The ''riddarasögur'' (literally 'sagas of knights', also known in English as 'chivalric sagas', 'romance-sagas', 'knights' sagas', 'sagas of chivalry') are Norse prose

sagas 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 Play ...

of the romance genre. Starting in the thirteenth century with Norse translations of French ''

chansons de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

'' and Latin romances and histories, the genre expanded in Iceland to indigenous creations in a similar style. While the ''riddarasögur'' were widely read in Iceland for many centuries they have traditionally been regarded as popular literature inferior in artistic quality to the

Icelanders' sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

and other indigenous genres. Receiving little attention from scholars of

Old Norse literature Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings. In Britain From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...

, many remain untranslated. The production of chivalric sagas in Scandinavia was focused on Norway in the thirteenth century and then Iceland in the fourteenth. Vernacular Danish and Swedish romances came to prominence rather later and were generally in verse; the most famous of these are the

Eufemiavisorna The ''Eufemiavisorna'' are a group of three medieval romances translated into medieval Swedish: '' Herr Ivan lejonriddaren'' (1303), '' Hertig Fredrik av Normandie'' (1301 or 1308), and '' Flores och Blanzeflor'' (probably 1312). They are known in ...

, themselves predominantly translations of Norwegian translations of Continental European romances.

Terminology

The term ''riddarasögur'' (singular ''riddarasaga'') occurs in ''

Mágus saga jarls ''Mágus saga jarls'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. It survives in two main medieval redactions, a shorter one from about 1300 and a longer one from about 1350, both taking their inspiration from ''The Four Sons of Aymon'', a French ''chans ...

'' where there is a reference to "Frásagnir...svo sem...Þiðreks saga, Flóvenz saga eðr aðrar riddarasögur", "narratives such as the saga of Þiðrekr, the saga of Flóvent, or other knights' sagas". Another technical term sometimes encountered is ''lygisögur'' (singular ''lygisaga''), "lie sagas", applied to fictional chivalric and

legendary saga A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991) ...

Translations

The first known Old Norse translations of European romances occurred under the patronage of king Hákon Hákonarson of Norway, and seem to have been part of a programme of Europeanisation. The earliest dated work is a 1226 translation by one

Brother Robert Brother Robert was a cleric working in Norway who adapted several French literary works into Old Norse during the reign of King Haakon IV of Norway (1217–1263). The most important of these, ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar'', based on Thomas of Bri ...

of ''Tristan'' by

Thomas of Britain Thomas of Britain (also known as Thomas of England) was a poet of the 12th century. He is known for his Old French poem ''Tristan'', a version of the Tristan and Iseult legend that exists only in eight fragments, amounting to around 3,300 lines of v ...

. The Old Norse work, ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar'', is especially valuable since the original Old French poem is only preserved in fragments. ''Elis saga ok Rósamundu'', a translation of ''Elie de Saint Gille'', is similarly attributed to an Abbot Robert, presumably the same man having been promoted within his order. King Hákon also commissioned ''

Möttuls saga ''Möttuls saga'' or ''Skikkju saga'' (The saga of the cloak) is an Old Norse translation of ''Le lai du cort mantel'' (also known as ''Le mantel mautaillié''), a French fabliau dating to the beginning of the 13th century. The saga tells the story ...

'', an adaptation of '' Le mantel mautaillé'', ''Ívens saga'', a reworking of

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...

's ''

Yvain Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...

'' and ''

Strengleikar ''Strengleikar'' (English: ''Stringed Instruments'') is a collection of twenty-one Old Norse prose tales based on the Old French '' Lais'' of Marie de France. It is one of the literary works commissioned by King Haakon IV of Norway (r. 1217-1263) ...

'', a collection of ballads principally by

Marie de France Marie de France ( fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court ...

. Works in similar style, which may also have been commissioned by King Hákon, are ''Parcevals saga'', ''Valvens þáttr'' and ''

Erex saga ''Erex saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic prose translation of Chrétien de Troyes' Old French romance ''Erec et Enide''. It was likely written for the court of king Hákon Hákonarson of Norway, along with the adaptations of Chrétien de Troyes' ' ...

'', all derived from the works of Chrétien de Troyes. ''

Karlamagnús saga The ''Karlamagnús saga'', ''Karlamagnussaga'' or ''Karlamagnus-saga'' (" saga of Charlemagne") was a late-thirteenth-century Norse prose compilation and adaptation, made for Haakon V of Norway, of the Old French '' chansons de geste'' of the Ma ...

