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Legendary saga

January 21, 2023

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.[1] There are some exceptions, such as Yngvars saga víðförla, which takes place in the 11th century. The sagas were probably all written in Iceland, from about the middle of the 13th century to about 1400, although it is possible that some may be of a later date,[2] such as Hrólfs saga kraka.[3]

Fornalder ("times past"); painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo

Description of the sagas

In terms of form, fornaldarsögur are similar to various other saga-genres, but tend towards fairly linear, episodic narratives. Like sagas in other genres, many quote verse, but in the fornaldarsögur that verse is almost invariably in the metre of Eddaic verse (unlike the skaldic verse found in most other saga genres).[4] The setting is primarily Scandinavia in the time prior to the settlement of Iceland and the conversion of Scandinavia, but occasionally it moves temporarily to more distant and exotic locations or has its characters encounter Christian cultures (one example of both being Örvar-Odds saga). There are also very often mythological elements, such as dwarves, elves, giants and magic. In centuries past, they were considered to be reliable historic sources by Scandinavian scholars,[1] but since the 19th century, they have been considered to contain very little historic material.[5][6] The present consensus is that, although some of the sagas contain a small core which is not fiction, or are based on historical characters, the primary function of the legendary sagas was entertainment, and the aim of the sagas has not been to present a historically accurate tale.[5] Recently, however, it has been emphasized that the sagas are useful sources for the culture of 13th and 14th century Iceland, "in terms of the light that they can shed on the culture in which they were composed"[6] i.e. Iceland in the later Middle Ages.[5] In the words of Margaret Clunies Ross,

The themes, characters and the whole world of the fornaldarsaga lend themselves to interpretation, not as realistic narratives, but rather as subjects dealing with deep and disturbing issues that cannot be approached from the perspective of the mundane world but must rather be enacted in a literary world in which often taboo subjects can be raised and aired, though not necessarily resolved. They may also be treated in a comic or parodic vein.[7]

Some of the sagas are based on distant historic characters, and this is evident in cases where there are corroborating sources, such as Ragnars saga loðbrókar, Yngvars saga víðförla and Völsunga saga. In the case of Hervarar saga, it conveys names of historical places in present Ukraine during the period c. 150-450,[8] and the last part of the saga is used as a historic source for Swedish history.[9] Indeed, they often contain very old Germanic matter, such as the Hervarar saga and the Völsunga saga which contains poetry about Sigurd that did not find its way into the Poetic Edda and which would otherwise have been lost (see the Great Lacuna). Other sagas deal with heroes such as Ragnar Lodbrok, Hrólf Kraki and Orvar-Odd.[1] In these respects, then, the fornaldarsögur overlap in genre and occasionally content with the Kings' sagas.

 
Hjorvard and Hjalmar propose to Ingeborg

The Fornaldarsagas have great value for legend research, since they contain motifs and complexes of motifs from many types of legend of which there is otherwise no documentation in Scandinavia prior to the mid-19th century. They are also of great value for scholars studying medieval Scandinavian ballads, particularly the Faroese kvæði, which are often based on the same matters. Moreover, they are also very important for the study of Scandinavian and Germanic heroic legends together with Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum which was based on the same heroic poetry and traditions.[1]

Philologists have generally held the legendary sagas in less esteem, in terms of their literary value, than the Icelanders' sagas. The content is often less realistic, the characters more two-dimensional, and the sagas often borrow themes from each other, and from folk tales.[2][5] In these aspects of style and reception, the fornaldarsögur tend to overlap with the Chivalric sagas, particularly those composed in medieval Iceland.

The legendary sagas have influenced later writers, for instance the Swede Esaias Tegnér, who wrote Frithiof's saga, based on the Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna. One such saga was even forged in the early modern period: Hjalmars och Hramers saga.[10]

List of the sagas

For a comprehensive list of the medieval fornaldarsögur, with information about manuscripts, bibliography, etc., see Stories for all time: The Icelandic fornaldarsögur.

Þættir (short stories)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d The article Fornaldarsagor in Nationalencyklopedin (1991)
  2. ^ a b Einar Ól. Sveinsson, "Fornaldarsögur", in Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder fra vikingtid til reformasjonstid, bd. 4 (Copenhagen, 1959)
  3. ^ The Literary Encyclopedia
  4. ^ Margaret Clunies Ross, The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 77.
  5. ^ a b c d Else Mundal, "Sagalitteraturen", in Odd Einar Haugen (ed.) Handbok i norrøn filologi (Bergen, 2004)
  6. ^ a b A. Hall (2005), "Changing style and changing meaning: Icelandic historiography and the medieval redactions of Heiðreks saga", Scandinavian Studies, 77: at p. 1.
  7. ^ Margaret Clunies Ross, The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 80.
  8. ^ Pritsak, Omeljan. (1981). The origin of Rus'. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. ISBN 0-674-64465-4 p. 214
  9. ^ e.g. in the article Blot-Sven in Nationalencyklopedin (1990), Larsson, Mats G (2002). Götarnas Riken : Upptäcktsfärder Till Sveriges Enande. Bokförlaget Atlantis AB ISBN 978-91-7486-641-4 pp. 154, 158, 160 and Lagerquist, Lars O. (1997). Sveriges Regenter, från forntid till nutid. Norstedts, Stockholm. ISBN 91-1-963882-5 pp. 26, 42, 44, 45
  10. ^ Gödel, Vilhelm, “Hjalmars och Hramers saga. Ett literärt falsarium från 1690”, Svenska fornminnesföreningens tidskrift 9(2) (1896): 137–54.

