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

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

s, also known as saga kings. They were composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, primarily in

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 ...

, but with some written in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

.Kongesagaer på norsk (Heimskringla.no)
/ref> 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 ''Eymundar þáttr hrings'' is a short Norse saga, which is preserved in two versions. One of them appears as ''Eymundar þáttr hrings'' in the Flatey Book and the other one is an introductory chapter in '' Yngvars saga víðförla''. They deal ...

'' (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'', c. 1170. *''Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium '' by Theodoricus monachus, c. 1180. *'' Skjöldunga saga'', c. 1180, badly preserved. *''

Oldest Saga of St. Olaf The ''Oldest Saga of St. Olaf'' or the ''First Saga of St. Olaf'' is one of the kings' sagas. It is the earliest Norse biography of King Óláfr Haraldsson. Early scholars judged it to be among the first sagas written, perhaps around 1160, but lat ...

'', c. 1190, mostly lost. *''

Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum ''Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum'' ( Icelandic for "''Summary of the Norwegian Kings' Sagas''"), often shortened to ''Ágrip'', is a history of the kings of Norway. Written in Old Norse, it is, along with the '' Historia Norvegiæ'', one of th ...

'', c. 1190. *A Latin ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' by Oddr Snorrason, c. 1190, survives in translation. *A Latin ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' by Gunnlaugr Leifsson, c. 1195, lost. *'' Sverris saga'', by Karl Jónsson, c. 1205. *'' Legendary Saga of St. Olaf'', c. 1210. *'' Morkinskinna'', c. 1220 but before ''Fagrskinna''. *'' Fagrskinna'', c. 1220. *''Óláfs saga helga'' by Styrmir Kárason, c. 1220, mostly lost. *'' Böglunga sögur'', c. 1225. *'' Separate Saga of St. Olaf'', by

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 th ...

, c. 1225. *''

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, derive ...

'' by

, c. 1230. *'' Knýtlinga saga'', probably by Ólafr Þórðarson, c. 1260. *''

Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ''Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar'' ("The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson") or ''Hákonar saga gamla'' ("The Saga of Old Haakon") is an Old Norse Kings' Saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. Content and styl ...

'', by Sturla Þórðarson, c. 1265. *''

Magnúss saga lagabœtis ''Magnúss saga lagabœtis'' (Magnus the Lawmender's saga) is an Old Norse kings' saga, concerning the life and reign of King Magnus VI the Lawmender of Norway. Only fragments of it survive today. The saga was written by the Icelandic historian ...

'', by Sturla Þórðarson, c. 1280, only fragments survive. *''

Hulda-Hrokkinskinna ''Hulda-Hrokkinskinna'' is one of the kings' sagas. Written after 1280 it relates the history of the Norwegian kings from Magnús góði, who acceded to the throne in 1035, to Magnús Erlingsson, who died in 1177. The saga is based on Snorri Stu ...

'', c. 1280. *'' Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'', ca 1300.

Sometimes counted among the Kings' sagas

*'' Jómsvíkinga saga'' *'' Orkneyinga saga'' *'' Færeyinga saga'' *'' Brjáns saga''

Editions and translations

In Norwegian * Storm, Gustav; Bugge, Alexander (ed. & tr.) ''Norges Kongesagaer'' (Christiania: I. M. Stenersen's Publishing, 191

* Peter Andreas Munch, Munch, Peter Andreas; Þórðarson, Sturla ''Norges Konge-Sagaer Fra De Aeldste Tider Indtil Anden Halvdeel Af De 13 De Århundrede Efter Christi'' Fødsel (Nabu Press. 2010 )

References

Other sources

* Ciklamini, Marlene ''Snorri Sturluson'' (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978) * Hermannsson, Halldó ''Bibliography of the sagas of the kings of Norway and related sagas and tales'' (BiblioBazaar. 2009) * Jakobsson, Ármann; McTurk, Rory (ed.) ''A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture'' (Blackwell Publishing, 2004) * Thorsson, Örnólfur (ed.) ''The Sagas of the Icelanders: A Selection'' (Penguin Putnam. 2000) * Whaley, Diana ''Heimskringla: An Introduction'' (Viking Society for Northern Research Text, 1991) * Wolf, Kirsten ''The Legends of the Saints in Old Norse-Icelandic Prose'' (University of Toronto Press. 2013)

External links

Old Norse Sagas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings' Sagas