Who translated the 1870 English edition of the Icelandic Völsunga saga with William Morris?

Eiríkr Magnússon translated the 1870 English edition of the Völsunga saga with William Morris.

Magnússon was an Icelandic scholar and clergyman who lived in Britain. His knowledge of Icelandic made him an important collaborator for Morris, the English poet, designer, and founder of the Kelmscott Press. Their translation was published as Völsunga Saga: The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs, with Certain Songs from the Elder Edda.

The saga tells of the Völsung family, including Sigmund, Sigurd, Brynhild, and the dragon Fafnir. It is one of the principal medieval sources behind later retellings of the Sigurd legend, including Wagner’s Ring cycle and William Morris’s own poem The Story of Sigurd the Volsung.

Morris is often remembered as the more famous name on the title page, but Magnússon supplied the specialist linguistic expertise. Their partnership also produced translations of other Icelandic sagas.