Sigurd and His Brave Companions

A Tale of Medieval Norway

2013
Author:

Sigrid Undset
Illustrated by Gunvor Bull Teilman

A medieval adventure for the ages, now back in print

Inspired by tales of the hero Vilmund Vidutan and his fellow knights, Sigurd Jonsson and his young friends Ivar and Helge set out to reenact these exploits on their medieval Norwegian farm. But when the summer is nearly over, the three boys stumble into real trouble and must prove their courage in an adventure all their own.

Undset paints a many-colored picture of those old rich days so skillfully that for a while we feel ourselves to be a part of it.

New York Times

Inspired by tales of the hero Vilmund Vidutan and his fellow knights, Sigurd Jonsson and his young friends Ivar and Helge set out to reenact these exploits on their medieval Norwegian farm. They carve swords and lances and spend hours making shields. With a little imagination, a pasture becomes a battlefield, an old boar their greatest foe, and they pass many hours jousting and dueling. But when the summer is nearly over, the three boys stumble into real trouble and must prove their courage in an adventure all their own.

Written during Sigrid Undset’s time in New York, Sigurd and His Brave Companions will make medieval Norway come alive for young and old readers alike.

Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) was a prolific Norwegian writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928, and is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century. From 1940 to 1945, she lived in the United States in exile because of the German occupation of Norway. She is best known for her epic medieval trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter.

Gunvor Bull Teilman (1900–1996) was a Norwegian painter, printmaker, sculptor, and book illustrator.

Undset paints a many-colored picture of those old rich days so skillfully that for a while we feel ourselves to be a part of it.

New York Times

A fine, dramatic story of compelling strength.

Horn Book

Vivid and convincing.

Library Journal