Morkinskinna
Encyclopedia
Morkinskinna 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.
The name Morkinskinna means "mouldy parchment" and is originally the name of the manuscript book in which the saga has been preserved. The book itself, GKS 1009 fol, is currently in the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen
.http://www.kb.dk/kultur/expo/klenod/mork.htm It was brought to Denmark
from Iceland by Þormóður Torfason (Tormod Torfæus) in 1662.
The saga was published in English
in 2000 in a translation by Theodore M. Andersson and Kari Ellen Gade.
II. Originally, the work may have been longer, possibly continuing until 1177, when the narratives of Fagrskinna
and Heimskringla
, which use Morkinskinna as one of their sources, end. Apart from giving the main saga, the text is lavishly interspersed with citations from skaldic verse (about 270 stanzas) and includes a number of short Icelandic tales known as þættir. The following is an overview of the chapters in Morkinskinna, chronologically subdivided by the reigns of the kings of Norway:
Sigurðr
Kings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
, relating the history of Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275.
The name Morkinskinna means "mouldy parchment" and is originally the name of the manuscript book in which the saga has been preserved. The book itself, GKS 1009 fol, is currently in the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.http://www.kb.dk/kultur/expo/klenod/mork.htm It was brought to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
from Iceland by Þormóður Torfason (Tormod Torfæus) in 1662.
The saga was published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in 2000 in a translation by Theodore M. Andersson and Kari Ellen Gade.
Contents
The saga starts in 1025 or 1026 and in its received form, ends suddenly in 1157, after the death of King SigurðrSigurd II of Norway
Sigurd II Haraldsson was king of Norway from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Tora Guttormsdotter . He served as co-ruler with his half-brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Eystein Haraldsson. His epithet Munn means "the Mouth" in Old Norse...
II. Originally, the work may have been longer, possibly continuing until 1177, when the narratives of Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna 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...
and Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla 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...
, which use Morkinskinna as one of their sources, end. Apart from giving the main saga, the text is lavishly interspersed with citations from skaldic verse (about 270 stanzas) and includes a number of short Icelandic tales known as þættir. The following is an overview of the chapters in Morkinskinna, chronologically subdivided by the reigns of the kings of Norway:
Magnús I (r. 1035-1047)
- 1. Here begins the saga of MagnúsMagnus I of NorwayMagnus I , known as the Good or the Noble, was the King of Norway from 1035 to 1047 and the King of Denmark from 1042 to 1047. He was an illegitimate son of king Olaf II of Norway, but fled with his mother in 1028 when his father was dethroned. In 1035 he returned to Norway and was crowned king at...
and Haraldr [his uncle] - 2. Concerning Sveinn
- 3. Concerning King Magnús's feasts
- 4. Concerning King Magnús
- 5. Concerning the declaration of war against Magnús and concerning the Duke
- 6. King Magnús in JutlandJutlandJutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
- 7. King Magnús's stay in Jutland
- 8. How King Haraldr set sail when he came to Skáney
- 9. Concerning Haraldr's travels
- 10. Concerning Norðbrikt [=Haraldr]'s travels
- 11. Concerning a declaration of war
- 12. Concerning the raids of Norðbrikt and jarl Gyrgir
- 13. Haraldr's journey to Jerusalem
- 14. Concerning King Magnús's meeting with Haraldr
- 15. The slandering of Þorkell
- 16. Concerning King Magnús
- 17. How King Magnús bestowed a jarldom on Ormr
- 18. On the dispute between the kings
- 19. Concerning the kings
- 20. Concerning Þorsteinn Hallsson
- 21. Concerning the kings
- 22. The good counsels of King Haraldr
- 23. Concerning King Magnús and Margét
- 24. Hreiðars þáttrHreiðars þáttrHreiðars þáttr heimska or the Tale of Hreiðarr the Stupid is one of the short tales of Icelanders. It tells of Hreiðarr, an apparently mentally disabled Icelandic man who travels to Norway in the time of the joint rule of the kings Magnús góði and Haraldr harðráði...
