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Thorgerd Egilsdottir
Thorgerd Egilsdottir (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic woman of the tenth century. She was the daughter of Egill Skallagrímsson and the wife of Olaf the Peacock. Olaf and Thorgerd had a number of children: the sons Kjartan, Steinthór, Halldór, Helgi, and Höskuldur and the daughters Thurídur, Thorbjörg, Thorgerd and Bergthóra. The ill-fated Kjartan would be his father's favorite. Portrayal in Icelandic Sagas The character of Thorgerd Egilsdottir appears in several Icelandic sagas. She first appears in Egils Saga (Egils saga Skallagrímssonar), being born to Egil Skallagrímsson and his wife Asgerd. Thorgerd was the eldest of five children. The saga states that “all of Egil’s children were promising and intelligent.” Later, the saga states that she was “a very fine woman, wise, rather strong-tempered, but usually quiet,” and that she made a favorable match with Olaf. In chapter 79 of Egil’s Saga, Thorgerd manipulates her father for his o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: ''Old West Norse'' or ''Old West Nordic'' (often referred to as ''Old Norse''), ''Old East Norse'' or ''Old East Nordic'', and '' Old Gutnish''. Old West Norse and Old East Norse formed a dialect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modern Icelandic
Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely related to Faroese, western Norwegian dialects, and the extinct language, Norn. The language is more conservative than most other Germanic languages. While most of them have greatly reduced levels of inflection (particularly noun declension), Icelandic retains a four-case synthetic grammar (comparable to German, though considerably more conservative and synthetic) and is distinguished by a wide assortment of irregular declensions. Icelandic vocabulary is also deeply conservative, with the country's language regulator maintaining an active policy of coining terms based on older Icelandic words rather than directly taking in loanwords from other languages. Since the written language has not changed much, Icelandic speakers can read classi ... [...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] |
Egill Skallagrímsson
Egil Skallagrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the anti-hero of '' Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 AD and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 AD. Life Egil is born in Iceland, to Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson and Bera Yngvarsdóttir; he is the grandson of Kveld-Úlfr (whose name means "evening Wolf"). Another of his ancestors, Hallbjörn, is Norwegian- Sami. Skalla-Grímr is a respected chieftain, and mortal enemy of King Harald Fairhair of Norway. He migrates to Iceland, settling at Borg where his father Kveld-Úlfr's coffin lands after being ritualistically set adrift as Skalla-Grímr's boat approached Iceland. Skalla-Grímr and wife Bera had two daughters, Sæunn and Þórunn, and two sons, Þorolfr and Egil. Egil composed his first poem at the age of three years. He ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olaf The Peacock
Olaf the Peacock or Olaf Hoskuldsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; c. 938–1006) was a merchant and chieftain of the early Icelandic Commonwealth, who was nicknamed "the Peacock" because of his proud bearing and magnificent wardrobe. He is a major character in the '' Laxdæla saga'' and is mentioned in a number of other Icelandic sources. The son of a slave woman, Olaf became one of the wealthiest landowners in Iceland and played a major role in its politics and society during the latter half of the tenth century. In addition to the ''Laxdæla Saga'' in which he takes a leading role, Olaf also is mentioned in ''Egils saga'', ''Njáls saga'', '' Gunnlaugs saga'', ''Kormáks saga'', '' Grettirs saga'' and the ''Landnámabók'', among others. Birth and upbringing Olaf was the son of Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson, a chieftain who lived in the Laxardal region. According to ''Laxdæla Saga'', Hoskuld purchased a mute thrall-woman named Melkorka from a Rus' merchant on Brännö whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germanic Iron Age. The Viking Age applies not only to their homeland of Scandinavia but also to any place significantly settled by Scandinavians during the period. The Scandinavians of the Viking Age are often referred to as ''Vikings'' as well as ''Norsemen'', although few of them were Vikings in sense of being engaged in piracy. Voyaging by sea from their homelands in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the Norse people settled in the British Isles, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, and the Baltic coast and along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes in eastern Europe, where they were also known as Varangians. They also briefly settled in Newfoundland, becoming the first Europeans to reach North America. The Norse-Gaels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skaldic Poetry
