, or ''The Story of

Egil One-Hand Egil One-Hand is a berserker hero from the Icelandic legendary saga . Life Egil was the son of Hring ruler of Småland and Ingibjorg, daughter of Earl Bjarkmar of Gautland. Egil was a troublesome young boy who would often go with a gang of his fri ...

and

Asmund Berserkers-Slayer Asmund Berserks-Slayer is a viking hero in the Icelandic legendary saga '' Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana''. He is also known as Gnodar-Asmund in other sagas in which his stepfather was Illugi, Foster-Son of Grid. Egil and Asmund ...

'', is a

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 ...

set in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(''Rússía''), a country located between

Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or was the Old Norse term used in the Middle Ages for the lands of Rus'_people, Rus'. According to ''Göngu-Hrólfs saga'', the name (also used as a name for Novgorod Land, Novgorodian Rus') was synonymous ...

and

Húnaland Hunaland and its people are mentioned several times in the Poetic Edda, in the Fornaldarsagas, and in chivalric romances. Its origins are partly the old Frankish kingdom (the Franks were once called ''Hugones'', in Latin, and ''Hūgas'' in Old ...

, the land of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

. There are also adventures in Hálógaland and Jötunheimar, the realm of giants ( ''Jötnar''). Ásmundr is also known as Gnoðar-Ásmundr and under this name he is mentioned in various other sagas. His foster-father is Illugi, who has a saga of his own in ''

Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra is a ''fornaldarsaga'' about a young Dane named Illugi who delivers a female troll and her daughter from a curse. The earliest manuscript (of 36 which are known to exist) dates from the first half of the 16th century (AM ...

''.

Manuscripts and dating

The saga is believed to have been written down in the 14th century. It is known through Icelandic manuscripts, the oldest attested ones from the early 15th century. Its first printed edition was published by the Swedish scholar Petter Salan in 1693, under the title ''Fortissimorum pugilum Egilli et Asmundi historiam antqvo gothico sermone exaratam.''Upsala, O. Rudbecks, 1693.

Summary

In the assessment of

Finnur Jónsson Finnur Jónsson (May 29, 1858 – March 30, 1934) was an Icelandic philologist and Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Copenhagen. He made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature. Finnur Jónsson was born a ...

"er sagaen ret underholdende fortalt og i sin gang ret simpel" ("the saga is quite entertainingly told and quite simple in its way"). The protagonists of the saga are Ásmundr berserkjabani ("slayer of berserks"), a son of Óttarr, king of Hålogaland, Egill einhendi ("one-armed"), a son of King Hringr in Småland. The story begins during the protagonists' adulthood; after fighting one another, they become each other's foster brother. But the story of their youth is later introduced via their own account of themselves, given in the abode of a giantess. One of the sub-tales of the saga concerns King Róðíán of Tartary and his son Árán, who becomes Ásmundr's foster-brother and with whom Ásmundr sits for some days after Árán has been interred in a

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

. Meanwhile, Egill's story echoes the legend of

Polyphemos Polyphemus (; , ; ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first ap ...

. King Hertryggr in Russia has two daughters, Brynhildr and Bekkhildr, who are both abducted by giants. The foster brothers set out to look for them, and face a series of perilous adventures and journeys. They are lucky enough to meet a giantess who helps them because, as it turns out, Egill once assisted her. She has been looking after and preserving Egill's severed arm: the giantess returns it to him and reattaches it to his body. The foster brothers save the royal daughters and marry them.

References

External links

The saga in Old Norse at heimskringla.noEntry in the Stories for All Time database
Legendary sagas {{saga-stub