Translations

  • Waggoner, Ben (2010). Sagas of Giants and Heroes. New Haven, CT: Troth Publications. ISBN 978-0578059334. (Tale of Jokul Buason, pp. 53-64)

External links

  • Fornaldarsögur norðurlanda: A bibliography of manuscripts, editions, translations and secondary literature compiled by M. J. Driscoll & Silvia Hufnagel, Arnamagnæan Institute, Copenhagen
  • Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda in Old Norse and modern Norwegian from heimskringla.no
  • Online publication of the legendary sagas in the original language
  • A presentation of the Fornaldarsögur in Old Norse with all available English translations online.

January 21, 2023
legendary, saga, legendary, saga, fornaldarsaga, literally, story, history, ancient, norse, saga, that, unlike, icelanders, sagas, takes, place, before, settlement, iceland, there, some, exceptions, such, yngvars, saga, víðförla, which, takes, place, 11th, cen. 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 1 There are some exceptions such as Yngvars saga vidforla which takes place in the 11th century The sagas were probably all written in Iceland from about the middle of the 13th century to about 1400 although it is possible that some may be of a later date 2 such as Hrolfs saga kraka 3 Fornalder times past painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo Contents 1 Description of the sagas 2 List of the sagas 3 THaettir short stories 4 Notes 5 Translations 6 External linksDescription of the sagas EditIn terms of form fornaldarsogur are similar to various other saga genres but tend towards fairly linear episodic narratives Like sagas in other genres many quote verse but in the fornaldarsogur that verse is almost invariably in the metre of Eddaic verse unlike the skaldic verse found in most other saga genres 4 The setting is primarily Scandinavia in the time prior to the settlement of Iceland and the conversion of Scandinavia but occasionally it moves temporarily to more distant and exotic locations or has its characters encounter Christian cultures one example of both being Orvar Odds saga There are also very often mythological elements such as dwarves elves giants and magic In centuries past they were considered to be reliable historic sources by Scandinavian scholars 1 but since the 19th century they have been considered to contain very little historic material 5 6 The present consensus is that although some of the sagas contain a small core which is not fiction or are based on historical characters the primary function of the legendary sagas was entertainment and the aim of the sagas has not been to present a historically accurate tale 5 Recently however it has been emphasized that the sagas are useful sources for the culture of 13th and 14th century Iceland in terms of the light that they can shed on the culture in which they were composed 6 i e Iceland in the later Middle Ages 5 In the words of Margaret Clunies Ross The themes characters and the whole world of the fornaldarsaga lend themselves to interpretation not as realistic narratives but rather as subjects dealing with deep and disturbing issues that cannot be approached from the perspective of the mundane world but must rather be enacted in a literary world in which often taboo subjects can be raised and aired though not necessarily resolved They may also be treated in a comic or parodic vein 7 Some of the sagas are based on distant historic characters and this is evident in cases where there are corroborating sources such as Ragnars saga lodbrokar Yngvars saga vidforla and Volsunga saga In the case of Hervarar saga it conveys names of historical places in present Ukraine during the period c 150 450 8 and the last part of the saga is used as a historic source for Swedish history 9 Indeed they often contain very old Germanic matter such as the Hervarar saga and the Volsunga saga which contains poetry about Sigurd that did not find its way into the Poetic Edda and which would otherwise have been lost see the Great Lacuna Other sagas deal with heroes such as Ragnar Lodbrok Hrolf Kraki and Orvar Odd 1 In these respects then the fornaldarsogur overlap in genre and occasionally content with the Kings sagas Hjorvard and Hjalmar propose to Ingeborg The Fornaldarsagas have great value for legend research since they contain motifs and complexes of motifs from many types of legend of which there is otherwise no documentation in Scandinavia prior to the mid 19th century They are also of great value for scholars studying medieval Scandinavian ballads particularly the Faroese kvaedi which are often based on the same matters Moreover they are also very important for the study of Scandinavian and Germanic heroic legends together with Saxo Grammaticus Gesta Danorum which was based on the same heroic poetry and traditions 1 Philologists have generally held the legendary sagas in less esteem in terms of their literary value than the