''Kristni saga'' (; ; "the book of Christianity") is an

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

account of the

Christianization of Iceland Iceland was Christianized in the year 1000 CE, when Christianity became the religion by law. In Icelandic, this event is known as the ''kristnitaka'' (literally, "the taking of Christianity"). The vast majority of the initial settlers of Icel ...

in the 10th century and of some later church history. It was probably written in the early or mid-13th century, as it is dependent on the Latin biography of King

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 ...

written by the monk

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 ...

around the last decade of the 12th century. Jan de Vries, ''Altnordische Literaturgeschichte'' Volume 2 ''Die Literatur von etwa 1150 bis 1300; die Spätzeit nach 1300'', Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 16, 2nd ed. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1967, , pp. 191–92 "Kristni saga",

Rudolf Simek Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in G ...

and

Hermann Pálsson Hermann Pálsson (26 May 1921 – 11 August 2002) was an Icelandic language scholar and translator, "one of the most distinguished scholars of Icelandic studies of his generation". Often working in collaboration with others such as Magnus Magnus ...

, ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'', Kröners Taschenausgabe 490, Stuttgart: Kröner, 1987, , p. 219 This results in Latinate forms of some names. The author also used work by

Ari Þorgilsson Ari Þorgilsson (1067–1148 AD; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; also anglicized Ari Thorgilsson) was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He was the author of ''Íslendingabók'', which details the histories of the various familie ...

, probably the now lost longer version of the ''

Íslendingabók ''Íslendingabók'' (, Old Norse pronunciation: , ''Book of Icelanders''; ) is a historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally ex ...

'', and '' Laxdæla saga''. Based on the region of Iceland with which the text indicates the greatest familiarity, it was probably not written at

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

. ''Kristni saga'' is written in "sober, almost dry language". Its structure is odd: after recounting the conversion, it skips some fifty years ahead to the lives of bishops Ísleifr and Gizurr, and then gives an account of the feud between Þorgils and Hafliði that was probably added later, perhaps by

Sturla Þórðarson Sturla Þórðarson ( ; ; 29 July 1214–30 July 1284) was an Icelandic chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century. Biography The life of Sturla Þórðarson was chronicled in the Sturlunga saga. Sturla was th ...

Finnur Jónsson Finnur Jónsson (May 29, 1858 – March 30, 1934) was an Icelandic-Danish philologist and Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Copenhagen. He made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature. Finnur Jónsson was b ...

agreed with Oskar Brenner, who wrote an early book about it, in attributing the work as a whole to Sturla; it shows a similar skill in depicting character through telling incidents, a similar use of verses and conversation, its opening sentence, "Here begins how Christianity came to Iceland", continues directly from the ending of '' Sturlubók'', and it is preserved only in the

Hauksbók Hauksbók (; 'Book of Haukr'), Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar AM 371 4to, AM 544 4to and AM 675 4to, is an Icelandic manuscript, now in three parts but originally one, dating from the 14th century. It was created by the Icelander Haukr E ...

manuscript, where it immediately follows ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and over ...

''. Whereas many accounts of Iceland's conversion to Christianity occur within the context of longer works, lives of Óláfr Tryggvason or Sagas of Icelanders, Kristni saga sets out to tell the history of Icelandic Christianity independently, as its opening sentence explicitly states: Nú hefr þat, hversu kristni kom á Ísland ‘Now this is the beginning of how Christianity came to Iceland.

References

External links

* ''Íslendingabók; Kristni saga: The Book of Icelanders; The Story of the Conversion'', tr. Siân Grønlie,

Viking Society for Northern Research The Viking Society for Northern Research is a group dedicated to the study and promotion of the ancient culture of Scandinavia. Founded in London in 1892 as the Orkney, Shetland and Northern Society or the Viking Club, its name was changed in 1902 ...

Text Series 18, London: Viking Society for Northern Research, 2006, {{ISBN, 9780903521710
pdf
History of Christianity in Iceland Sagas

References

Further reading

External links