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Olaf Trygvesson
Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway. He is numbered as Olaf I. Olaf is seen as an important factor in the conversion of the Norse to Christianity. He is said to have built the first Christian church in Norway, in 995, and to have founded the city of Trondheim in 997. A statue of Olaf Tryggvason is located in the city's central plaza. Historical information on Olaf is sparse. He is mentioned in some contemporary English sources, and some skaldic poems. The oldest narrative source mentioning him briefly is Adam of Bremen's ''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' of ''circa'' 1070. In the 1190s, two Latin versions of ''"Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar"'' were written in Iceland, by Oddr Snorrason and by Gunnlaugr Leifsson – these are now lost, but are thought to fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Æthelred The Unready
Æthelred II ( ang, Æþelræd, ;Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word ., non, Aðalráðr 966 – 23 April 1016), known as Æthelred the Unready, was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death in 1016. His epithet does not derive from the modern word " unready", but rather from the Old English meaning "poorly advised"; it is a pun on his name, which means "well advised". Æthelred was the son of King Edgar the Peaceful and Queen Ælfthryth. He came to the throne at about the age of 12, following the assassination of his older half-brother, King Edward the Martyr. The chief problem of Æthelred's reign was conflict with the Danes. After several decades of relative peace, Danish raids on English territory began again in earnest in the 980s, becoming marked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the predecessor of the modern Germanic languages of Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a large-scale expansion in all directions, giving rise to the Viking Age. In English-language scholarship since the 19th century, Norse seafaring traders, settlers and warriors have commonly been referred to as Vikings. Historians of Anglo-Saxon England distinguish between Norse Vikings (Norsemen) from Norway who mainly invaded and occupied the islands north and north-west of Britain, Ireland and western Britain, and Danish Vikings, who principally invaded and occupied eastern Britain. Modern descendants of Norsemen are the Danes, Icelanders, Faroe Islanders, Norwegians, and Swedes, who are now generally referred to as "Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sverre Bagge
Sverre Håkon Bagge (born 7 August 1942 in Bergen) is a Norwegian historian. He took his doctorate with the thesis ''Den politiske ideologi i Kongespeilet'', published in 1979. From 1974 to 1991 he worked as an associate professor (''førsteamanuensis'') at the University of Bergen, and he became a professor there in 1991. Since 2003 he is the leader of the Centre for Medieval Studies, Bergen. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Unive .... Selected bibliography *''Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation'', 2014 *''From Viking Stronghold to Christian Kingdom: State Formation in Norway, c. 900-1350'', 2010 *''Den politiske ideologi i Kongespeilet'', 1979 *''Høymi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts (''kringla heimsins'', "the circle of the world"). ''Heimskringla'' is a collection of sagas about Swedish and Norwegian kings, beginning with the saga of the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177. The exact sources of the Snorri's work are disputed, but they include earlier kings' sagas, such as Morkinskinna, Fagrskinna and the 12th-century Norwegian synoptic histories and oral traditions, notably many skaldic poems. He explicitly names the now lost work ''Hryggjarstykki'' as his source for the events of the mid-12th century. Although Sno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ''Prose Edda'', which is a major source for what is today known as Norse mythology, and ''Heimskringla'', a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in ''Ynglinga saga'' and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of ''Egil's saga''. He was assassinated in 1241 by men claiming to be agents of the King of Norway. Biography Early life Snorri Sturluson was born in (commonly transliterated as Hvamm or Hvammr) as a member of the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar clan of the Icelandic Commonwealth, in AD 1179. His parents were ''Sturla Þórðarson the Elder'' of ''Hvammur'' and his second wife, ''Guðný Böðvarsdóttir''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunnlaugr Leifsson
Gunnlaugr Leifsson (died 1218 or 1219) was an Icelandic scholar, author and poet. He was a Benedictine monk at the Þingeyraklaustur monastery (Icelandic ''Þingeyrarklaustur'') in the north of Iceland. Many sources (including ''Þorvalds þáttur víðförla'') refer to him simply as ''Gunnlaugr munkr'' or Gunnlaugr the Monk. Biography Little is known about Gunnlaugr's family or life, but a miracle in ''Jóns saga helga hin elsta'' describes how Gunnlaugr the Monk's "disciple and relative" Leifr recovers from a dangerous illness after drinking holy water touched by the relics of Bishop Jón Ögmundarson of Hólar. The miracle is dated to the episcopy of Guðmundur Arason of Hólar (between 1203 and 1237). Gunnlaugr composed a Latin biography of King Óláfr Tryggvason (see '' Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''). This work is now lost but it is believed to have been an expansion of the Latin '' Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' written by his monastic brother, Oddr Snorrason. Snorri Stur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oddr Snorrason
Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a 12th-century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyraklaustur monastery (''Þingeyrarklaustur''). The monastery was founded in 1133 and was the first in Iceland. Work One latin version of the ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' is attributed to Oddr - the original work has been almost completely lost but a translation into Old Norse is preserved in two nearly complete versions and a fragment of a third. Oddr made use of previous written works including those of Sæmundr fróði and Ari Þorgilsson as well as ''Acta sanctorum in Selio'' and possibly '' Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium''. In turn Snorri Sturluson made use of Oddr's work when writing the ''Heimskringla'', as did the author of ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'' or ''The Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason'' is generically a hybrid of different types of sagas and compiled from various sources i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript , the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Óláfs Saga Tryggvasonar
''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' is the name of several kings' sagas on the life of Óláfr Tryggvason, a 10th-century Norwegian king. Latin lives of Óláfr Tryggvason were written by Oddr Snorrason and by Gunnlaugr Leifsson; both are now lost, but are thought to have formed the basis of Old Norse sagas on his life including Snorri Sturluson's in ''Heimskringla''. The longest is ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'' (The Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason), found in the ''Flateyjarbók'', ''Bergsbók'', and other manuscripts. Latin Oddr Snorrason An account of Óláfr's life was written in Latin in the 12th century by the Benedictine monk Oddr Snorrason. It is considered to be the first full-length Icelandic saga. Oddr made use of previous written works including those of Sæmundr fróði and Ari Þorgilsson as well as ''Acta sanctorum in Selio'' and possibly '' Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium''. His original work has been lost, but a translation into Old Norse, known a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the Roman Republic it became the dominant language in the Italian region and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. Even after the fall of Western Rome, Latin remained the common language of international communication, science, scholarship and academia in Europe until well into the 18th century, when other regional vernaculars (including its own descendants, the Romance languages) supplanted it in common academic and political usage, and it eventually became a dead language in the modern linguistic definition. Latin is a highly inflected language, with three distinct genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), six or seven noun cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative), five declensions, four verb conjuga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum
''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' (Medieval Latin for ''"Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg"'') is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions (''scholia'') to the text until his death (possibly 1081; before 1085). It is one of the most important sources of the medieval history of Northern Europe, and the oldest textual source reporting the discovery of coastal North America. It covers the entire period known as the Viking Age, from the foundation of the bishopric under Willehad in 788 until the rule of prince-bishop Adalbert in Adam's own time (1043–1072). The text focuses on the history of the Hamburg-Bremen diocese and its bishops. As the bishops had jurisdiction over the missions to Scandinavia, it also gives a report of the Norse paganism of the period. The existence of the work was forgotten in the later medieval period, until it was re-discovered in the late 16th century in the library of Sorø Abbey, Denmar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Of Bremen
Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle ''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' (''Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church''). He was "one of the foremost historians and early ethnographers of the medieval period". In his chronicle, he included a chapter mentioning the Norse outpost of Vinland, and was thus the first European to write about the New World. Life Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles. He is believed to have come from Meissen, then its own margravate. The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year (possibly 1081, at the latest 1085). From his chronicles, it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors. The honorary name of ''Magister Adam'' sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
