''Morkinskinna'' is an

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

kings' saga 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 kings. They were comp ...

, relating the history of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written 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 s ...

around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275. The name ''Morkinskinna'' means "mouldy parchment" and is originally the name of the manuscript book in which the saga has been preserved. The book itself, GKS 1009 fol, is currently in the Royal Danish Library in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. It was brought to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

from Iceland by Þormóður Torfason ( Tormod Torfæus) in 1662. The saga was published in English in 2000 in a translation by Theodore M. Andersson and Kari Ellen Gade.

The saga starts in 1025 or 1026 and in its received form, ends suddenly in 1157, after the death of King Sigurðr II. Originally, the work may have been longer, possibly continuing until 1177, when the narratives of '' Fagrskinna'' and ''

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 ...

'', which use ''Morkinskinna'' as one of their sources, end. Apart from giving the main saga, the text is lavishly interspersed with citations from skaldic verse (about 270 stanzas) and includes a number of short Icelandic tales known as '' þættir''. The following is an overview of the chapters in ''Morkinskinna'', chronologically subdivided by the reigns of the kings of Norway:The following chapter headings are based on Andersson's and Gade's translation of the text.

Magnús I (r. 1035-1047)

:1. Here begins the saga of Magnús and Haraldr is uncle:2. Concerning Sveinn :3. Concerning King Magnús's feasts :4. Concerning King Magnús :5. Concerning the declaration of war against Magnús and concerning the Duke :6. King Magnús in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

:7. King Magnús's stay in Jutland :8. How King Haraldr set sail when he came to Skáney :9. Concerning Haraldr's travels :10. Concerning Norðbrikt Haraldrs travels :11. Concerning a declaration of war :12. Concerning the raids of Norðbrikt and jarl Gyrgir :13. Haraldr's journey to Jerusalem :14. Concerning King Magnús's meeting with Haraldr :15. The slandering of Þorkell :16. Concerning King Magnús :17. How King Magnús bestowed a jarldom on Ormr :18. On the dispute between the kings :19. Concerning the kings :20. Concerning Þorsteinn Hallsson :21. Concerning the kings :22. The good counsels of King Haraldr :23. Concerning King Magnús and Margrét :24. '' Hreiðars þáttr'' The tale of Hreiðarr":25. How the kings harried and how the king's mother granted a captive his life :26. King Magnús dies 047:27. Haraldr's thingmeeting :28. King Magnús's funeral voyage

Haraldr III (r. 1047-1066)

:29. Haraldr's thingmeeting :30. '' Halldórs þáttr Snorrasonar'' :31. n King Haraldr's campaign in Denmark:32. Concerning King Haraldr :33. Concerning the disagreement between the king and Einarr Þambarskelfir :34. Concerning an Icelander :35. Concerning King Haraldr's wise counsels :36. How Auðunn from the Westfjords brought King Sveinn a bear 'Auðunar_þáttr_vestfirzka''.html" ;"title="Auðunar_þáttr_vestfirzka.html" ;"title="'Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka">'Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka''">Auðunar_þáttr_vestfirzka.html" ;"title="'Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka">'Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka'':37. Concerning King Haraldr and the Upplanders :38. Concerning King Haraldr and Brandr örvi (the Open-Handed) :39. Concerning King Haraldr :40. Concerning the storytelling of an Icelander [''Íslendings þáttr sögufróða''] :41. Concerning Þorvarðr krákunel's gift of a sail to King Haraldr :42. Concerning King Haraldr and Hákon :43. '' Sneglu-Halla þáttr''. :44. he king encounters a man in a boat:45. Tryggvi_Óláfsson.html" ;"title="Tryggve the Pretender">Tryggvi Óláfsson">Tryggve the Pretender">Tryggvi Óláfsson:46. oncerning_Gizurr_Ísleifsson.html" ;"title="Gizurr_Ísleifsson.html" ;"title="oncerning Gizurr Ísleifsson">oncerning Gizurr Ísleifsson">Gizurr_Ísleifsson.html" ;"title="oncerning Gizurr Ísleifsson">oncerning Gizurr Ísleifsson:47. Concerning Stúfr enn blindi :48. Concerning Oddr Ófeigsson :49. How it came about that King Haraldr journeyed to the West :50. The treachery against King Haraldr :51. Olaf III of Norway, Óláfr Haraldsson's return to Norway :52. The death of King

