''Sturlunga saga'' (often called simply ''Sturlunga'') is a collection of Icelandic

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 ...

by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300. It mostly deals with the story of the

Sturlungs The Sturlungs ( Icelandic: ) were a powerful family clan in 13th century Iceland, in the time of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Their story is partly told in '' Sturlunga saga'', and members of the clan were significant participants in the civil wa ...

, a powerful family clan during the

Age of the Sturlungs The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( is, Sturlungaöld ) was a 42–44 year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th century Iceland. It is documented in the Sturlunga saga. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftai ...

period of the

Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. With t ...

. ''Sturlunga saga'' mostly covers the history of Iceland between 1117 and 1264."Sturlunga saga",

Rudolf Simek Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in G ...

and

Hermann Pálsson Hermann Pálsson (26 May 1921 – 11 August 2002) was an Icelandic language scholar and translator, "one of the most distinguished scholars of Icelandic studies of his generation". Often working in collaboration with others such as Magnus Magnus ...

, ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'', Kröners Taschenausgabe 490, Stuttgart: Kröner, 1987, , pp. 339–41 It begins with '' Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns'', the

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

of Geirmundr heljarskinn, a regional ruler in late 9th-century Norway, who moves to Iceland to escape the growing power of King

Harald Finehair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

. Jan de Vries, ''Altnordische Literaturgeschichte'', Volume 2 ''Die Literatur von etwa 1150 bis 1300; die Spätzeit nach 1300'', Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 16, 2nd ed. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1967, OCLC 270854789, p. 308 The more historical sagas commence in 1117 with '' Þorgils saga ok Hafliða''. Other sagas included in the collection are '' Sturlu saga'', '' Prestssaga Guðmundar Arasonar'', '' Guðmundar saga biskups'', '' Hrafns saga Sveinbjarnarsonar'', '' Þórðar saga kakala'', '' Svínfellinga saga'' and ''

Íslendinga saga ''Íslendinga saga'' ''(Saga of Icelanders)'' makes up a large part of '' Sturlunga saga'', a compilation of secular contemporary sagas written in thirteenth-century Iceland. The ''terminus ante quem'' of the compilation is disputed (between the ...

'', composed by

Sturla Þórðarson Sturla Þórðarson ( ; ; 29 July 1214–30 July 1284) was an Icelandic chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century. Biography The life of Sturla Þórðarson was chronicled in the Sturlunga saga. Sturla was th ...

, which constitutes almost half of the compilation and covers the period 1183–1264. The compiler assembled the components in chronological order, added þættir including ''Geirmundar þáttr'' and '' Haukdæla þáttr'' and genealogies, and endeavoured to combine them into a single work, usually replacing the beginning and the ending with a linking passage.Sverrir Tómasson, "Old Icelandic Prose", in ''A History of Icelandic Literature'', ed. Daisy Neijmann, Histories of Scandinavian Literature 5, Lincoln, Nebraska / London: University of Nebraska, 2006, , pp. 64–173, 84–85. In some cases he broke up sagas to achieve chronological order. The compilation is often thought of as constituting a genre of sagas, the ''samtíðarsögur'' or 'contemporary sagas'. ''Sturlunga saga'' is the main source of Icelandic history during the 12th and 13th centuries and was written by people who experienced the internal power struggle which ended in Iceland's loss of sovereignty and submission to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in 1262–64; the descriptions of wounds in ''Íslendinga saga'' are so detailed that they may be based on eyewitness accounts used in compensation claims. It is also indispensable for the details of social history which it contains. Indirect evidence suggests that it was compiled by

Þórðr Narfason Þórðr is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Þórðr Kolbeinsson, 11th century Icelandic skald * Þórðr Sjáreksson, 11th century Icelandic skald *Þórðr Sturluson, brother of Snorri Sturluson Icelandic given names ...

(d. 1308),de Vries, p. 313. who may also have written ''Geirmundar þáttr'' and ''Haukdæla þáttr'' and possibly also '' Sturlu þáttr''. The work is preserved in somewhat differing versions in two defective Western Icelandic parchments dating to the second half of the 14th century, the Króksfjarðarbók and the Reykjafjarðarbók (AM 122 a fol. and AM 122 b fol.), and in 17th-century paper manuscripts derived from these. The former also contains material from ''

Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ''Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar'' ("The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson") or ''Hákonar saga gamla'' ("The Saga of Old Haakon") is an Old Norse Kings' Saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. Content and style ...

''; the latter contains interpolations from ''

Þorgils saga Skarða Thorgils, Torgils, Þorgils, Torgil or Thorgil is a Nordic masculine given name that may refer to * Þorgils gjallandi (1851–1915), Icelandic author * Þorgils Mathiesen (born 1962), Icelandic handball player *Thorgils Skarthi, 10th century Vik ...

'' and also contains ''Sturlu þáttr'' and two sagas which are not usually counted as part of ''Sturlunga saga'', '' Jartegna saga Guðmundar biskups'' and '' Arna saga biskups''.

References

External links

Sturlunga Saga, including the Islendinga Saga of Lawman Sturla Thordson and Other Works
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Edited with prolegomena, appendices, tables, indices and maps by Dr.

Gudbrand Vigfusson Gudbrand is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Gudbrand Bøhn (1839–1906), Norwegian violinist, concertmaster, and music teacher * Gudbrand Granum (1893–1984), Norwegian politician *Gudbrand Gregersen de Saág (1824–19 ...

. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1878.
Sturlúnga-Saga edr Íslendinga-Saga hin mikla: Volume 1.Volume 2, Part 1.Volume 2, Part 2
Edited with a preface in Icelandic and Danish by Bjarni Þorsteinsson. Published in Copenhagen by Þorsteinn Einarsson Rangel: 1817, 1818 and 1820 respectively.

at Rafbókavefurinn

(Old Norse text based on Gudbrand Vigfusson's edition) translated into English a

Dead link Sagas Medieval Iceland Sturlungar family clan

References

Further reading

External links