Tolkien's Proposed Translation of Old Norse Egilssaga
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The picture that opens this article shows one of the many concept maps that I have the habit of creating when I study a topic. It's a way for me to keep track of the links I find during my searches.
As you can read, the map tells of my research not on the influence of
Icelandic literature on Tolkien's work but on the relationship between Tolkien
and Icelandic scholars.
I started researching this topic in 2019. Since then, I have been
collecting findings and newspaper or magazine articles, and buying books, many
of which signed and annotated by Tolkien's students such as Ursula Dronke (née
Brown), who studied them when he was student of Tolkien, Cecilia Sisam, Gabriel
and Joan Turville-Petre, Norman Davis, and Agnete Loth; and also by friends
like Sigurður Nordal, Jacob Benedeiktsson, Jon Helgason, Benjamin Kristjansson,
R. Priebsch, and Max Forster.
[You can see the books here and here]
My research started from the scholar Sigurður Nordal, a central figure in Tolkien's Norse Studies and in the professional growth of many of Tolkien's students. [1]
I'll let the conceptual map clarify the scope of my present research. In the present article, however, I will focus only on one piece of information that really intrigued me about a publication on a Norse saga that Tolkien was working on that, as far as I am aware, was never cited by any scholar insofar.
The main protagonists are: Sigurður Nordal, an Icelandic scholar, ambassador, writer, and Lecturer in England and America; Halldór Hermannsson, curator of the Fiske Icelandic Collection at Cornell University Libraries from 1905 to 1948; the publisher Ejnar Munksgaard; Professor J. R. R. Tolkien; and Eric Valentine Gordon. It is important to clarify that I will not deal here with how they met and became friends and started working together, because I will leave these aspects to a forthcoming article (if I manage to complete it), or to the curiosity of the reader who wants to delve deeper into research on his own.
I learned about a major publishing project started on 11 September 1935
on Morgunblaðið. The announcement reads: “Universal publication of the
Icelandic sagas for English-speaking peoples. Publisher Ejnar Munksgaard is
planning a large-scale publishing activity in collaboration with Icelanders,
English and Americans.”
Professor
Sigurður Nordal has just returned from England. There, together with Professor
E. V. Gordon, he worked on the project for the largest edition of the Icelandic
sagas ever designed. The well-known book publisher Ejnar Munksgaard (Levin
& Munksgaard) of Copenhagen plans to publish all the most important
Icelandic works in the original language, with English prefaces and
explanations for English-speaking scholars, but also plans to publish them in
high-quality English translation. It can be assumed that this collection will
consist of 50 volumes, and the entire publication will take 25 years. People's
interest in Icelandic literature is growing every year, says Professor Sigurður
Nordal, when the newspaper's journalist met him yesterday in his office, where
he was leafing through a newly published volume of Halldór Hermannsson's
monumental collection, Islandica.
This volume, which is the XXIV of the series and is entitled The Sagas of the Icelanders (Íslendingasögur), is a list of all editions and translations of the Icelandic sagas and publications published on them in the last 25 years. It mentions translations in all kinds of languages, even Polish and Russian. And there, for example, it talks about three new translations of the story of Egil, which were published in the same year, 1930. (Morgunblaðið 3)
Until then there had been translations of the Icelandic sagas into
English, but these were no longer in circulation, and in any case, they were
not intended for the general public as they were translated into an
archaic-sounding English language, similar to the style of Eirík Magnússon or
William Morris. Morris determined to translate them into a lofty,
medieval-inspired language which made them unappealing to the general public.
Nordal and Gordon thought that the time was right to remedy the issue. Nordal himself, among English scholars, said that pioneers in England were Guðbrandur Vigfússon and Eiríkur Magnússon, but he also included W. P. Ker, professor of English in London, "who wrote the best that has been written on Icelandic literature in general" (Ibid.), and also mentioned Sir William Craigie and Dame Bertha Phillpotts. And he added: “among younger men, I consider Professor E. V. Gordon at Manchester and Professor J. R. R. Tolkien at Oxford the best.” (Ibid.)
Nordal and Gordon had written, already in the summer of 1935, the first
draft of the plan for publication, hypothesizing that, in addition to English
and Icelandic scholars, they would also involve American scholars, as well as
researchers from Iceland with a focus in Icelandic Studies. According to
Nordal, “Professor E.V. Gordon is the most suitable person to take on this
responsibility [as] he is a young man, he has already done much for Icelandic
Studies in England and is expert in everything relating to such work.” (Ibid.)
Did anyone wonder whether such a publication project might threaten the sales of the Icelandic Antiquities Society's (Íslenska fornritafélag) texts among English-speaking nations? Nordal replied that it was obviously difficult to predict in advance, but he was sure that many more people would be exposed to the texts in the original language thanks to publications including prefaces and explanations in the English version that were shorter and handier than the Icelandic version.