'' is a compilation of more disparate origin, dealing with

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

and his twelve paladins and drawing on historiographical material as well as chansons de geste. Other works believed to derive from French originals are ''Bevers saga'', ''Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr'', ''Flóvents saga'' and ''Partalopa saga''. Pseudo-historical works translated from Latin are ''

Alexanders saga ''Alexanders saga'' is an Old Norse translation of ''Alexandreis'', an epic Latin poem about the life of Alexander the Great written by Walter of Châtillon, which was itself based on Quintus Curtius Rufus's ''Historia Alexandri Magni''. It is at ...

'' (a translation of ''

Alexandreis The ''Alexandreis'' (or ''Alexandreid'') is a medieval Latin epic poem by Walter of Châtillon, a 12th-century French writer and theologian. It gives an account of the life of Alexander the Great, based on Quintus Curtius Rufus' ''Historia Alexan ...

''), ''

Amícus saga ok Amilíus ''Amícus saga ok Amílius'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. Probably from the fourteenth century, it was translated from Vincent de Beauvais's ''Speculum historiale'', probably during the reign of Haakon V of Norway, and tells a similar sto ...

'' (based on

Vincent of Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work ...

's ''Speculum historiale''), ''

Breta sögur ''Breta sögur'' (Sagas of the Britons) is an Old Norse-Icelandic rendering of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia regum Britanniae'' with some additional material from other sources. ''Breta sögur'' begins with a summary of the story of Aeneas an ...

'' (a translation of ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...

''), and ''

Trójumanna saga Trójumanna saga (''The Saga of the Men of Troy'') is a saga in Old Norse which tells the story of the matter of Troy. It is the Old Icelandic translation of the ''Daretis Phrygii De Excidio Troiae Historia'' (''Dares Phrygius’ History of the De ...

'' (a translation of ''

De excidio Troiae Dares Phrygius ( grc, Δάρης), according to Homer, was a Trojan priest of Hephaestus. He was supposed to have been the author of an account of the destruction of Troy, and to have lived before Homer. A work in Latin, purporting to be a transla ...

''). Also pseudo-historical, '' Þiðreks saga af Bern'' is unusual in having been translated from German. These Old Norse translations have been characterised by Margaret Clunies Ross thus: :The Old Norse term ''riddarasaga'' ... covers what were a number of genres in Latin, French and Anglo-Norman, but common to all of them are their courtly setting, their interest in kingship, and their concerns with the ethics of chivalry and courtly love. It seems, however, from a comparison between the French originals and the Old Norse translations of courtly romances, such as Chrétien de Troyes' ''Erec et Enide'' (''Erex saga''), ''Yvain'' (''Ívens saga'') and ''Perceval'' (''Parcevals saga'' and ''Velvens þáttr''), that the translators who supplied King Hákon's court and others in Norway and Iceland who enjoyed such sagas offered an independent rewriting of their sources. It is notable that they did not convey a number of key aspects of Chrétien's somewhat ironic perspective on courtly society. This may well be because most of the translators were probably clerics, but it is also likely to reflect traditional Norse tastes and narrative conventions. In particular, most elements of explicit eroticism have been deleted from the ''riddarasögur'', as have much comedy and irony in the treatment of the protagonists' behaviour. Instead, the narratives are largely exemplary and didactic, in large part because the Scandinavian translators refrained from using two essential narrative devices of their sources, namely the internal monologue, which conveyed the private thoughts and feelings of the characters, and the intrusive involvement of the narrator, which was a vehicle for conveying a nuanced and often ironic point of view.

Original compositions

Inspired by translated Continental romances, Icelanders began enthusiastically composing their own romance-sagas, apparently around the later thirteenth century, with the genre flourishing from the fourteenth century. The rise of the genre has been associated with Iceland coming under Norwegian rule in the 1260s, and the consequent need for Icelandic ecclesiastical and secular elites to explore Icelanders' new identities as vassals to a king. These new political formations particularly affected the marriage market for elite Icelanders, making gender politics a central theme of many romances. One seminal composition, directly or indirectly influential on many subsequent sagas, seems to have been ''

Klári saga ''Klári saga'' is one of the chivalric sagas of medieval Norway. Ostensibly derived from a Latin poem which Jón Halldórsson, Bishop of Skálholt, found in France, it became a prototype of the maiden king medieval Icelandic bridal-quest roman ...

