''Albani þáttr ok Sunnifu'', also known as ''Seljumanna þáttr'', is a short tale (

þáttr The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries. The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compend ...

) about the Irish princess

Sunniva Saint Sunniva (10th century; Old Norse ''Sunnifa'', from Old English ''Sunngifu'') is the patron saint of the Norwegian Church of Norway Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. Sunniva was venerated alongside her brother Alban, ...

who, not wishing to marry a heathen king, flees to the Norwegian island of

Selje Selje (municipality) was a municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway and was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The village of Selje was the administrative center this municipality. On 1 January 2020 the municipalit ...

with her brother Albanus and a number of followers. The residents of the island suspect Sunniva and her companions of killing their livestock and ask Jarl Hákon to kill these ‘bandits’. On seeing Jarl Hákon and his men approach, Sunniva and her companions retreat to their caves and pray that God will not allow them to be killed by the evil men. In answer to their prayers, the caves collapse on the group. Their bodies stay buried until discovered by

Olaf Tryggvason 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 N ...

, who has them exhumed and has a church built in dedication to them. Together with '' Sörla þáttr'', ''

Tóka þáttr Tókasonar ''Tóka þáttr Tókasonar'' is a short legendary saga found in the ''Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensi ...

,'' ''

Norna-gests þáttr ''Nornagests þáttr'' or the ''Story of Norna-Gest'' is a legendary saga about the Norse hero Nornagestr, sometimes called Gestr, and here anglicized as Norna-Gest. Summary Norna-Gest was the son of a Danish man named Thord Thingbiter, who onc ...

'' and '' Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts'', the tale is part of a subgenre of "pagan-contact þættir". The tale is recorded in Oddr Snorrason’s ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' and the later ''

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 in the fourteenth century, but is most akin to one of the kings' sagas. It ...

''. Oddr’s work was originally composed in Latin and only survives in Old Norse-Icelandic translation. Oddr’s work in turn derives from an earlier Latin account, ''

Acta sanctorum in Selio Saint Sunniva (10th century; Old Norse ''Sunnifa'', from Old English ''Sunngifu'') is the patron saint of the Norwegian Church of Norway Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. Sunniva was venerated alongside her brother Alban, ...

''. Albanus was identified in Norwegian tradition with

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...

, to whom the monastery at Selje was dedicated. However, the original dedication to Alban at Selje may not have been to the British saint, but a German saint of the same name.

Bibliography

A full bibliography can be found in

''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''

Manuscripts

* AM 310 4to * Stock. Perg. 4to no. 18

Editions

* * * * *

Translation

''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta''

Manuscripts

* AM 53 fol. * AM 54 fol. * AM 61 fol. * GKS 1005 fol. (''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...

'') * Stock. Perg. fol. no. 1 (''

Bergsbók ''Bergsbók'' is an Icelandic manuscript from the early 15th century. It contains the kings' sagas ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'', a long version of ''Óláfs saga helga'' and several short texts and poems, mostly associated with the two ...

'')

Editions

* * * *

References

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