On 18 August 1935 Nordal wrote to Hermannsson that “Munksgaard is enthusiastic about the idea of English translations. I have now discussed this in depth with Gordon and Tolkien. Gordon promised to come to Hafnar next summer, and then I want us to discuss it together with Munksgaard. You know the forces that exist in America, Gordon those in England, and this is not just a question of money, but I dare say first a question of manpower. And here I am not sure whether translations or texts with prefaces and explanations in English are more necessary.” (Andvari 48).
It emerges that Tolkien had "in-depth" knowledge of this project, as Nordal wrote.
At the end of the following year, the project had been outlined in every
aspect with Professor Tolkien was working on Egilssaga.
On October 5, 1936, the newspaper Vìsir wrote:
The famous
English language expert E.V. Gordon, Professor at the University of Manchester,
spent the last few days in Copenhagen, and his trip is connected with the great
edition of the Icelandic tales in English, which Dr. Ejnar Munksgaard advises
you to prepare.
The Copenhagen
radio reporter spoke to Gordon who told him the following words:
"Professor
Sigurður Nordal and I spoke with Dr. Ejnar Munksgaard about our idea of
starting a new edition of the Icelandic stories and the Eddas in an
English translation. It has now been agreed that Levin and Munksgaard will
publish a translation of some of the stories, and the publication will probably
be expanded later.” The editorial board will consist of Professors Gordon in
Manchester, Halldór Hermannsson of Cornell University, and Nordal in Reykjavik.
The news also
says that around 10 volumes will be released and are expected to take around 10
years to release. All volumes will feature a large fragment, with textual
explanations, etc. and will contain images of relevant historical places in
Iceland. The first volume will be published in early 1937; it will be titled The
Wineland Sagas, or Sagur Vinland hins góðu, and will be translated
by Professor Halldór Hermannsson. The next four volumes will be: Njálssaga,
translated by E. G. Llewellyn, Cardiff; Egilssaga, translated by
Professor J. R. R. Tolkien, Oxford; Laxdæla saga translated by Professor
R. W. Chambers, London; and Grettir’s Tale, translated by Gordon.
In the interview Professor Gordon continues: “Interest in Nordic literature and culture is growing slowly but steadily in England.” (Vìsir 3)
Five days later, on October 10, Vesturland also reported the news:
Professor E.V.
Gordon of Manchester recently stayed in Copenhagen and negotiated with the
publishing house Levin & Munksgaard the publication of Icelandic legends in
English. The main editorial board will consist of: Prof. Gordon, Halldór
Harmannsson professor at Comell University in the USA and Professor Sigurður
Nordal in Reykjavik.
The publication
of 10 volumes which will be released over the next 10 years is under contract.
The volumes will be in a large fragment, with textual explanations and images
of the relevant historical places.
The first volume
was published at the beginning of 1937 and was entitled The Wineland Sagas,
it was translated by Prof. Halldór Hermannsson. The next four volumes will be: Njálsaga,
translated by E. C. Llewellyn Cardiff; Egilsaga, translated by Prof. J.
R. R. Tolkien, Oxford; Laxdæiasaga, translated by Prof. R. W. Chambers
of London; and Grettissaga, translated by Prof. Gordon.
Interest in
Icelandic literature has grown in recent years. It is proposed to establish a
chair of Nordic literature at Oxford. Until now it has mainly been the
University of Leeds that has been concerned with Icelandic studies and recently
an Icelandic library was opened at that university. The school purchased the
Boga Th. Melsted library and significantly expanded it.
The fact that this version of the Icelandic stories in English starts off so well may undoubtedly be due to Dr. Ejnar Munksgaard, who fell in love with ancient Icelandic literature, and continues his magnificent photostat editions of ancient Icelandic writings. (Vesturland 155)
The same news appeared on November 5, 1936 in Lögberg.
The series, unfortunately, was never made and the main reasons were
probably two: the death of E.V. Gordon in 1938 and the outbreak of the Second
World War.
At the time of the announcement Hermannsson was working on a book that
he published in 1936 as The problem of Wineland in the Icelandic series
as volume XXV with Cornell University Press.
A decade
previously Halldor had nurtured the hope of exploring the coast of northern
North America and Labrador together with Vilhjalmur Stefansson, but this plan
came to naught. It was with such a voyage in mind he had written his article
for The Geographical Review in 1927. The Problem of Wineland was
an extension and variation of the ideas Halldor had expressed there. In the
earlier article, he had called for a physical examination of the North American
coast with a concomitant effort to determine which parts of the coast jibed
with the descriptions in the Icelandic sources. (Mitchell 74)
But this was not the work planned with Nordal and Gordon. Hermannsson's
work [2] which was included in the series was published in 1944 with the title The
Vinland Sagas, volume XXX of the Icelandic series. The various publishers
are featured on the cover, including 'Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard'.
