Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend

1991

Reimund Kvideland and Henning K. Sehmsdorf, editors

An entertaining collection of hundreds of legends, stories, and magic. Perfect for reading or telling in front of the fire.

An entertaining collection of hundreds of legends, stories, and magic. Perfect for reading or telling in front of the fire.

A handsomely produced volume that fills a vacuum and does it well. . . . [It] facilitates excellently the study of Scandinavian folklore.

Choice

An entertaining collection of over 400 folk tales of legends, stories, and magic. Translated from the original Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish, this highly acclaimed work is perfect for bedside or fireside reading.

Reimund Kvideland is professor in the Department of Folklore and Ethnology at the University of Bergen, Norway. He has been editor of Tradisjon since 1975 and contributes to various other ethnology and folkloristic journals. Henning K. Sehmsdorf is professor of Scandinavian and comparative literature at the University of Washington. He is editor of Northwest Folklore and has written numerous articles on folklore, mythology, and Scandinavian and comparative literature.

A handsomely produced volume that fills a vacuum and does it well. . . . [It] facilitates excellently the study of Scandinavian folklore.

Choice

This volume will be warmly welcomed by scholars and the general public alike . . . a stupendous investment of skills and time.

The Scandinavian-American Bulletin

Readers may turn to Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend secure in the knowledge that they will receive an accurate and thorough picture of the subject, especially of the Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish traditions.

American Anthropologist

“Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend is a very readable work which is both informative and interesting. It is also a useful reference tool. . . . The entries are both diverse and illuminating for introductory classes in folklore.” Folklore Forum

“It is impossible, in a brief review, to do justice to the richness and range of the materials presented in this veritable cornucopia. We owe the editors and the University of Minnesota Press a great debt for making this wonderful collection available in English.” New York Folklore

“This rich collection of about 400 folk narratives makes for wonderful and instructive reading. The translations are so convincing that the reader all but forgets that the texts were not uttered in English.” Journal of Folklore Research