Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a 12th-century Icelandic

Benedictine monk , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

at the

Þingeyraklaustur Þingeyraklaustur was a monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict located in Þingeyrar on Iceland from 1133 until 1551. It was the first convent in Iceland and likely the last to be closed by the Icelandic Reformation. History The convent was fou ...

monastery (''Þingeyrarklaustur''). The monastery was founded in 1133 and was the first 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 ...

Work

One latin version of the ''

Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' is the name of several kings' sagas on the life of Óláfr Tryggvason, a 10th-century Norwegian king. Latin lives of Óláfr Tryggvason were written by Oddr Snorrason and by Gunnlaugr Leifsson; both are now lost, but ...

'' is attributed to Oddr - the original work has been almost completely lost but a translation into

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 ...

is preserved in two nearly complete versions and a fragment of a third. Oddr made use of previous written works including those of

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 ...

and

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 ...

as well as ''

Acta sanctorum in Selio Saint Sunniva (10th century; Old Norse ''Sunnifa'', from Old English ''Sunngifu'') is the patron saint of the Norwegian Church of Norway Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. Sunniva was venerated alongside her brother Alban, ...

'' and possibly '' Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium''. In turn

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 ...

made use of Oddr's work when writing the ''

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, derived ...

'', as did the author of ''

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 ...

''. '' Yngvars saga víðförla'' also credits Oddr with its original authorship. Scholars have been skeptical towards this claim but in recent years it has gained more acceptance.Ross 2000, pp. 306-8; Oddr Snorrason 2003, p. 3.

References

Sources

* Hoops, Johannes (2003). ''Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde: Band 22''. Walter de Gruyter. * Oddr Snorrason (translated by Theodore M. Andersson) (2003). ''The Saga of Olaf Tryggvason''. Cornell University Press. * Ross, Margaret Clunies (2000). ''Old Icelandic Literature and Society.'' Cambridge University Press.

External links

Det Arnamagnæanske Haandskrift 310 qvarto.
An 1895 edition of one of the Old Norse versions
Saga Olafs konungs Tryggvasonar
An 1853 edition of the other two Old Norse versions

''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''

;Manuscripts * AM 310 4to * Stock. Perg. 4to no. 18 * Uppsala University Library, DG 4-7 ;Editions * * * * * ;Translation * {{authority control Icelandic writers Icelandic Benedictines