["The tale of Hreiðarr"] - 25. How the kings harried and how the king's mother granted a captive his life
- 26. King Magnús dies [1047]
- 27. Haraldr's thingmeeting
- 28. King Magnús's funeral voyage
Haraldr III (r. 1047-1066)
- 29. Haraldr's thingmeeting
- 30. Halldórs þáttr Snorrasonar
- 31. [On King Haraldr's campaign in Denmark]
- 32. Concerning King Haraldr
- 33. Concerning the disagreement between the king and Einarr Þambarskelfir
- 34. Concerning an Icelander
- 35. Concerning King Haraldr's wise counsels
- 36. How Auðunn from the Westfjords brought King SveinnSweyn II of DenmarkSweyn II Estridsson Ulfsson was the King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074. He was the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more, including the five future kings Harald III Hen, Canute IV the Saint, Oluf I Hunger, Eric I Evergood and Niels...
a bear [Auðunar þáttr vestfirzkaAuðunar þáttr vestfirzkaAuðunar þáttr vestfirska is a short tale preserved in three distinct versions as part of the saga of Harald III of Norway , as the saga is told in the manuscripts Morkinskinna, Flateyjarbók, and several others...
] - 37. Concerning King Haraldr and the Upplanders
- 38. Concerning King Haraldr and Brandr örvi (the Open-Handed)
- 39. Concerning King Haraldr
- 40. Concerning the storytelling of an Icelander [Íslendings þáttr sögufróðaÍslendings þáttr sögufróðaÍslendings þáttr sögufróða is a very short þáttr about a young Icelandic storyteller at king Haraldr Sigurðarson's court...
] - 41. Concerning Þorvarðr krákunel's gift of a sail to King Haraldr
- 42. Concerning King Haraldr and Hákon
- 43. Sneglu-Halla þáttr.
- 44. [The king encounters a man in a boat]
- 45. [Concerning King Haraldr and a dear friend of Tryggvi ÓláfssonTryggve the PretenderTryggvi "the Pretender" was a Viking chieftain who lived in the early eleventh century, and came from "west across the sea"...
] - 46. [Concerning Gizurr Ísleifsson]
- 47. Concerning Stúfr enn blindi
- 48. Concerning Oddr Ófeigsson
- 49. How it came about that King Haraldr journeyed to the West
- 50. The treachery against King Haraldr
- 51. Óláfr HaraldssonOlaf III of NorwayOlaf Kyrre , or Olaf III Haraldsson, was King of Norway from 1067 to 1093. He was present at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England in 1066 where his father, Harald Hardrada, saw defeat and was killed in action...
's return to Norway - 52. The death of King Harold GodwinsonHarold GodwinsonHarold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
[1066]
Óláfr III (r. 1067-1093)
- 53. The saga of King Óláfr kyrri "the Quiet"
- 54. Concerning King Óláfr and the Kráku-karl (Crow Man)
Magnús III (r. 1093-1103)
- 55. The Saga of King Magnús berfœttr
- 56. Concerning King Magnús and Sveinki Steinarsson
- 57. Concerning King Magnús's harrying
- 58. Concerning King Magnús
- 59. Concerning King Magnús's death
Sigurðr I, Óláfr and Eysteinn I (r. 1103-1130)
- 60. The beginning of the rule of King Magnús's sons
- 61. The story of King SigurðrSigurd I of NorwaySigurd I Magnusson , also known as Sigurd the Crusader , was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his brother Eystein I of Norway , has been regarded by historians as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway...
's adventures - 62. Concerning the gifts of Emperor Kirjalax (Alexius I Konnenos)
- 63. Concerning King Sigurðr's feast
- 64. Concerning King EysteinnEystein I of NorwayEystein I Magnusson was king of Norway from 1103 to 1123.-Biography:Eystein became king, together with his brothers Sigurd and Olaf, when his father Magnus Barefoot died in 1103...
- 65. Concerning King Eysteinn and Ívarr
- 66. Concerning the king's genealogies
- 67. Concerning King Sigurðr's dream
- 68. The dealings of King Eysteinn and Ingimarr with Ásu-Þorðr
- 69. The death of King Óláfr MagnússonOlaf Magnusson of NorwayOlaf Magnusson was king of Norway 1103–1115. He was the son of King Magnus Barefoot and Sigrid, daughter of Sakse of Vik....
