Icelanders' sagas
The
Icelanders' sagas (
Icelandic:
Íslendingasögur)—many of which are also known as
family sagas—are prose
histories describing mostly events that took place in
Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries. They are the best known specimen of
Icelandic literature.
The authors of the Icelanders' sagas are unknown. One,
Egils saga, is believed by many modern scholars to have been written by
Snorri Sturluson, a descendant of its hero, but this is not certain.
The Icelanders' sagas are a literary phenomenon from 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.
List of Icelanders' sagas:
Bandamanna sagaBárðar saga SnæfellsássBjarnar saga Hítd"lakappaBrennu-Njáls saga; considered by some the greatest of Icelandic prose sagas; many translations are available and it is available on the Internet.
Droplaugarsona sagaEgils saga Skalla-GrímssonarEiríks saga rauðaEyrbyggja sagaFæreyinga sagaFinnboga saga rammaFljótsdæla sagaFlóamanna sagaFóstbr"ðra saga (two versions)
Gísla saga Súrssonar, (two versions) of an outlaw poet.
Grettis sagaGr"nlendinga sagaGull-Þóris sagaGunnars saga KeldugnúpsfíflsGunnlaugs saga ormstunguHallfreðar saga (two versions)
Harðar saga ok HólmverjaHávarðar saga ÍsfirðingsHeiðarvíga sagaHrafnkels sagaHrana saga hringsH"nsa-Þóris sagaKjalnesinga sagaKormáks sagaKróka-Refs sagaLaxdæla sagaLjósvetninga saga (three versions)
Reykd"la saga ok Víga-SkútuSvarfd"la sagaValla-Ljóts sagaVatnsd"la sagaVíga-Glúms sagaVíglundar sagaVápnfirðinga sagaÞorsteins saga hvítaÞorsteins saga Síðu-HallssonarÞórðar saga hreðuÖlkofra saga*
Norse Saga*
Family saga*Arnold, Martin.
The Post-Classical Icelandic Family Saga. The Edwin Mellen Press. United Kingdom. 2003
*Karlsson, Gunnar.
The History of Iceland. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2000.
*Liestol, Knut.
The Origin of the Icelandic Family Sagas. Harvard University Press. Norway. 1930.
*Miller, William Ian (1990).
Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
*Ornolfur, Thorsson.
The Sagas of Icelanders. Leifur Eiriksson Publishing Ltd. Great Britain. 1997
*Thorsson, Örnólfur, et al.
The Sagas of the Icelanders: a selection (Penguin Classics, 2000).
*
Íslendinga sögur in Old Norse
*
Sagnanet Photographs of some of the original manuscripts
