Trójumanna saga (''The Saga of the Men of Troy'') is a saga in

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

which tells the story of the matter of Troy. It is the Old Icelandic translation of the ''Daretis Phrygii De Excidio Troiae Historia'' (''Dares Phrygius’ History of the Destruction of Troy''). The saga expands on the basic framework provided by Dares to create a story with many particularly Norse elements and values.

Composition and sources

''Trójumanna saga'' was most likely composed by an Icelander in the mid-thirteenth century. Today there exist three separate and different redactions of ''Trójumanna saga'', themselves dating from probably the thirteenth and fourteenth century. These are known as the

Hauksbók Hauksbók (; 'Book of Haukr') is a 14th-century Icelandic manuscript created by Haukr Erlendsson. Significant portions of it are lost, but it contains the earliest copies of many of the texts it contains, including the '' Saga of Eric the Red''. ...

, Beta, and the Alpha redactions. ''Trójumanna saga'' Alpha, though the last to be discovered by modern scholars, is the closest to Dares' ''Historia'' in that it uses fewer supplementary sources than the other two versions. As such, it was published as ''Trójumanna saga: The Dares Phrygius Version'', by Jonna Louis-Jensen. Randi Claire Eldevik states that although ''Trójumanna saga'' Alpha has only a few sources other than ''De Excidio Troiae Historia'', "its treatment of 'De Excidio Troiae Historia''is elaborately embellished in comparison with the other two redactions." These other sources are the '' Ilias Latina'' attributed to Publius Baebius Italicus, and ''

Heroides The ''Heroides'' (''The Heroines''), or ''Epistulae Heroidum'' (''Letters of Heroines''), is a collection of fifteen epistolary poems composed by Ovid in Latin elegiac couplets and presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroin ...

'' by

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

Synopsis of the Alpha Redaction

The saga begins with the journey of

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

and his

Argonauts The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...

. On the way to find the Golden Fleece they stop at

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

Laomedon In Greek mythology, Laomedon (; , ''Lāomédōn'', "ruler of the people") was a Troy, Trojan king, son of Ilus (son of Tros), Ilus and thus nephew of Ganymede (mythology), Ganymede and Assaracus. Laomedon was variously identified with differe ...

, King of Troy, forces Jason to leave his lands for fear of a Greek invasion. This is the start of a feud between the Trojans and the Greeks. After Jason acquires the Golden Fleece, he remains in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

with

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, however, gathers a Greek army and returns to Troy. After a brief war, Troy falls and

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argon ...

takes Laomedon's daughter and

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Most scholars take the e ...

's sister,

Hesione In Greek mythology and later art, the name Hesione ( /hɪˈsaɪ.əniː/; Ancient Greek: Ἡσιόνη) refers to various mythological figures, of whom the Trojan princess Hesione is most known. Mythology According to the '' Bibliotheca'', the ...

, back to Greece. Priam, after rebuilding Troy, summons his five sons:

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

(

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Deiphobus In Greek mythology, Deiphobus () was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam's sons after Hector and Paris. Deiphobus killed four men of fame in the Trojan War. Description Deiphobus was described by ...

Helenus In Greek mythology, Helenus (; , ''Helenos'', ) was a gentle and clever seer. He was also a Trojan prince as the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and the twin brother of the prophetess Cassandra. Mythology Early years In the ...

, and

Troilus Troilus ( or ; ; ) is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War. The first surviving reference to him is in Homer's ''Iliad,'' composed in the late 8th century BC. In Greek mythology, Troilus is a young Troy, Trojan prin ...

, and they decide to avenge their grandfather, Laomedon. Alexander tricks Helen into vowing to marry him by tossing a golden apple into her lap. On the apple is inscribed, "I swear by the god that I shall be wed to Alexander and be his queen henceforward," which Helen unwittingly reads aloud, thus binding herself by oath to Alexander, who takes her back to Greece, inciting the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. The course of the war is described in detail from the first landing of the Greeks to the taking of the city. Hector is Troy's greatest protector until he is slain by

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

in an even fight. After this Troilus and the rest of the sons of Priam fill the role. Achilles is a less central character to the story than in

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', though he is still most often responsible for the deaths of prominent Trojans. He falls in love with

Polyxena In Greek mythology, Polyxena (; ) was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba. She does not appear in Homer, but in several other classical authors, though the details of her story vary considerably. After the fall of ...

, Priam's daughter, is drawn into an ambush for her sake, and is assassinated by Alexander after a heroic last stand. Antenor and

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

, along with many townsmen, betray the city by letting the Greeks in during the night. Neoptolemus Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, kills Priam at the altar of

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

. In the days following the sack of the city Neoptolemus searches for and finds Polyxena (who had been under Aeneas' protection). Blaming her for his father's death, Neoptolemus insists on her execution. After she defends herself in a passionate, but futile speech, he cuts off her head. The saga closes with a very brief summary of the Greeks' return home and the casualty counts of the war.A synopsis of the English translation of Eldevik, 205-286

Editions

* Jón Sigurðsson, ed.
Trójumanna saga
" In "Trojumanna saga ok Breta sogur efter Hauksbok, med dansk Oversaettelse", ''Annaler for nordisk Historie'' (1848), 4-100 (Hauksbók version; repr. as ''Trojumanna saga hin forna, prentuð eftir útgáfu Jóns Sigurðssonar i donskum Annalum 1848'' (Reykjavik: Prentsmioja D. Ostlunds, 1913). * innur Jonsson and Eirikur Jonsson, eds."Trojumannasaga." In ''Hauksbok udgiven efter de Arnamagnceanske Handskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige Papirhandskrifter'' (Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske Oldskrift-Selskab, 1892-96). * Jón Helgason, ed. "Trojumanna saga." In ''The Arna-Magnæan Manuscripts 371, 4to, 544, 4to, and 675, 4to'' (Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1960). * Louis-Jensen, Jonna, ed. ''Trojumanndsaga'', Editiones Arnamagnaeanae, A, 8 (Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1963) (based on Univ. Libr. Uppsala, R:706 and Ihre 76; Royal Library Stockholm, Papp. 4:o nr 29 and Papp. fol. nr 58; AM 573, 4°; AM 598, 4°, IIα and β; AM 544, 4°). * Louis-Jensen, Jonna, ed. ''Trojumanna saga. The Dares Phrygius Version'', Editiones Arnamagnaeanae, A, 9 (Copenhagen: Reitzel, 1981

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trojumanna saga Sagas Icelandic literature North Germanic languages Old Norse literature Trojan War literature