[1115] - 70. An account of legal dealings between King Sigurðr and King Eysteinn (Þinga saga)
- 71. The contest of the kings
- 72. Concerning Þórarinn stuttfeldr
- 73. Concerning the death of King Eysteinn [1123]
- 74. Concerning King Sigurðr and Óttarr
- 75. Concerning King Sigurðr and Erlendr
- 76. Concerning Haraldr gilli
- 77. Concerning King Sigurðr and Áslák hani (Rooster)
- 78. Concerning King Sigurðr
- 79. Concerning the bet between Magnús and Haraldr
- 80. Concerning King Sigurðr and Bishop Magni
- 81. The Death of King Sigurðr [1130]
Haraldr IV (r. 1130-6) and Magnús IV (r. 1130-5, 1137-9)
- 82. Concerning HaraldrHarald IV of NorwayHarald Gille was king of Norway from 1130 until his death in 1136. His byname Gille is probably from Gilla Críst, i.e. servant of Christ.-Background:...
and MagnúsMagnus IV of NorwayMagnus IV Sigurdsson , also known as Magnus the Blind, was King of Norway from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the civil war era in Norway, which lasted until 1240.... - 83. The gifts of King Haraldr to Bishop Magnús
- 84. The story of Sigurðr slembidjákn
- 85. Concerning Sigurðr slembir
- 86. The slaying of King Haraldr [by Sigurðr slembidjákn in 1136]
- 87. Concerning King Sigurðr slembir
SigurðrSigurd II of NorwaySigurd II Haraldsson was king of Norway from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Tora Guttormsdotter . He served as co-ruler with his half-brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Eystein Haraldsson. His epithet Munn means "the Mouth" in Old Norse...
II (1136-1155)
- 88. Concerning King Haraldr's sons
- 89. Concerning Sigurðr
- 90. Concerning King Sigurðr slembir
- 91. King Ingi's letter
- 92. Concerning Sigurðr slembir
- 93. Concerning King Sigurðr slembir
- 94. The slaying of Óttarr birtingr
- 95. [no title]
- 96. Concerning King Sigurðr
- 97. Concerning King Eysteinn
- 98. The slaying of Geirsteinn
- 99. [no title]
- 100. Concerning the death of King Sigurðr [1155]
Primary sources
- Finnur JónssonFinnur JónssonFinnur Jónsson was an Icelandic philologist who made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.Finnur graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1878 and went to Denmark for further studies at the University of Copenhagen. He received a doctorate in philology in 1884 with a...
(ed.). Morkinskinna. Copenhagen: Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur, 1932. Available online from Septentrionalia. - Andersson, Theodore Murdock and Kari Ellen Gade (trs.). Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca: Cornell University PressCornell University PressThe Cornell University Press, established in 1869 but inactive from 1884 to 1930, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States.A division of Cornell University, it is housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage....
, 2000. With introduction. ISBN 0-8014-3694-X
Further reading
- Ármann Jakobsson, "Den kluntede afskriver: Finnur Jónsson og Morkinskinna." Opuscula 11 (2003): 289–306.
- Ármann Jakobsson, Staður í nýjum heimi. Konungasagan Morkinskinna. Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan, 2002.
- Ármann Jakobsson, "The Amplified Saga: Structural Disunity in Morkinskinna." Medium Ævum 70.1 (2001): 29-46.
- Ármann Jakobsson, "The Individual and the Ideal: The Representation of Royalty in Morkinskinna." Journal of English and Germanic Philology 99.1 (2000): 71-86.
- Ármann Jakobsson, "Rundt om kongen. En genvurdering af Morkinskinna." Maal og Minne 1 (1999): 71-90. Available online.
- Ármann Jakobsson, "King and Subject in Morkinskinna." Skandinavistik 28 (1998): 101-117.
- Indrebø, Gustav, "Harald haardraade in Morkinskinna." In Festskrift til Finnur Jónsson, ed. Johs. Brøndum-Nielsen et al. Copenhagen: Levin & Munksgaard, 192. 173-80.
- Kalinke, Marianne, "Sigurðar saga jórsalafara: The Fictionalization of Fact in Morkinskinna." Scandinavian Studies 56.2 (1984): 152-67.
- Sandaaker, Odd, "Ágrip og Morkinskinna. Teksthistoriske randnotar." Maal og Minne (1996). 31-56.
External links
- Finnur Jónsson. (Ed.) (1932). Morkinskinna. Copenhagen: Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur. Available in pdf format at septentrionalia.net.
- Comprehensive list of skaldic poetry cited in Morkinskinna, Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.
- Proverbs and proverbial materials in Morkinskinna