'', whose prologue states that it was translated from a Latin metrical work which

Jón Halldórsson Jón Halldórsson (c. 1275 – 2 February 1339, or Candlemas; Modern Icelandic: ) was a Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the bishop of Iceland (1322–1339). He served in the diocese of Skálholt. He grew up in Norway as a friar of the Dom ...

Bishop of Skálholt A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

found in France, but which is now thought to have been composed by Jón from scratch. Jón's work seems to have been one of the inspirations for the fourteenth-century

North Icelandic Benedictine School The North Icelandic Benedictine School (''Norðlenski Benediktskólinn'') is a fourteenth-century Icelandic literary movement, the lives, activities, and relationships of whose members are attested particularly by ''Laurentius Saga, Laurentius sag ...

which, while most clearly associated with religious writing, also seems to have involved romance-writing.

Post-medieval reception

Chivalric sagas remained in widespread manuscript circulation in Iceland into the twentieth century. They were often reworked as ''

rímur In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterate and consist of two to four lines per stanza. T ...

'', and new chivalric sagas in the same mould as medieval ones continued to be composed into the nineteenth century. Particularly during the eighteenth century, some chivalric sagas were taken to be useful historical sources for the history of Sweden and Denmark, underpinning their imperial aspirations, and were printed in these countries. One prominent example is Erik Julius Biörner's ''Nordiska kämpa dater'' of 1737.

Modern scholarship

The most comprehensive guide to the manuscripts, editions, translations, and secondary literature of this body of sagas is Kalinke and Mitchell's 1985 ''Bibliography of Old Norse-Icelandic Romances''. The genre received a fairly substantial survey in Margaret Schlauch's 1934 ''Romance in Iceland'', since when the main monograph studies of the genre have been Astrid van Nahl's ''Originale Riddarasögur als Teil altnordischer Sagaliteratur'', Jürg Glauser's ''Isländische Märchensagas'', Marianne Kalinke's ''Bridal-Quest Romance in Medieval Iceland'', and Geraldine Barnes's ''The Bookish Riddarasögur''.Astrid van Nahl, ''Originale Riddarasögur als Teil altnordischer Sagaliteratur'', Europäische Hochschulschriften, series 1, 447 (Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 1981); Jürg Glauser, ''Isländische Märchensagas: Studien zur Prosaliteratur im spätmittelalterlichen Island'', Beiträge zue nordischen Philologie, 12 (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1983); ; Geraldine Barnes, ''The Bookish Riddarasögur: Writing Romance in Late Mediaeval Iceland'', The Viking Collection, 21 (

dense Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematically ...

University Press of Southern Denmark, 2014).

List of chivalric sagas

Translated into Old Norse

Kalinke and Mitchell's ''Bibliography of Old Norse-Icelandic Romances'' lists the following translated ''riddarasögur'': * ''

'' (''

'') * ''

'' ( Vincent of Beauvais's ''

Speculum historiale Richard of Cirencester ( la, Ricardus de Cirencestria; before 1340–1400) was a cleric and minor historian of the Benedictine abbey at Westminster Abbey, Westminster. He was highly famed in the 18th and 19th century as the author of ''The Descript ...

'') * ''

Bevis saga ''Bevers saga'' or ''Bevis saga'' is an Old Norse chivalric saga, translated from a now lost version of the Anglo-Norman poem '' Boeve de Haumtone''. Kalinke summarises the saga as follows: "The work is a medieval soap opera that commences with th ...

'' (''

Boeve de Haumtone Bevis of Hampton ( fro, Beuve(s) or or ; Anglo-Norman: ; it, Buovo d'Antona) or Sir Bevois, was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, Dutch, French, English, Venetian,Hasenohr, 173–4. and other medieval metrical chivalr ...

'') * ''

'' (''

'') * ''Elis saga ok Rósamundu'' ('' Elie de Saint-Gille'') * ''

'' ('' Érec et Énide'') * ''

Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr ''Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. Characteristics The saga is a prose translation of the medieval French romance '' Floire et Blancheflor'' produced in Norway in the thirteenth century. In 1312 it became the ...

