Kings' sagas
Encyclopedia
The kings' sagas are Norse saga
s which tell of the lives of Scandinavian king
s. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway.
List of kings' sagas, including works in Latin, in approximate order of composition (many dates could be off by decades):
Sometimes counted among the kings' sagas:
Norse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s which tell of the lives of Scandinavian king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway.
List of kings' sagas, including works in Latin, in approximate order of composition (many dates could be off by decades):
- A Latin work by Sæmundr fróðiSæmundr fróðiSæmundr Sigfússon was an Icelandic priest and scholar. Sæmundr is known to have studied abroad. Previously it has generally been held that he studied in France, but modern scholars rather believe his studies were carried out in Franconia. In Iceland he founded a long-lived school at Oddi...
, ca. 1120, lost. - The older version of ÍslendingabókÍslendingabókÍslendingabók, Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders is an historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally existed in two different versions but only the younger one has come...
by Ari fróði, ca. 1125, lost. - HryggjarstykkiHryggjarstykkiHryggjarstykki is a lost kings' saga written in Old Norse in the mid-twelfth century and dealing with near-contemporary events. The author was Eiríkr Oddsson, an Icelander about whom little is known...
by Eiríkr Oddsson, ca. 1150, lost. - Historia NorvegiæHistoria NorvegiæHistoria Norwegiæ is a short Latin history of Norway written by an anonymous monk. The only extant manuscript, in the private possession of the Earl of Dalhousie and kept at Brechin Castle, Scotland, is fragmentary; what we have of the Historia is found on folios 1r-12r...
, ca. 1170. - Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium by Theodoricus monachus, ca. 1180.
- Skjöldunga sagaSkjöldunga sagaThe Skjöldunga saga was a Norse saga on the legendary Danish dynasty of the Skjöldungs, the same dynasty featured in the Old English poem Beowulf...
, ca. 1180, badly preserved. - Oldest Saga of St. OlafOldest Saga of St. OlafThe Oldest Saga of St. Olaf or the First Saga of St. Olaf is one of the kings' sagas. It is the earliest Norse biography of King Óláfr Haraldsson. Early scholars judged it to be among the very first sagas written, perhaps around 1160, but later scholarship has moved the date up to the end of the...
, ca. 1190, mostly lost. - Ágrip af NóregskonungasögumÁgrip af NóregskonungasögumÁgrip af Nóregskonungasögum or Ágrip is a synoptic history of the kings of Norway, written in Old Norse. The preserved text starts with the death of Hálfdan svarti and ends with the accession of Ingi krókhryggr but the original is thought to have covered a longer period, probably up to the reign of...
, ca. 1190. - A Latin Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Oddr SnorrasonOddr SnorrasonThe Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar of Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a Latin royal biography attributed to a 12th century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyrar monastery ....
, ca. 1190, survives in translation. - A Latin Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Gunnlaugr LeifssonGunnlaugr LeifssonGunnlaugr Leifsson was an Icelandic scholar, writer and poet. He was a Benedictine monk at the Þingeyrar monastery in the north of Iceland.-Biography :Gunnlaugr composed a Latin biography of King Óláfr Tryggvason...
, ca. 1195, lost. - Sverris sagaSverris sagaSverris saga is one of the kings' sagas. Its subject is King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway and it is the main source for this period of Norwegian history. As the foreword tells us, the saga in its final form consists of more than one part. Work first began in 1185 under the king’s direct supervision...
, by Karl Jónsson, ca. 1205. - Legendary Saga of St. OlafLegendary Saga of St. OlafThe Legendary Saga of St. Olaf or Helgisaga Óláfs konungs Haraldssonar is one of the kings' sagas, a 13th century biography of the 11th century Saint Olaf II of Norway. It is based heavily on the largely lost Oldest Saga of St. Olaf. The composition is primitive and clumsy and the saga essentially...
, ca. 1210. - MorkinskinnaMorkinskinnaMorkinskinna is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275....
, ca. 1220 but before Fagrskinna. - FagrskinnaFagrskinnaFagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
, ca. 1220. - Óláfs saga helga by Styrmir Kárason, ca. 1220, mostly lost.
- Böglunga sögur, ca. 1225.
- Separate Saga of St. OlafSeparate Saga of St. OlafThe Separate Saga of St. Olaf is one of the kings' sagas. It was written about King Olaf II of Norway , later Saint Olaf , patron saint of Norway.-History:...
, by Snorri SturlusonSnorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
, ca. 1225. - HeimskringlaHeimskringlaHeimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
by Snorri SturlusonSnorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
, ca. 1230. - Knýtlinga sagaKnýtlinga sagaKnýtlinga saga is an Icelandic kings' saga written in the 1250s, which deals with the kings who ruled Denmark since the early 10th century....
, probably by Ólafr ÞórðarsonÓláfr ÞórðarsonÓláfr Þórðarson was an Icelandic skald and scholar who was born about 1210 and died in 1259. He is usually called Óláfr hvítaskáld in contrast to a contemporary skald called Óláfr svartaskáld...
, ca. 1260. - Hákonar saga HákonarsonarHákonar saga HákonarsonarHákonar saga Hákonarsonar is an Old Norse kings' saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. The saga was written by the Icelandic historian and chieftain Sturla Þórðarson, in the 1260s...
, by Sturla ÞórðarsonSturla ÞórðarsonSturla Þórðarson was an Icelandic politician/chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century.Sturla was the son of Þórður Sturluson and his mistress Þóra. He was a nephew and pupil of the famous saga-writer Snorri Sturluson...
, ca. 1265. - Magnúss saga lagabœtisMagnúss saga lagabœtisMagnúss saga lagabœtis is an Old Norse kings' saga, concerning the life and reign of King Magnus VI the Lawmender of Norway. Only fragments of it survive today....
, by Sturla ÞórðarsonSturla ÞórðarsonSturla Þórðarson was an Icelandic politician/chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century.Sturla was the son of Þórður Sturluson and his mistress Þóra. He was a nephew and pupil of the famous saga-writer Snorri Sturluson...
, ca. 1280, only fragments survive. - Hulda-HrokkinskinnaHulda-HrokkinskinnaHulda-Hrokkinskinna is one of the kings' sagas. Written after 1280 it relates the history of the Norwegian kings from Magnús góði, who acceded to the throne in 1035, to Magnús Erlingsson, who died in 1177....
, ca. 1280. - Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mestaÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mestaÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta or The Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvasonis one of the kings' sagas, an extended biography of King Óláfr Tryggvason....
, ca 1300.
Sometimes counted among the kings' sagas:
- Jómsvíkinga sagaJómsvíkinga sagaThe Jómsvíkinga saga relates of the founding of Jomsborg by Palnatoke, and of the famous Viking brotherhood of the Jomsvikings....
- Orkneyinga sagaOrkneyinga sagaThe Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
- Færeyinga sagaFæreyinga SagaThe Færeyinga Saga , the Norse saga of Faroemen, is the story of how the Faroes were converted to Christianity and became a part of the Kingdom of Norway.-Summary:It was written in Iceland shortly after 1200...
- Brjáns sagaBrjáns sagaBrjáns saga is a hypothetical early specimen of Old Norse literature. According to the hypothesis certain episodes in Njáls saga and Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar drew on this lost saga....