Story summary
Trama e riassunto di Eric Occhiaccesi
- 8 min di lettura
- 10 parts
- Audio a breve
For the woman he loves, Eric Brighteyes leaps down Golden Falls while Swanhild plots against them.
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Eric Occhiaccesi in breve
Riassunto: 8 min di lettura
- Tempo di lettura
- Circa 7 h 5 min5 h 35 min fast, 8 h 25 min slow
- Durata
- 100.700 parole
- Livello nella biblioteca
- Medio longer sentences, everyday words
- Prima pubblicazione
- 1891by H. Rider Haggard
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Quanto tempo ci vuole per leggere i classici · Aggiornato
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Eric Occhiaccesi in short
At bottom this is the story of three people locked together from birth. Eric Brighteyes is the strongest man in Iceland and wants one woman. Gudruda the Fair loves him and is loved by him.
What Eric Occhiaccesi is about
What would you risk to reach the woman you love? A young farmer named Eric Brighteyes swims a river above a roaring waterfall, climbs down slippery rock and leaps into a boiling pool, all to reach a Yule feast.
H. Rider Haggard's Eric Brighteyes was published in 1891.
A chi è rivolto. You will love this if you enjoy Norse myth, sword fights, sea voyages, doomed love, witches and omens, told in swift Victorian style.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
Two girls are born under one terrible dream
The story opens in southern Iceland. Asmund the Priest of Middalhof is the wisest and richest man in the region. He has a wife, Gudruda the Gentle, and a housekeeper, Groa, a Finnish witch he found singing beside a drowned man after a shipwreck.
On one day, both women bear daughters. Gudruda the Gentle bears a dark-eyed girl, and Groa bears Swanhild, whom people whisper is also Asmund's child. An hour before, Asmund dreams in the temple of a silver dove and a golden snake. A white swan with a sword for a tongue fights for the dove. In the end the snake coils around the swan's neck, the dove dies, and all are destroyed.
The dying mother makes Asmund swear to cherish the baby girl and never take Groa as his wife. Groa reads the dream. The dove is his daughter, the snake is her child, and the swan is a mighty man who will bring his house down. She tells him to lay the baby Gudruda out on Coldback Hill. He refuses, because of his oath.
A warning given at birth is a seed, and every character in this tale will water it.
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A kiss in the snow and a leap down the falls
Twenty years pass.
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Eric wins Whitefire and swears a dangerous oath
At the Yule feast, Ospakar shows off his sword Whitefire, forged by dwarfs.
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A Berserker is beaten and becomes a friend
Spring comes, and Eric rides to Mosfell to keep his oath.
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Swanhild's attack, a false farewell and outlawry
Eric's thrall tells Gudruda that Eric is dead.
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Cut chains, a witch's dream, and a toad's bargain
Ospakar waits for Eric at sea with two dragon ships, joined by a great cable.
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Lies, a love potion and a cursed name
Back in Iceland, Asmund marries Unna, Eric's cousin.
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Fate rules every choice the characters make
Haggard says the sagas speak in the voice of Doom, and that the Norse mind put little faith in free will.
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Jealousy, love and witchcraft drive the feud
The war in this story starts in a woman's heart.
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How a saga is told in romance form
The voice of Eric Brighteyes sounds like an old skald speaking by a winter fire.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Eric Brighteyes A golden-haired Icelandic farmer of enormous strength who loves Gudruda and wins fame by deeds, but is marked by bad luck.
- Gudruda the Fair Asmund's dark-eyed, golden-haired daughter, brave and gentle but jealous, who loves Eric and is pressed to marry a man she hates.
- Swanhild the Fatherless Groa's beautiful, cunning daughter and Gudruda's half-sister, who loves Eric and uses witchcraft and lies to win him.
- Skallagrim Lambstail A Berserker outlaw, beaten by Eric and sworn to him, who guards his lord's back but struggles with drink.
- Ospakar Blacktooth A huge, wealthy northern chief who wants Gudruda as his wife and the magic sword Whitefire for himself.
- Asmund the Priest The wise, rich master of Middalhof, bound by an oath to his dying wife and caught between love and ambition.
- Groa the Witch A Finnish witch and Asmund's housekeeper, who wants to be his wife and hates Gudruda and Eric.
- Atli the Good The old Earl of the Orkneys, kind and wise, who falls in love with Swanhild and befriends Eric.
How it ends (spoiler)
Eric and Gudruda marry in secret at Middalhof. That night Swanhild puts them under a witch's sleep, and Gizur kills Gudruda with Whitefire. Eric buries her in the hall and goes to Mosfell. There he and Skallagrim fight Gizur's army to the end. Eric throws away Whitefire, drags Gizur into the gulf and dies. Swanhild lays the dead on a ship and sails into a storm, where it burns far out at sea.
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Domande su Eric Occhiaccesi
What is Eric Brighteyes about?
It follows an Icelandic farmer's son who wins fame for his strength and loves Gudruda the Fair. Her half-sister Swanhild, a witch, loves him too, and her plots turn love into a blood feud across Iceland, England and the Orkneys.
Is Eric Brighteyes a true story?
No, it is a romance based on the Icelandic sagas, with a dedication dated November 17, 1889. Haggard says the sagas mix truth and legend. He walked the real places, such as Golden Falls and Mosfell, and wove them into his tale.
What is Whitefire in Eric Brighteyes?
Whitefire is a magic sword forged by dwarfs and said to have belonged to Odin. Eric wins it from Ospakar Blacktooth in a wrestling match. Its runes say that where it falls, Eric must follow.
Who is Skallagrim Lambstail?
He is a Berserker, a warrior seized by battle madness, who lives in a cave on Mosfell. After Eric beats him with bare strength, he swears loyalty and becomes Eric's closest companion and bodyguard.
Is Eric Brighteyes easy to read?
Yes, in its way, because the prose is brisk and clear, chapters are short and each one has a title telling what happens. The mix of sword fights, sea chases, songs and omens keeps the story moving.
Cita questa edizione
Haggard, H. Rider. Eric Brighteyes. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/eric-brighteyes.
Haggard, H. R. (2026). Eric Brighteyes. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eric-brighteyes (Original work published 1891)
Haggard, H. Rider. Eric Brighteyes. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eric-brighteyes.
@book{haggard2026eric,
author = {Haggard, H. Rider},
title = {Eric Brighteyes},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eric-brighteyes},
note = {First published 1891}
}
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