title Daredevils of Sasun. As the transcripts are in various dialects, which presents many difficulties to the modern reader, the story was reworded and a fairly uniform style comprehensible to Eastern Armenian speakers and readers was adopted. All three volumes contain over 2,500 pages of text. In 1939 a collated text weaving most of the important episodes together was published for popular reading under the title "David of Sasun". From 1939 until 1966 all translations were made from this popularized text. In 1964 Leon Zaven Surmelian, an Armenian-American poet, survivor, and memoirist of the Armenian genocide, chose a narrative from within all recorded versions, translated the epic into English, and published it under the name Daredevils of Sassoun. In his introduction, Surmelian sharply criticized the literary renderings of the epic published in Soviet Armenia. Surmelian denounced, among many other things, the fact that, due to both State Atheism and Censorship in the Soviet Union, "The religious element is played down." During a visit to Yerevan prior to the publication of his treatment in the United States of America, Surmelian expressed these opinions to a Soviet Armenian writer and professor, who replied with a smile, "We may translate your English version into Armenian." Viking Age Egill Skallagrímsson According to Egil's Saga by Snorri Sturluson, the saga's anti-hero, the Icelandic berserker, sorcerer, and poet Egill Skallagrímsson waged a blood-feud lasting many years against King Eiríkr Bloodaxe and Queen Gunnhildr. The feud began when, after being grievously insulted, Egill killed Bárðr of Atley, a retainer of Eirikr and kinsman of Gunhildr. Seething with hatred, Gunnhildr ordered her two brothers, Eyvindr Braggart and Álfr Aksmann, to assassinate Egill and his brother Þórólfr, who had until then been on good terms with her. However, Egill slew the Queen's brothers when they attempted to confront him. The following summer, Eirkr's father, King Haraldr Fairhair, died. To secure his place as sole King of Norway, Eiríkr Bloodaxe assassinated two of his own brothers and declared Egill an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a posse to capture Egill, but Egill killed him while "resisting arrest". Before leaving Norway, Egill also slew Rögnvaldr, the son of King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr. He then cursed the King and Queen by setting up a Nithing pole and saying "Here I set up a níð-pole, and declare this níð against King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr,"—he turned the horse-head to face the mainland—"I