Tale
- Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson's Saga
- Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson's Tale
- Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson's Dream
- Egil Sidu-Hallsson's Tale
- Regional Feuds
- Epic / Wealth and Power
- An Epic
- The Saga of the People of Laxardal
- Bolli Bollason's Tale
- Wealth and Power
- The Saga of the People of Eyri
- The Tale of Halldor Snorrason I
- The Tale of Halldor Snorrason II
- Olkofri's Saga
- Hen-Thorir's Saga
- The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey's Godi
- The Saga of the Confederates
- Odd Ofeigsson's Tale
- The Saga of Havard of Isafjord
- Religion and Conflict in Iceland and Greenland
- The Tale of Hromund the Lame
- The Tale of Svadi and Arnor Crone's-Nose
- The Tale of Thorvald the Far-Travelled
- The Tale of Thorsein Tent-Pitcher
- The Tale of the Greenlanders
- Reference Section
- Maps and Tables
- Illustrations and Diagrams
- Glossary
- Cross-Reference Index of Characters
- Contents of Volumes I-V
- An Epic
- Johnston, George, trans. The Saga of Gisli. Ed. Peter Foote. 1963. Everyman’s Library. London: Dent, 1984.
- Jones, Gwyn, trans. Eirik the Red and other Icelandic Sagas. The World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Pres, 1980.
- Turville-Petre, G. Origins of Icelandic Literature. 1953. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967.
Essays:
Edited:
Translated:
Further Reading on the Sagas:
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