Sagas of Icelanders
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The Sagas of Icelanders (Icelandic: Íslendingasögur), many of which are also known as family sagas, are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.
The Icelanders' sagas are a literary phenomenon of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the second and third generations of Icelandic settlers.
The authors of these sagas are unknown. One, Egils saga, is believed by some scholars[1][2] to have been written by Snorri Sturluson, a descendant of the saga's hero, but this remains uncertain. The standard modern edition of Icelandic sagas is known as Íslenzk fornrit.
Contents
List of Icelanders' sagas
- Bandamanna saga – Bandamanna saga
- Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss
- Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa
- Droplaugarsona saga
- Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar – Egil's Saga
- Eiríks saga rauða – Saga of Erik the Red
- Eyrbyggja saga
- Færeyinga saga
- Finnboga saga ramma
- Fljótsdæla saga
- Flóamanna saga
- Fóstbrœðra saga (two versions)
- Gísla saga Súrssonar, (two versions) of an outlaw poet. – Gísla saga
- Grettis saga
- Grœnlendinga saga – Greenland saga
- Gull-Þóris saga
- Gunnars saga Keldugnúpsfífls
- Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu
- Hallfreðar saga (two versions)
- Harðar saga ok Hólmverja
- Hávarðar saga Ísfirðings – The saga of Hávarður of Ísafjörður
- Heiðarvíga saga
- Hrafnkels saga
- Hrana saga hrings (post-medieval)
- Hænsna-Þóris saga
- Kjalnesinga saga
- Kormáks saga
- Króka-Refs saga
- Laurentius Saga
- Laxdæla saga
- Ljósvetninga saga (three versions)
- Njáls saga
- Reykdœla saga ok Víga-Skútu
- Svarfdœla saga
- Valla-Ljóts saga
- Vatnsdœla saga
- Víga-Glúms saga
- Víglundar saga
- Vápnfirðinga saga
- Þorsteins saga hvíta
- Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar
- Þórðar saga hreðu
- Ölkofra saga
Gaukur's Saga – A Lost Saga
The Saga of Gaukur á Stöng is believed to have existed but is now considered lost. The saga — set in the anthology of sagas known as Möðruvallabók between Njáls saga and Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar — tells of a man named Gaukur Trandilsson who lived in the 10th century. Gaukur is mentioned in chapter 26 of Njáls saga. Icelandic professor and poet Jón Helgason managed to decipher a line that read "Let Trandilsson's story be written here. I am told that [Mr.] Grim knows it." However, the story was never put to paper. The Grim mentioned in the manuscript is believed to have been Grímur Þorsteinsson, knight and governor (ca. 1350).
Gaukur is reported to have been an exceptionally brave and gentle man. He was the foster brother of Ásgrimur. However, it is said that he had a falling out with his foster brother, who ultimately killed him.
Gaukur must have been a well known figure in Icelandic folklore as he is mentioned in not only Njáls Saga but also the Íslendigadrápa, a poem about the Icelandic heroes. He is also mentioned on a tomb in the Orkney Islands, where a runic inscription translates to "These runes were carved by the man who was the most knowledgable of runes in the west of the sea, using the axe that belonged to Gaukur Trandilsson in the south of the land".[3] The south of the land refers to Iceland.[4]
See also
References: English translations
- Örnólfur Thorsson (1997). The Complete Sagas of Icelanders. 5 vols. Reykjavik: Leifur Eiriksson Publishing Ltd.[5]
- Örnólfur Thorsson, et al. (eds.) (2000) The Sagas of the Icelanders: a selection. Penguin Books
- ↑ Egil's Saga, English translation, Penguin Books, 1976, introduction by Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards, p.7
- ↑ Sigurður Nordal had this to say in his edition of Egils saga: "This matter will never be settled fully with the information we now have. … As for me, I have become more and more convinced, as I gained a better understanding of Egils saga that it is the work of Snorri, and I will henceforth not hesitate to count the saga among his works, unless new arguments are presented, which I have overlooked."
- ↑ Naumann, Hanspeter (2011); "Die Saga von Njal und dem Mordbrand", p.326, ISBN 978-3-8258-8416-1, 2011
- ↑ Naumann, Hanspeter (2011); "Die Saga von Njal und dem Mordbrand", p.326, ISBN 978-3-8258-8416-1, 2011
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References: studies
- Arnold, Martin (2003). The Post-Classical Icelandic Family Saga. Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press
- Karlsson, Gunnar (2000). The History of Iceland. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
- Liestol, Knut (1930). The Origin of the Icelandic Family Sagas. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press
- Miller, William Ian (1990). Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
External links
- Icelandic Saga Database A website with all the Icelandic sagas, along with translations into English and various other languages
- Proverbs and Proverbial Materials in the Old Icelandic Sagas
- Icelandic sagas – a selection in Old Norse
- Sagnanet Photographs of some of the original manuscripts
- Harmony of the Vinland voyages
- Icelandic Saga Map An online digital map with the geo-referenced texts of all of the Íslendingasögur