A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a
Norse saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Pl ...
that, unlike the
Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the
settlement of Iceland
The settlement of Iceland ( is, landnámsöld ) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration are uncertain: later in the Middle ...
.
[The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in '']Nationalencyklopedin
''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 1 ...
'' (1991) There are some exceptions, such as ''
Yngvars saga víðförla'', which takes place in the 11th century. The sagas were probably all written in Iceland, from about the middle of the 13th century to about 1400, although it is possible that some may be of a later date,
Einar Ól. Sveinsson
Einar is a Scandinavian given name deriving from the Old Norse name Einarr, which according to Guðbrandur Vigfússon is directly connected with the concept of the einherjar, warriors who died in battle and ascended to Valhalla in Norse mythology ...
, "Fornaldarsögur", in ''Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder fra vikingtid til reformasjonstid, bd. 4'' (Copenhagen, 1959) such as ''
Hrólfs saga kraka''.
Description of the sagas
In terms of form, ''fornaldarsögur'' are similar to various other saga-genres, but tend towards fairly linear, episodic narratives. Like sagas in other genres, many quote verse, but in the ''fornaldarsögur'' that verse is almost invariably in the metre of
Eddaic verse (unlike the
skaldic verse found in most other saga genres). The setting is primarily
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...
in the time prior to the
settlement of Iceland
The settlement of Iceland ( is, landnámsöld ) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration are uncertain: later in the Middle ...
and the conversion of Scandinavia, but occasionally it moves temporarily to more distant and exotic locations or has its characters encounter Christian cultures (one example of both being ''
Örvar-Odds saga''). There are also very often mythological elements, such as
dwarves,
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...
,
giants and
magic. In centuries past, they were considered to be reliable historic sources by Scandinavian scholars,
but since the 19th century, they have been considered to contain very little historic material.
[Else Mundal, "Sagalitteraturen", in Odd Einar Haugen (ed.) ''Handbok i norrøn filologi'' (Bergen, 2004)] The present consensus is that, although some of the sagas contain a small core which is not fiction, or are based on historical characters, the primary function of the legendary sagas was entertainment, and the aim of the sagas has not been to present a historically accurate tale.
Recently, however, it has been emphasized that the sagas are useful sources for the culture of 13th and 14th century Iceland, "in terms of the light that they can shed on the culture in which they were composed"
i.e. Iceland in the later Middle Ages.
In the words of Margaret Clunies Ross,
:The themes, characters and the whole world of the ''fornaldarsaga'' lend themselves to interpretation, not as realistic narratives, but rather as subjects dealing with deep and disturbing issues that cannot be approached from the perspective of the mundane world but must rather be enacted in a literary world in which often taboo subjects can be raised and aired, though not necessarily resolved. They may also be treated in a comic or parodic vein.
Some of the sagas are based on distant historic characters, and this is evident in cases where there are corroborating sources, such as ''
Ragnars saga loðbrókar'', ''
Yngvars saga víðförla'' and ''
Völsunga saga
The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the st ...
''. In the case of ''
Hervarar saga'', it conveys names of historical places in present
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
during the period c. 150-450, and the last part of the saga is used as a historic source for Swedish history. Indeed, they often contain very old Germanic matter, such as the ''
Hervarar saga'' and the ''
Völsunga saga
The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the st ...
'' which contains poetry about
Sigurd
Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovin ...
that did not find its way into the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...
'' and which would otherwise have been lost (see the
Great Lacuna). Other sagas deal with heroes such as
Ragnar Lodbrok,
Hrólf Kraki and
Orvar-Odd.
In these respects, then, the ''fornaldarsögur'' overlap in genre and occasionally content with the
Kings' sagas.
The Fornaldarsagas have great value for legend research, since they contain
motifs and complexes of motifs from many types of legend of which there is otherwise no documentation in Scandinavia prior to the mid-19th century. They are also of great value for scholars studying medieval Scandinavian ballads, particularly the Faroese
kvæði, which are often based on the same matters. Moreover, they are also very important for the study of Scandinavian and Germanic heroic legends together with
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...
' ''
Gesta Danorum
''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...
'' which was based on the same heroic poetry and traditions.
Philologists have generally held the legendary sagas in less esteem, in terms of their literary value, than the Icelanders' sagas. The content is often less realistic, the characters more two-dimensional, and the sagas often borrow themes from each other, and from folk tales.
In these aspects of style and reception, the ''fornaldarsögur'' tend to overlap with the
Chivalric sagas
The ''riddarasögur'' (literally 'sagas of knights', also known in English as 'chivalric sagas', 'romance-sagas', 'knights' sagas', 'sagas of chivalry') are Norse prose Norse saga, sagas of the romance (heroic literature), romance genre. Starting ...
, particularly those composed in medieval Iceland.
The legendary sagas have influenced later writers, for instance the Swede
Esaias Tegnér
Esaias Tegnér (; – ) was a Swedish writer, professor of the Greek language, and bishop. He was during the 19th century regarded as the father of modern poetry in Sweden, mainly through the national romantic epic ''Frithjof's Saga''. He has b ...
, who wrote ''Frithiof's saga'', based on the ''
Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna''. One such saga was even forged in the early modern period: ''
Hjalmars och Hramers saga''.
