The Copybook: Readings in history and literature

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Morgan Library & Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Wooing of Olaf Tryggvason by Snorro Sturluson

An aristocratic widow advertises for a husband, and among the line-up of natty and noble suitors is a rough-and-ready Olaf Tryggvason.

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1

The Death of Baldur by Snorro Sturluson

Baldur was the toast of Valhalla, but Loki was determined to take him down.

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2

By Edwin Landseer (1802–1873), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Vige, the Viking’s Dog by Snorro Sturluson

Vige was the inseparable companion of swashbuckling Viking warlord Olaf Tryggvason, who picked him up in Ireland.

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3

Miracles of St Olaf by Snorro Sturluson

Snorro Sturluson records some of the miracles attributed to Olaf II, King of Norway, after Englishman Bishop Grimkell declared him a saint.

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4

Magnus ‘Barelegs’ Steers a Bold Course by Snorro Sturluson

Magnus had just reasserted Norway’s authority over The Isles and Man, when he stumbled into a party of Normans harassing the King of Gwynedd.

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5

Magnus ‘Barelegs’ Tours the Isles by Snorro Sturluson

Barely a generation after Harald Hardrada narrowly missed out on taking the English crown, his grandson Magnus re-asserted Norway’s authority over The Isles and Man.

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6

From the twelfth-century Madrid manuscript of the History of John Skylitzes (?1040-?1101). Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Luck of the Draw by Snorro Sturluson

Harald Hardrada made sure that his fate was never out of his own hands.

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