''Damusta saga'' ('the saga of Dámusti', also known as ''Dámusta saga ok Jóns'', ''Saga spekingsins Dámusta i Gricklandi'') 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 sagas of the romance genre. Starting in the thirteenth century with Norse tr ...

. It is noted for its inventive engagement with Continental romance-writing traditions.

Synopsis

Kalinke and Mitchell summarise the saga thus:

Dámusti is a pious knight at the court of King Katalaktus of Grikkland. When the king's daughter, Gratiana, marries King Jón of Smáland, Dámusti kills Jón out of jealousy. Gratiana becomes fatally ill. The Virgin Mary appears to the repentant Dámusti, tells him to arm himself and ride to the church where Gratiana lies buried. There Dámusti defeats the giant Alheimr who reveals that he had induced Gratiana's apparent death in order to marry her himself. Alheimr gives Dámusti a potion which will revive Gratiana. Katalaktus forgives Damusti and the knight marries Gratiana. When their son is old enough to rule, Damusti and Gratiana turn to the spiritual life and become hermits.

Manuscripts

Kalinke and Mitchell identified the following manuscripts of the saga:Marianne E. Kalinke and P. M. Mitchell, ''Bibliography of Old Norse–Icelandic Romances'', Islandica, 44 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985), p. 2. *

Arnamagnæan Institute The Arnamagnæan Institute (, formerly ) is a teaching and research institute established in 1956 to further the study of the manuscripts in the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection, the collection bequeathed by the Icelandic scholar and antiquarian ...

, Copenhagen: AM 557, 4° (15th c), vellum, 3 lvs.; AM 588e, 4° (ca. 1700); Rask 32 (late 18th c). *

Royal Library, Copenhagen The Royal Library () in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the academic library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries. In 2017, it merged with the ...

: NKS 1144, fol. (18th c), resume; Kall 613, 4° (1751). *

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, London: Add. 4874, 4° (ca. 1773). *

National Library, Reykjavik ( Icelandic: ; English: ''The National and University Library of Iceland'') is the national library of Iceland which also functions as the university library of the University of Iceland. The library was established on 1 December 1994 in Reykjav ...

: Lbs 661, 4° (1843-48); JS 27, fol. (ca. 1670); IB 116, 4° (1786-1805); IB 201, 4° (ca. 1821). *

National Museum, Reykjavik The National Museum of Iceland ( Icelandic: ''Þjóðminjasafn Íslands'' ) was established on 24 February 1863, with Jón Árnason the first curator of the Icelandic collection, previously kept in Danish museums. Collections The second curato ...

: Ásbúðarsafn: Sögubók (18th c.). *

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

, Trondheim: *DKNVSB 5b fol. (late 18th c.). *

University Library, Lund Lund University () is a public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially founded in 1666 on the ...

: LUB 14, 4° (mid-18th c). *

Royal Library, Stockholm The National Library of Sweden (, ''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 association published abr ...

: Papp. fol. nr 1 (early 17th c); Papp. fol. nr 66 (1690); Papp. 4:o nr 17 (1671); *Papp. fol. nr 96 (early 18th c), excerpt. *

Beinecke Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts and ...

, Yale University: Z 113.85 (19th c). Contains copy of AM 557, 4° and a complete text of the saga based on Rask 32, 4° and Kall 613, 4°.

Editions and translations

* Tan-Haverhorst, Louisa Fredrika, ed. "Dámusta saga." In ''Þjalar Jóns saga. Dámustasaga. I. Teksten. Diss. Leiden.'' (Haarlem: H. D. Tjeenk Willink & Zoon, 1939), pp. 48-108. Based on JS 27 fol. * "Dámusta saga." In ''The Arna-Magnæan Manuscript 557 4to containing inter alia the History of the first Discovery of America'', ed. by Dag Strömbäck. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1940. Facsimile of leaves 38r-40v. (Corpus Codicum Islandicorum Medii Aevi, XIII).

References

{{Chivalric sagas Chivalric sagas Icelandic literature Old Norse literature