Icelanders sagas The content is often less realistic the characters more two dimensional and the sagas often borrow themes from each other and from folk tales 2 5 In these aspects of style and reception the fornaldarsogur tend to overlap with the Chivalric sagas particularly those composed in medieval Iceland The legendary sagas have influenced later writers for instance the Swede Esaias Tegner who wrote Frithiof s saga based on the Fridthjofs saga ins frœkna One such saga was even forged in the early modern period Hjalmars och Hramers saga 10 List of the sagas EditFor a comprehensive list of the medieval fornaldarsogur with information about manuscripts bibliography etc see Stories for all time The Icelandic fornaldarsogur Ans saga bogsveigis Asmundar saga kappabana A saga based on the German Lay of Hildebrand Bosa saga ok Herrauds like Beowulf it has Geatish heroes Egils saga einhenda ok Asmundar berserkjabana Eireks saga vidforla Fra Fornjoti ok hans aettmonnum Fridthjofs saga ins frœkna Gautreks saga Grims saga lodinkinna Gongu Hrolfs saga Halfdanar saga Bronufostra Halfdanar saga Eysteinssonar Halfs saga ok Halfsrekka A Norwegian legend the hero of which is compared to Hrolf Kraki Hervarar saga ok Heidreks a saga which may be of Swedish origin containing Swedish Geatish and Gothic heroes This saga still serves as a source for Swedish historians Hjalmthes saga ok Olvis Hrolfs saga Gautrekssonar A saga about a Swedish warrior princess who is won by a Geatish prince Hrolfs saga kraka A saga which is related to the Old English poem Beowulf Hromundar saga Gripssonar Huldar saga a lost saga and also one of the names of a post medieval fornaldarsaga Illuga saga Gridarfostra A saga of the more traditional fairy tale kind where a young man delivers a troll woman and her beautiful daughter from a curse Ketils saga hœngs Ormars saga Fradmarssonar thought to have existed as the source of Ormars rimur Orvar Odds saga two versions Ragnars saga lodbrokar two versions Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok a legendary Viking warrior and his sons Sturlaugs saga starfsama A prequel to Gongu Hrolfs Saga Sogubrot af fornkonungum A remnant of a larger work dealing with the Swedish and Danish kings of old Sorla saga sterka Volsunga saga The Scandinavian version of Nibelungenlied Yngvars saga vidforla A late saga of Swedish origin which takes place in the 11th century and the historic basis of which is indisputable thanks to the fact that there are corroborating historic sources THjalar Jons saga THorsteins saga VikingssonarTHaettir short stories EditHelga thattr THorissonar Jokuls thattr Buasonar Norna Gests thattr Ragnarssona thattr Sorla thattr Toka thattr Tokasonar Volsa thattr THorsteins thattr baejarmagnsNotes Edit a b c d The article Fornaldarsagor in Nationalencyklopedin 1991 a b Einar ol Sveinsson Fornaldarsogur in Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder fra vikingtid til reformasjonstid bd 4 Copenhagen 1959 The Literary Encyclopedia Margaret Clunies Ross The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse Icelandic Saga Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2010 p 77 a b c d Else Mundal Sagalitteraturen in Odd Einar Haugen ed Handbok i norron filologi Bergen 2004 a b A Hall 2005 Changing style and changing meaning Icelandic historiography and the medieval redactions of Heidreks saga Scandinavian Studies 77 at p 1 Margaret Clunies Ross The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse Icelandic Saga Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2010 p 80 Pritsak Omeljan 1981 The origin of Rus Cambridge Massachusetts Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute ISBN 0 674 64465 4 p 214 e g in the article Blot Sven in Nationalencyklopedin 1990 Larsson Mats G 2002 Gotarnas Riken Upptacktsfarder Till Sveriges Enande Bokforlaget Atlantis AB ISBN 978 91 7486 641 4 pp 154 158 160 and Lagerquist Lars O 1997 Sveriges Regenter fran forntid till nutid Norstedts Stockholm ISBN 91 1 963882 5 pp 26 42 44 45 Godel Vilhelm Hjalmars och Hramers saga Ett literart falsarium fran 1690 Svenska fornminnesforeningens tidskrift 9 2 1896 137 54 Translations EditWaggoner Ben 2010 Sagas of Giants and Heroes New Haven CT Troth Publications ISBN 978 0578059334 Tale of Jokul Buason pp 53 64 External links EditFornaldarsogur nordurlanda A bibliography of manuscripts editions translations and secondary literature compiled by M J Driscoll amp Silvia Hufnagel Arnamagnaean Institute Copenhagen Fornaldarsogur Nordurlanda in Old Norse and modern Norwegian from heimskringla no Online publication of the legendary sagas in the original language A presentation of the Fornaldarsogur in Old Norse with all available English translations online Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Legendary saga amp oldid 1130196642, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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