'' ('' Floire et Blanchiflor'') * ''Flóvents saga'' ('' Floovant'') * '' Ívens saga'' (''

Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = between 1178 and 1181 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , fo ...

'') * ''

'' * ''

'' ('' La mantel mautaillé'') * ''Pamphilus ok Galathea'' (''

Pamphilus de amore ''Pamphilus de amore'' (or, simply, ''Pamphilus'' or ''Pamfilus'') is a 780-line, 12th-century Latin comedic play, probably composed in France, but possibly Spain.Vincente Cristóbal, "Ovid in Medieval Spain", in ''Ovid in the Middle Ages'', ed. ...

'') * ''Parcevals saga'' and ''Valvens þáttr'' (''

Perceval, le Conte du Graal , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = between 1182 and 1190 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , for ...

'') * ''

Partalopa saga ''Partalopa saga'' (or ''Partalópa saga'') is a medieval Icelandic romance saga deriving from the medieval French '' Partenopeus de Blois''. Synopsis Kalinke and Mitchell summarise the saga thus: Presumably either a thirteenth-century translati ...

'' (''

Partonopeus de Blois ''Partonopeus de Blois'' is a long poem in the chivalric romance genre written in Old French in the 1170s or 1180s. Its author is unknown, but some scholarly studies indicate Denis Pyramus. Plot Partonopeus is represented as having lived in the ...

'') * ''

'' ** ''Forræða'' 'prologue' ** ''Bisclaretz ljóð'' (''

Bisclavret "Bisclavret" ("The Werewolf") is one of the twelve The Lais of Marie de France, Lais of Marie de France written in the 12th century. Originally written in French, it tells the story of a werewolf who is trapped in lupine form by the treachery of h ...

'') ** ''Chetovel'' (''

Chaitivel "Chaitivel", also known as "Les Quatre Deuils" or "Le Malheureux" in modern French or "The Four Sorrows" in English, is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. ''Chaitivel'' is the tenth poem in the collection known as the ''Lais of Marie ...

'') ** ''Desire'' (''

Desiré ''Desiré'' (also ''Désiré'', ''Lai del Desire'') is an Old French Breton lai, named after its protagonist. It is one of the so-called Anonymous Lais. It is 'a fairy-mistress story set in Scotland'. Translated into Old Norse, the poem also became ...

'') ** ''Douns ljóð'' ('' Doon'') ** ''Eskja'' (''

Le Fresne (lai) "Le Fresne" is one of the Lais of Marie de France. It was likely written in the late 12th century. Marie claims it to be a Breton lai, an example of Anglo-Norman literature. Plot summary Le Fresne opens with the wife of a knight giving birth to tw ...

'') ** ''Equitan'' (''

Equitan "Equitan" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France sometime in the 12th century. The poem belongs to what is collectively known as ''The Lais of Marie de France''. Like the other lais in the collection, ''Equitan'' is ...

'') ** ''Geitarlauf'' (''

Chevrefoil "Chevrefoil" is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. The eleventh poem in the collection called ''The Lais of Marie de France'', its subject is an episode from the romance of Tristan and Iseult. The title means "honeysuckle," a symbol ...

'') ** ''Grelent'' (''

Graelent ''Graelent'' is an Old French Breton lai, named after Guiomar (Arthurian legend), its protagonist. It is one of the so-called :Anonymous lais, anonymous lais . Synopsis The plot is similar to that of Marie de France's lai of ''Lanval''. Guiomar ...

'') ** ''Guiamars ljóð'' (''

Guigemar "Guigemar" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France during the 12th century. The poem belongs to the collection known as ''The Lais of Marie de France''. Like the other lais in the collection, ''Guigemar'' is written in ...

'') ** '' Guruns ljóð'' (source unknown) ** ''Januals ljóð'' (''

Lanval ''Lanval'' is one of the Lais of Marie de France. Written in Anglo-Norman, it tells the story of Lanval, a knight at King Arthur's court, who is overlooked by the king, wooed by a fairy lady, given all manner of gifts by her, and subsequently ref ...

'') ** ''Jonet'' (''

Yonec "Yonec" is one of the ''The Lais of Marie de France, Lais of Marie de France'', written in the twelfth century by the French poet known only as Marie de France. ''Yonec'' is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem. The poem is written in the Anglo-No ...