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

066 66 may refer to: * 66 (number) * One of the years 66 BC, AD 66, 1966, 2066 * "66" (song), a song by Lil Yachty featuring Trippie Redd *66, a song by The Afghan Whigs, from the album 1965 *Sixty-Six (card game), a German card game * ''Sixty Six'' (f ...

Óláfr III (r. 1067-1093)

:53. The saga of King Óláfr kyrri "the Quiet" :54. Concerning King Óláfr and the Kráku-karl (Crow Man)

Magnús III (r. 1093-1103)

:55. The Saga of King Magnús berfœttr :56. Concerning King Magnús and Sveinki Steinarsson :57. Concerning King Magnús's harrying :58. Concerning King Magnús :59. Concerning King Magnús's death

Sigurðr I, Óláfr and Eysteinn I (r. 1103-1130)

:60. The beginning of the rule of King Magnús's sons :61. The story of King Sigurðr's adventures :62. Concerning the gifts of Emperor Kirjalax ( Alexius I Komnenos) :63. Concerning King Sigurðr's feast :64. Concerning King Eysteinn :65. Concerning King Eysteinn and Ívarr :66. Concerning the king's genealogies :67. Concerning King Sigurðr's dream :68. The dealings of King Eysteinn and Ingimarr with Ásu-Þórðr :69. The death of King Óláfr Magnússon

115 115 may refer to: * 115 (number), the number * AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD * 115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army * 115 (Leicestershire) ...

:70. An account of legal dealings between King Sigurðr and King Eysteinn (''Þinga saga'') :71. The contest of the kings :72. Concerning Þórarinn stuttfeldr :73. Concerning the death of King Eysteinn 123:74. Concerning King Sigurðr and Óttarr :75. Concerning King Sigurðr and Erlendr :76. Concerning Haraldr gilli :77. Concerning King Sigurðr and Áslák hani (Rooster) :78. Concerning King Sigurðr :79. Concerning the bet between Magnús and Haraldr :80. Concerning King Sigurðr and Bishop Magni :81. The Death of King Sigurðr 130

Haraldr IV (r. 1130-6) and Magnús IV (r. 1130-5, 1137-9)

:82. Concerning Haraldr and Magnús :83. The gifts of King Haraldr to Bishop Magnús :84. The story of Sigurðr slembidjákn :85. Concerning Sigurðr slembir :86. The slaying of King Haraldr y Sigurðr slembidjákn in 1136:87. Concerning King Sigurðr slembir

Sigurðr II (1136-1155)

:88. Concerning King Haraldr's sons :89. Concerning Sigurðr :90. Concerning King Sigurðr slembir :91. King Ingi's letter :92. Concerning Sigurðr slembir :93. Concerning King Sigurðr slembir :94. The slaying of Óttarr birtingr :95. o title:96. Concerning King Sigurðr :97. Concerning King Eysteinn :98. The slaying of Geirsteinn :99. o title:100. Concerning the death of King Sigurðr 155

Notes

Primary sources

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 ...

(ed.). ''Morkinskinna''. Copenhagen: Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur, 1932
Available online from Septentrionalia
* Ármann Jakobsson and Þórður Ingi Guðjónsson (eds.).
Morkinskinna I-II
'. Íslenzk fornrit 23–24. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 2011. * Andersson, Theodore Murdock and Kari Ellen Gade (trs.).
Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157)
'. Islandica 51. Ithaca:

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in t ...

, 2000. With introduction. {{ISBN, 0-8014-3694-X

External links

* Finnur Jónsson. (Ed.) (1932)
''Morkinskinna''
Copenhagen: Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur. Available in pdf format a
septentrionalia.net

Comprehensive list of skaldic poetry cited in ''Morkinskinna''
Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.

Kings' sagas Icelandic manuscripts

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