The term “Wineland” was replaced with “Vinland” because
Halldor changed
his mind regarding the use of the anglicized term “Wineland” and reverted to
using “Vinland.” The treatment of Icelandic place names is, we observe, always
a tricky one; many Icelandic place names have clearcut meanings, and by
retaining the Icelandic name one may fail to communicate its denotation.
Nevertheless, translating a place name in order to explain it leads to
confusion on several counts — the translation does not appear on any map, and
translations made by different persons are not always identical. Although this
was scarcely the case with the word “Vinland,” Halldor felt on reflection that
it would be wisest to retain the Icelandic term, probably because the
translated form overemphasizes the concept of wine or grape-bearing vines,
which is not really central in a discussion of the early Scandinavian voyages
to North America. (Mitchell 77)
The mystery remains about Tolkien and his edition of Egilssaga, raising some questions. I have found no reference to this work in the writings of Tolkien, or other scholars, nor in the archives of the Bodleian Library.
Why would they announce it publicly as the fourth volume in the series? I think Tolkien had started working on it and perhaps I found some interesting traces. Tolkien owned a copy of Egils saga Skalla-grímssonar edited by Sigurður Nordal given by the author who wrote on cover 'Professor J.R.R. Tolkien | Með vináttu frá | Sigurd Nordal'. In Tolkien's copy there are three pages of notes entitled 'Egla verse' (Cilli 232). [3] Is it possible that these three pages correspond to the work on the Egilssaga of the Munksgaard series?
The question is unanswered for now, but I hope to share news on this
subject with you in the near future.
NOTES
[1] For the deepening of the friendship between Tolkien and Nordal I
thank with the utmost gratitude the French scholar Mahdi Brecq who allowed me
to learn about and receive copy of the important unpublished correspondence
between the two scholars.
[2] In Tolkien's library there were three volumes by Halldór
Hermannsson: (i) Bibliography of the mythical-heroic sagas, 1912. (ii) Icelandic
manuscripts, 1929. (iii) The Sagas of the Kings (Konunga Sögur) and the
mythical-heroic sagas (Fornaldar Sögur). Two bibliographical supplements,
1937. All three books belong to Tolkien’s personal Celtic library, preserved at the
Weston Library under the auspices of the English Faculty Library (Oxford).
(Cilli 127-128)
3] Tolkien also owned a copy edited by Eric Rücker Eddison, Egil’s
saga, done into English out of the Icelandic (Cilli 84).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CILLI, Oronzo. Tolkien’s Library. An annotated checklist. Second
Edition Revised and Expanded. Edinburgh: Luna Press, 2023.
EDDISON, Eric Rücker (Edited by). Egil’s saga, done into English out
of the Icelandic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1930.
HERMANNSSON, Halldór. Bibliography of the mythical-heroic sagas.
Series: Islandica, an Annual Relating to Iceland and the Fiske Icelandic
Collection in Cornell University Library, 5. New York: Cornell University
Library, 1912.
______________. Icelandic manuscripts. Series: Islandica, an
Annual Relating to Iceland and the Fiske Icelandic Collection in Cornell
University Library, 19. New York: Cornell University Library, 1929.
______________. The problem of Wineland. New York: Cornell
University Press, 1936.
______________. The Sagas of the Kings (Konunga Sögur) and the
mythical-heroic sagas (Fornaldar Sögur). Two bibliographical supplements.
Series: Islandica, an Annual Relating to Iceland and the Fiske Icelandic
Collection in Cornell University Library, 26. New York: Cornell University
Press, 1937.
______________. The Vinland
Sagas. New York/Copenhagen: Cornell University Press/Ejnar
Munksgaard, 1944.
LÖGBERG. ‘Islendingasögur á ensku’ (Icelandic stories
in English), 5 November 1936, p. 3.
MITCHELL, P. M. Halldór Hermannsson. Ithaca, New York: Cornell
University Press, 1978.
MORGUNBLAÐiÐ. ‘Allsherjar útgáfa íslenskra fornrita handa
enskumælandi þjóðum’ (Universal publication of Icelandic antiquities for
English-speaking peoples), 11 September 1935, p. 3.
NORDAL, Sigurður. Egils
saga Skalla-grímssonar. Series: Islenzk fornrit v. 2. Reykjavík; Hið Íslenzka
Fornritfélag, 1933.
VESTURLAND. ‘Islendingasögur
á ensku’ (Icelandic stories in English), 10 October 1936, p. 155.
VÍSIR. ‘Íslendingasogar á ensku’ (Icelanders in English).
5 October 1936, p. 3.