'') ** ''Laustik'' (''

Laüstic "Laüstic", also known as "Le Rossignol", "Le Laustic", "Laostic", and "Aüstic", is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. The title comes from the Breton word for "nightingale" (''eostig''), a symbolic figure in the poem.Marie de Franc ...

'') ** ''Leikara ljóð'' (''

Lecheor 'Lecheor' is a short, bawdy Breton lai that tells the story a group of noble women who decide to write a lai about female genitalia. Composition and manuscripts The actual date of composition is estimated between the end of the twelfth to the begin ...

'') ** ''Milun'' (''

Milun "Milun" is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France, ( fl. 1160 to 1215). ''Milun'' is the ninth lai in the collection known as the ''Lais of Marie de France''. Like the other lais (lays) in this collection, ''Milun'' is written in the Ang ...

'') ** ''Naboreis'' (''

Nabaret Nabaret is a short, humorous Breton lai that tells the story of a knight and his vain and prideful wife. With only 48 verses, Nabaret is the shortest of the :Anonymous lais, anonymous lais. Composition and manuscripts The actual date of compositio ...

'') ** '' Ricar hinn gamli'' (source unknown) ** '' Strandar ljóð'' (source unknown) ** ''Tidorel'' (''

Tydorel Tydorel is a medieval lai which tells the story of a fairy-knight who visits the childless queen of Brittany. He tells her that if she refuses his sexual advances, she will never again know happiness. Then he proves his supernatural origins by ridi ...

'') ** ''Tveggja elskanda ljóð'' (''

Les Deux Amants "Les Deux Amants" ( fro, "Les Deus Amanz", en, "The Two Lovers") is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France sometime in the 12th century. The poem belongs to what is collectively known as ''The Lais of Marie de France''. ...

'') ** '' Tveggia elskanda strengleikr'' (source unknown) * ''

Tiódels saga ''Tiódels saga'' (also ''Tíódéls saga'', ''Tiodielis saga'', and various other forms in manuscripts) is an Old Icelandic chivalric saga, based on the Old Norwegian translation, ''Bisclaretz ljóð'', of Marie de France, Marie de France's Breton ...

'' (''

'', via ''Bisclaretz ljóð'') * ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar'' ( Thomas of Britain's ''Tristan'') * ''

'' (''

'')

Composed in Icelandic during the Middle Ages

The following is a probably complete list of original medieval Icelandic chivalric sagas. *'' Adonias saga'' *'' Ála flekks saga'' *'' Blómstrvallasaga'' *'' Bærings saga'' *''

Dámusta saga ''Damusta saga'' ('the saga of Dámusti', also known as ''Dámusta saga ok Jóns'', ''Saga spekingsins Dámusta i Gricklandi'') is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. It is noted for its inventive engagement with Continental romance-writing traditio ...

'' *''

Dínus saga drambláta ''Dínus saga drambláta'' (also known, ''inter alia'', as ''Saga af Dínus ok Philomena'') is an Old Norse chivalric saga, assumed to have been composed first in the fourteenth century. The saga is noted for its scholarly, highbrow style. Summa ...

'' *'' Drauma-Jóns saga'' *''

Ectors saga ''Ectors saga'' (or ''Hectors saga'') is a medieval Icelandic romance saga The ''riddarasögur'' (literally 'sagas of knights', also known in English as 'chivalric sagas', 'romance-sagas', 'knights' sagas', 'sagas of chivalry') are Norse prose s ...

'' *'' Flóres saga konungs ok sona hans'' *''

Gibbons saga ''Gibbons Saga'' is one of the Icelandic chivalric sagas. It is one of a very few sagas to feature a magical flying object—in this case a piece of cloth, amongst many other magical objects. It also features dwarfs and giants. Summary In the su ...

'' *'' Grega saga'' *''

Hrings saga ok Tryggva ''Hrings saga ok Tryggva'' is a medieval Icelandic saga about Hringr, the son of King Dagr. It is one of the romance sagas which were inspired by Continental romances. It survives only fragmentarily, though there are ''rímur'' which preserve the f ...

'' *'' Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns'' *''

Jóns saga leikara ''Jóns saga leikara'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. Synopsis Kalinke and Mitchell summarise the saga thus: Composed in Iceland, presumably in the fourteenth century. The saga relates the strange adventures encountered by Jon, a young ...

