Norwegian Synoptics
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Norwegian Synoptics
The Norwegian synoptics are three of the earliest kings' sagas. They give brief overviews of the history of Norway from legendary times up to the 12th century. They are thought to have been written in the period 1180–1220. Two of them are written in Latin while one is written in Old Norse. Historia Norwegie ''Historia Norwegie'' begins with the legendary Ynglingar and ends with the return of St. Olaf to Norway. It includes a geographical description of Norway and Iceland. Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium ''Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium'' was written by a monk named Theodoricus, about whom little is known, and dedicated to Archbishop Eysteinn (d. 1188). It begins with Harald Fairhair and ends with the death of Sigurd the Crusader (1130). Despite its short length, the work includes fairly lengthy digressions, intended to have exemplary value. Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum Both the beginning and end of Ágrip are lost but the original scope of the work w ...
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Kings' Sagas
Kings' sagas ( is, konungasögur, nn, kongesoger, -sogor, nb, kongesagaer) are Old Norse sagas which principally tell of the lives of semi-legendary and legendary (mythological, fictional) Nordic kings, also known as saga kings. They were composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, primarily in Iceland, but with some written in Norway. Kings' sagas frequently contain episodic stories known in scholarship as '' þættir'', such as the '' Íslendingaþættir'' (about Icelanders), ''Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa'', '' Hróa þáttr heimska'', and '' Eymundar þáttr hrings'' (about people from elsewhere). List of Kings' sagas Including works in Latin, and in approximate order of composition (though many dates could be off by decades) *A Latin work by Sæmundr fróði, c. 1120, lost. *The older version of ''Íslendingabók'' by Ari fróði, c. 1125, lost. *''Hryggjarstykki'' by Eiríkr Oddsson, c. 1150, lost. *''Historia Norvegiæ Historia may refer to: * His ...
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Ynglingar
The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem '' Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings ( Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' were composed sometime in the eighth to tenth centuries, the respective scop and skald (poet) expected his audience to have a great deal of background information about these kings, which is shown in the allusiveness of the references. According to sources such as ''Ynglingatal'' and '' Íslendingabók'', the Fairhair dynasty in Oppland, Norway was in fact a branch of the Ynglings. Saxo Grammaticus held that Eric the Victorious, whom modern regnal lists usually begin with, and his descendents were also Ynglings, but this does not tally with Icelandic sources. The dynasty claimed descent from the gods Freyr and Njörðr, and other kings were likely mythical as well, whereas others may have been real: especially Egil, Ottar, Al ...
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Archbishop Eysteinn
Eysteinn Erlendsson (Modern Norwegian ''Øystein Erlendsson'', Latin ''Augustinus Nidrosiensis'') (died 26 January 1188) was Archbishop of Nidaros from 1161 to his death in 1188. Background His family came from Trøndelag, and he was related to most of the local nobility. His birth date and place of birth is not recorded. Eysteinn was probably born sometime between 1120 and 1130 on the farm or Råsvoll north of Trondheim in Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag. His father was known as Erlend Himalde. He was the grandson of Tørberg Arnesson (d. ca. 1050), who served as an advisor to several Norwegian kings and the great-grandson of Ulv Uspaksson (died 1066), who was a councilman under King Harald Hardrada. He was educated at Saint-Victor, in Paris. As a priest he served as steward to King Inge Krokrygg of Norway. When Archbishop Jon Birgersson died 24 February 1157, King Inge appointed Eysteinn as the new archbishop. Ties with Rome Eysteinn then travelled to Rome, where his appoint ...
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Harald Fairhair
Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of Norway. Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good, succeeded Harald to become kings after his death. Much of Harald's biography is uncertain. A couple of praise poems by his court poet Þorbjörn Hornklofi survive in fragments, but the extant accounts of his life come from sagas set down in writing around three centuries after his lifetime. His life is described in several of the Kings' sagas, none of them older than the twelfth century. Their accounts of Harald and his life differ on many points, but it is clear that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Harald was regarded as having unified Norway into one kingdom. Since the nineteenth century, when Norway was in a personal union with Sweden, Harald has become a na ...
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Sigurd The Crusader
Sigurd Magnusson (1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Jórsalafari'', Norwegian: ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''), was King of Norway (being Sigurd I) from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brother Øystein (until Øystein died in 1123), has been regarded by historians as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway. He is otherwise famous for leading the Norwegian Crusade (1107–1110), earning the eponym "the Crusader", and was the first European king to personally participate in a crusade.Literally "Jerusalem-farer", but commonly translated into English as "the Crusader". Early life Sigurd was one of the three sons of King Magnus III, the other two being Øystein and Olaf. They were all illegitimate sons of the king with different mothers. To avoid feuds or war, the three half-brothers co-ruled the kingdom from 1103. Sigurd ruled alone after Olaf died in 1115 and Øystein in 1123. Before being proclaimed King of Norway, Sig ...
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Halfdan The Black
Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: ''Halfdanr Svarti''; fl. c. 9th century) was a king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a unified Norway. In sagas According to ''Heimskringla'' and ''Fagrskinna'', Halfdan was the son of the Yngling King Gudrød the Hunter. ''Heimskringla'' also names his mother, as Åsa, daughter of King Harald of Agder, and his half-brother as Olaf Geirstad-Alf. Heimskringla relates that when Halfdan's father was killed, Åsa took the 1 year-old Halfdan and returned to Agder, where Halfdan was raised. When he was 18 or 19 years old, Halfdan became king of Agder. He quickly began adding to his kingdom, through political negotiation and military conquest. He divided the kingdom of Vestfold with his brother Olaf and, through military action, persuaded King Gandalf of Vingulmark to cede half his kingdom. Based on the formulaic nature of his ties to his predecessors, his strong affiliation with Agd ...
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