''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 Kings' sagas (, , ) 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 composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, ...

. It is an extended biography of King Óláfr Tryggvason and relates in detail the conversion to Christianity of Óláfr Tryggvason and Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld. Composed around 1300 it takes '' Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' in

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 th ...

's '' Heimskringla'' as its base but expands the narrative greatly with content from the previous biographies of the king by Oddr Snorrason and Gunnlaugr Leifsson as well as less directly related material. The saga is preserved in a number of manuscripts which can be divided into two groups; an earlier redaction preserved in the manuscripts ''AM 53 fol.'', ''AM 54 fol.'', ''AM 61 fol.'', '' Bergsbók'' and ''Húsafellsbók''. The second group is a later redaction preserved in ''AM 62 fol.'' and '' Flateyjarbók''. The saga incorporates a number of '' þættir'' and shorter sagas, some preserved nowhere else.

Manuscripts

* AM 53 fol. * AM 54 fol. * AM 61 fol. * GKS 1005 fol. ('' Flateyjarbók'') * Stock. Perg. fol. no. 1 ('' Bergsbók'')

Editions

* * * *

References

External links

An 1895 English translation at the Internet Archive

Text based primarily on ''AM 61 fol.'', modern Icelandic orthography {{DEFAULTSORT:Olafs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta Kings' sagas Flateyjarbók

Manuscripts

Editions

See also

References

External links