Saga_. A branch of the historic sagas is the Kings' Sagas, in which we
find _Heimskringla_, the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_, the _Flatey Book_,
and others.

This sketch does not pretend to indicate the quantity of Old Norse
literature. An idea of that is obtained by considering the fact that
eleven columns of the ninth edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ are
devoted to recording the works of that body of writings.




II.

THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF LATIN.

THOMAS GRAY (1716-1771).


In the eighteenth century, Old Norse literature was the lore of
antiquarians. That it is not so to-day among English readers is due to a
line of writers, first of whom was Thomas Gray. In the thin volume of
his poetry, two pieces bear the sub-title: "An Ode. From the Norse
Tongue." These are "The Fatal Sisters," and "The Descent of Odin," both
written in 1761, though not published until 1768. These poems are among
the latest that Gray gave to the world, and are interesting aside from
our present purpose because they mark the limit of Gray's progress
toward Romanticism.

We are not accustomed to think of Gray as a Romantic poet, although we