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally composed on one occasion, sometimes extempore, and include both extended works and single verses ('' lausavísur''). They are characteristically more ornate in form and diction than eddic poems, employing many kennings and heiti, more interlacing of sentence elements, and the complex '' dróttkvætt'' metre. More than 5,500 skaldic verses have survived, preserved in more than 700 manuscripts, including in several sagas and in Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', a handbook of skaldic composition that led to a revival of the art. Many of these verses are fragments of originally longer works, and the authorship of many is unknown. The earliest known skald from whom verses survive is Bragi Boddason, known as Bragi the Old, a Norwegian ska ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egill Skallagrímsson
Egil Skallagrímsson ( non, Egill Skallagrímsson ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the anti-hero of ''Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 AD and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 AD. Life Egil was born in Iceland, to Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson and Bera Yngvarsdóttir; he was the grandson of Kveld-Úlfr (whose name means 'evening wolf'). Another of his ancestors, Hallbjörn, was Norwegian-Sami. Skalla-Grímr was a respected chieftain, and mortal enemy of King Harald Fairhair of Norway. He migrated to Iceland, settling at Borg where his father Kveld-Úlfr's coffin landed after being ritualistically set adrift as Skalla-Grímr's boat approached Iceland. Skalla-Grímr and wife Bera had two daughters, Sæunn and Þórunn, and two sons, Þorolfr and Egil. Egil composed his first poem at three years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagas Of Icelanders
The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early eleventh centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They were written in Old Icelandic, a western dialect of Old Norse. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Icelandic settlers. The Icelandic sagas are valuable and unique historical sources about medieval Scandinavian societies and kingdoms, in particular in regards to pre-Christian religion and culture. Eventually many of these Icelandic sagas were recorded, mostly in the 13th and 14th centuries. The 'authors', or rather recorders of these sagas are largely unknown. One saga, ''Egil's Saga'', is belie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egils Saga
''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the years c. 850–1000 and traces the family's history from Egill's grandfather to his offspring. Its oldest manuscript (a fragment) dates back to 1240 AD, and comprises the sole source of information on the exploits of Egill, whose life is not historically recorded. Stylistic and other similarities between ''Egill's Saga'' and '' Heimskringla'' have led many scholars to believe that they were the work of the same author, Snorri Sturluson. The work is generally referred to as ''Egla'' by Icelandic scholars. Synopsis The saga begins in Norway around 850, with the life of Egill's grandfather Ulf ( Úlfr) aka Kveldulf or "Evening Wolf", and his two sons Thorolf (Þórólfr) and Skallagrim ( Skalla-Grímr). Strife with the royal house drive the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunnlaugr Ormstunga
Gunnlaugr ormstunga (Old Norse: ; is, Gunnlaugur ormstunga ; "serpent-tongue") was an Icelandic skald. His life is described in '' Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu'', where several of his poems are preserved. Gunnlaugr was born ca. 983. From an early age he proved himself impetuous, audacious, brave, and tough. He was also a skilled author of mostly derogatory poems, which earned him the cognomen ''ormstunga'' "lindworm tongue". After a quarrel with his father, Illugi, Gunnlaugr left his home at the age of twelve to stay for some time at Borg with Þorsteinn Egilsson, the son of Egill Skallagrímsson. There, he became acquainted with Þorsteinn's daughter, Helga the fair, reputedly the most beautiful woman in Iceland. Her hair was so ample that she could hide herself in it. When Gunnlaugr was eighteen, he went abroad. At that time, Helga became his fiancée, on the condition that she would wait no more than three years for Gunnlaugr. He visited the courts of Norway, Ireland, Orkney a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