[Gödel, Vilhelm, “Hjalmars och Hramers saga. Ett literärt falsarium från 1690”, Svenska fornminnesföreningens tidskrift 9(2) (1896): 137–54.]
List of the sagas
For a comprehensive list of the medieval ''fornaldarsögur'', with information about manuscripts, bibliography, etc., see
Stories for all time: The Icelandic fornaldarsögur'.
*''
Áns saga bogsveigis''
*''
Ásmundar saga kappabana ''Ásmundar saga kappabana'' is the saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer, a legendary saga from Iceland, first attested in the manuscript Stockholm, Royal Library, Holm. 7, 4to, from the first half of the fourteenth century.Ciklamini, M., ‘The Comb ...
'' - A saga based on the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
''
Lay of Hildebrand''.
*''
Bósa saga ok Herrauðs'' - like ''
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...
'' it has
Geatish heroes.
*''
Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana''
*''
Eireks saga víðförla''
*''
Frá Fornjóti ok hans ættmönnum''
*''
Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna''
*''
Gautreks saga''
*''
Gríms saga loðinkinna
''Gríms saga loðinkinna'', or ''The Saga of Grim Shaggy-Cheek'' is one of the legendary sagas. It is from the 14th century and takes place in eighth-century Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nord ...
''
*''
Göngu-Hrólfs saga''
*''
Hálfdanar saga Brönufóstra''
*''
Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar''
*''
Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka'' - A Norwegian legend, the hero of which is compared to
Hrólf Kraki.
*''
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks
''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'' (The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek) is a legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas in Germanic heroic legend. It tells of wars between the Goths and the Huns during the 4th centu ...
'' - a saga which may be of Swedish origin containing Swedish, Geatish and Gothic heroes. This saga still serves as a source for Swedish historians.
*''
Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis''
*''
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
''Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar'' is a Scandinavian legendary saga which was put to text in Iceland in the 13th century. It has a prequel in ''Gautreks saga''.
Summary
Gautrekr was a Geatish king who descended from Odin himself. He lost his wife ...
'' - A saga about a Swedish warrior princess who is won by a Geatish prince.
*''
Hrólfs saga kraka''; A saga which is related to the Old English poem Beowulf.
*''
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar''
*''*
Huldar saga'', a lost saga, and also one of the names of a post-medieval ''fornaldarsaga''.
*''
Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra
Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra is a ''fornaldarsaga'' about a young Dane named Illugi who delivers a female troll and her daughter from a curse. The earliest manuscript (of 36 which are known to exist) dates from the first half of the 16th century (AM ...
'' A saga of the more traditional
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...
kind, where a young man delivers a troll woman and her beautiful daughter from a curse.
*''
Ketils saga hœngs''
* *''Ormars saga Fraðmarssonar'', thought to have existed as the source of ''
Ormars rímur''.
*''
Örvar-Odds saga'' (two versions)
*''
Ragnars saga loðbrókar'' (two versions) - Sagas of
Ragnar Lodbrok a legendary Viking warrior and his sons.
*''
Sturlaugs saga starfsama'' - A prequel to Göngu-Hrólfs Saga.
*''
Sögubrot af fornkonungum'' - A remnant of a larger work dealing with the Swedish and Danish kings of old.
*''
Sörla saga sterka''
*''
Völsunga saga
The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the st ...
'' - The Scandinavian version of ''
Nibelungenlied
The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germani ...
''.
*''
Yngvars saga víðförla'' - A late saga of Swedish origin, which takes place in the 11th century and the historic basis of which is indisputable thanks to the fact that there are corroborating historic sources.
*''
Þjalar-Jóns saga
''Þjalar-Jóns saga'' ('the saga of Þjálar-Jón' or 'Jón of the file'), also known as ''Saga Jóns Svipdagssonar ok Eireks forvitna'' ('the saga of Jón Svipdagsson and Eirekur the Curious') is a medieval Icelandic saga defined variously as a C ...
''
*''
Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar''
Þættir (short stories)
*''
Helga þáttr Þórissonar''
*''
Jökuls þáttr Búasonar''
*''
Norna-Gests þáttr''
*''
Ragnarssona þáttr''
*''
Sörla þáttr
''Sörla þáttr eða Heðins saga ok Högna'' is a short narrative from the extended version ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta''The ''Younger Edda''. Rasmus B. Anderson transl. (1897) Chicago: Scott, Foresman & Co. (1901). found in the '' F ...
''
*''
Tóka þáttr Tókasonar''
*''
Völsa þáttr
''Vǫlsa þáttr'' is a short story which is only extant in the ''Flateyjarbók'' codex, where it is found in a chapter of ''Óláfs saga helga''. It is probably from the fourteenth century but takes place in 1029, when Scandinavia was still large ...
''
*''
Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns''
Notes
Translations
* (Tale of Jokul Buason, pp. 53-64)
External links
Fornaldarsögur norðurlanda: A bibliography of manuscripts, editions, translations and secondary literature compiled by M. J. Driscoll & Silvia Hufnagel, Arnamagnæan Institute, CopenhagenFornaldarsögur Norðurlanda in Old Norse and modern Norwegian from heimskringla.no*
ttp://www.germanicmythology.com/FORNALDARSAGAS/FORNALDARSOGURMAIN.html A presentation of the Fornaldarsögur in Old Norse with all available English translations online.
Scandinavian history
{{Legendary sagas