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 king A mythological king is an archetype in mythology. A king is considered a "mythological king" if he is included and described in the culture's mythology. Unlike a fictional king, aspects of their lives may have been real and legendary, or that th ...

s. They were composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, primarily in Iceland, but with some written in Norway.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 ''Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa'' (''The Tale of Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion'') is a short story, a ''þáttr'' on the Swedish claimant and Jomsviking Styrbjörn the Strong preserved in the ''Flatey Book'' (GKS 1005 fol 342-344, ca 1387-1395 ...

'', ''

Hróa þáttr heimska ''Hróa þáttr heimska'' or the ''Tale of Roi the Fool'' is a short story (''þáttr'') from Iceland about a Dane called Hrói the Fool who is helped in a legal dispute by the wise old Swede Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker, and which takes place in the ...

'', 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 Sæmundr Sigfússon, better known as Sæmundr fróði (''Sæmundr the Learned''; 1056–1133), was an Icelandic priest and scholar. Biography Sæmundr is known to have studied abroad. Previously it has generally been held that he studied in Fra ...

, 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 the N ...

'', c. 1190. *A Latin ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' by

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 ...

, c. 1190, survives in translation. *A Latin ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' by

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 ...

, c. 1195, lost. *'' Sverris saga'', by Karl Jónsson, c. 1205. *''

Legendary Saga of St. Olaf ''The Legendary Saga of St. Olaf'' or ''Helgisaga Óláfs konungs Haraldssonar'' is one of the kings' sagas, a 13th-century biography of the 11th-century Saint Olaf II of Norway. It is based heavily on the largely lost ''Oldest Saga of St. Olaf''. T ...

'', 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 ''The Separate (or Independent) Saga of St. Olaf'' ''(Olav den helliges saga'') is one of the kings' sagas. It was written about King Olaf II of Norway (''Olaf Haraldsson''), later Saint Olaf (''Olav den Hellige''), patron saint of Norway. His ...

'', 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 the ...

, c. 1225. *'' Heimskringla'' 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 style ...

'', 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 ''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 ...

'', ca 1300.

Sometimes counted among the Kings' sagas

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

Brjáns saga ''Brjáns saga'' (also ''Brjánssaga'') is a hypothetical early specimen of Old Norse literature. According to the hypothesis, certain episodes in ''Njáls saga'' and ''Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar'' drew on this lost saga. There is no ext ...

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