'' *'' Kirialax saga'' *''

'' *''

Konráðs saga keisarasonar ''Konráðs saga keisarasonar'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. In the assessment of its editor Otto J. Zitzelsberger, it is 'a fine specimen of an early indigenous ''riddarasaga'' that combines elements from native tradition with newer and m ...

'' *''

'' *'' Melkólfs saga ok Solomons konungs'' *''

Mírmans saga ''Mírmans saga'' is a medieval Icelandic Chivalric saga, likely to have been composed in the 14th century. It belongs to an Old Norse epic cycle consisting of more than 20 saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Squ ...

'' *'' Nítíða saga'' *''

Nikulás saga leikara ''Nikulás saga leikara'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. Synopsis Keren Wick summarised the saga thus: ''Nikulás saga leikara'' ... tells the story of Nikulás, king of Hungary. His foster-father, Earl Svívari, convinces him to stop pla ...

'' *''Reinalds saga'' (now lost, known only from ''Reinalds rímur og Rósu'') *'' Rémundar saga keisarasonar'' *''

Samsons saga fagra ''Samsons saga fagra'' (The Saga of Samson the Fair) is an Old Norse chivalric saga. Summary Philip Lavender has summarised the saga as follows:We are introduced to Samson, son of King Artús, who falls in love with Valentína, a princess, while ...

'' *'' Saulus saga ok Nikanors'' *''

Sigrgarðs saga frœkna ''Sigrgarðs saga frœkna'' (modern Icelandic ''Sigurgarðs saga frækna'', the saga of Sigrgarðr the Valiant) is a medieval Icelandic Chivalric sagas, romance-saga, described by Finnur Jónsson as 'all in all ... one of the best and most worthy o ...

'' *'' Sigrgarðs saga ok Valbrands'' *'' Sigurðar saga fóts'' *'' Sigurðar saga turnara'' *'' Sigurðar saga þögla'' *'' Tristrams saga ok Ísoddar'' *'' Valdimars saga'' *''

Viktors saga ok Blávus ''Viktors saga ok Blávus'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga from the fifteenth century. Summary Kalinke and Mitchell summarise the saga thus: The saga relates the adventures of the foster-brothers Viktor, son of the king of France, and Blá ...

'' *'' Vilhjálms saga sjóðs'' *''

Vilmundar saga viðutan ''Vilmundar saga viðutan'' is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. It is noted in recent scholarship as an early example of tale type ATU 510A, 'Cinderella', of the international Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index. Synopsis Kalinke and Mitchell summari ...

'' *''

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 ...

Composed in Icelandic after the Middle Ages

Romance sagas continued to be composed in Iceland after the Middle Ages in the tradition of the medieval texts. There are thought to be about 150 post-medieval examples; ten are believed to have been penned, for example, by the priest Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín (1749-1835). The following is an incomplete list: *'' Ambales saga'' *'' Fimmbræðra saga'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Jasonar saga bjarta'' *''

Sagan af Bernótus Borneyjarkappa Sagan may refer to: Places * German name for ** Żagań, Poland ** Duchy of Żagań (1274–1549), one of the duchies of Silesia * Sagan, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Sagan, West Azerbaijan, a village in West Azerbaijan Provinc ...

'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sagan af Hinriki heilráða'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sagan af Ketlerus keisaraefni'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sagan af Mána fróða'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sagan af Marroni sterka'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sagan af Natoni persíska'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sagan af Reimari keisara og Fal hinum sterka'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *''

Sagan af Rígabal og Alkanusi Sagan may refer to: Places * German name for ** Żagań, Poland ** Duchy of Żagań (1274–1549), one of the duchies of Silesia * Sagan, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Sagan, West Azerbaijan, a village in West Azerbaijan Provinc ...

'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Sarpidons saga sterka'' (by Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín) *'' Úlfhams saga'' *'' Úlfs saga Uggasonar''

Notes

External links

Riddarasögur: Texts, Translations, and ScholarshipChivalric tales in old Norse at Heimskringla.no

References

* * Driscoll, Matthew (2005). "Late Prose Fiction (lygisögur)" in ''A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture'' pp. 190–204. Blackwell Publishing. * * * * Loth, Agnete (1962-5). ''Late medieval Icelandic romances'' (5 vols.) Den Arnamagnæanske Komission. Copenhagen. * * {{Chivalric sagas