''The Separate (or Independent) Saga of St. Olaf'' ''(Olav den helliges saga'') is one of the

kings' sagas 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 compo ...

. It was written about King

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

(''Olaf Haraldsson''), later Saint Olaf (''Olav den Hellige''), patron saint of Norway.

History

It was written in ''c.'' 1225 by

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 ...

, who made use of the saga by the priest Styrmir Kárason, now largely lost except for some fragments in ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...

''. A revised version of the Separate Saga was later incorporated into 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 ...

'' (''c.'' 1230), often ascribed to Snorri Sturluson. Like many other kings' sagas, the work cites

skaldic poems A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

for historical verification or literary embroidery. The work is also valuable for being preceded by two prologues. The principal witness of the text is MS nr. 2 4° in the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...

(''Kungliga biblioteket''), Stockholm. In the longer prologue, Snorri Sturluson expounds on the historical value of

skaldic poetry A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

: :''En þó þykki mér þat merkiligast til sannenda, er berum orðum er sagt í kvæðum eða öðrum kveðskap, þeim er svá var ort um konunga eða aðra höfðingja, at þeir sjálfir heyrðu, eða í erfikvæðum þeim, er skáldin fœrðu sonum þeira. Þau orð, er í kveðskap standa, eru in sömu sem í fyrstu váru, ef rétt er kveðit, þótt at hverr maðr hafi síðan numit af öðrum, ok má þvi ekki breyta.'' :"And yet I find that most important for veracity, which is said straightforwardly in poems or other poetry that was composed about kings or other chieftains so that they themselves heard it, or in those commemorative poems which the skalds brought to their sons. Those words which stand in poetry are the same as they were in the beginning, if the recitation is correct, although each person has since learned it from another and for that reason nothing can be distorted."Edition: Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson, ''Heimskringla'', vol. 2, p. 422; translation: Gade, "Poetry and its changing importance." p. 67.

Editions

*Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ed.). ''Heimskringla''. 3 vols.: vol. 2. Íslenzk fornrit 26–8. Reykjavík: Hið ís lenzka fornritafélag, 1941–51. Appendix: ''Ór Óláfs sögu ins Helga inni Sérstöku''. Critical edition. *Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason (eds.). ''Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga. Den store saga om Olav den hellige, eftir Pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga Biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter''. 2 vols. Oslo: Jacob Dybwad, 1930-33.

Diplomatic edition Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...

of the text found in MS Stockholm nr. 2 4to. *Munch and Unger, ''Saga Olafs konungs ens Helga''. Christiania, 1853.

References

Other sources

*Finlay, Alison. ''Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway'' (Leiden: Brill, 2004) *Gade, Kari Ellen. "Poetry and its changing importance in medieval Icelandic culture." In ''Old Icelandic Literature and Society'', ed.

Margaret Clunies Ross Margaret Beryl Clunies Ross (born 24 April 1942) is a medievalist who was until her retirement in 2009 the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Syd ...

. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature 42. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000)

External links

Index of the skaldic poems in the saga
(external link) {{authority control Kings' sagas Olaf II of Norway Sagas of saints Works by Snorri Sturluson sv:Heimskringla#Innehåll

History

Editions

See also

References

Other sources

External links