Teutonic Myth and Legend

The core of J.R.R. Tolkien's inspirations and sources were the ancient literatures of the northern Germanic tribes, Norsemen, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons. There is perhaps no better introduction to the vast sweep of these traditions than Donald A. Mackenzie's Teutonic Myth and Legend: An Introduction to the Eddas & Sagas, Beowulf, The Nibelungenlied, etc. It gives concise, comprehensive retellings from earliest preserved Icelandic Eddas and Sagas to the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf (an especially important influence on Tolkien), to the medieval romances of the Nibelungs and Dietrich of Bern. This edition is beautifully illustrated and elegantly formatted with the e-reader in mind.