From thedockyards.com: A list of “10 Medieval Icelandic Sagas One Should Absolutely Read.”
However, these medieval literary creations innovated in that they revolved around the lives and deeds of real common people and their genealogies, as opposed to the largely moralistic, fairytale-like writings of the time in mainland Europe, where the main characters were knights or princes. The legacy of the sagas continues to live on up to our times, having inspired, among others, the setting and the mythical races of major high fantasy novels such as those from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
It’s a pretty good list. I’d suggest reading Eyrbyggja Saga as a companion to Laxdaela. But that would bump one of the others from the list, and I’ll admit Laxdaela is the better of the two.
I agree with Heimskringla being number one. Laxdæda Saga is my favorite from a literary standpoint (‘The one I loved most was the one I hurt the most’), but from a historical standpoint nothing can beat the saga of the kings of Norway.
Heimskringla counts as one saga? Isn’t it 16 sagas? That’s my count in my Hollander translation.
Technically true, but most people buy them as one volume, and I don’t want to confuse people even more than I generally do.