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{{short description|Norse contemporary saga}} |
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| ⚫ | '''Sturlunga saga''' (often called simply '''Sturlunga''') is a collection of Icelandic [[Norse saga|sagas]] by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled |
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[[File:Saga Sturlunga AM 122 a fol.jpg|thumb|300px|Manuscript AM 122 a fol. ''Sturlunga saga'' (University of Iceland).]] |
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{{Italic title}} |
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| ⚫ | '''''Sturlunga saga''''' (often called simply '''''Sturlunga''''') is a collection of Icelandic [[Norse saga|sagas]] by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300{{Disputed inline|Talk page section|date=April 2021}}, in [[Old Norse]]. It mostly deals with the story of the [[Sturlungs]], a powerful family clan during the eponymous [[Age of the Sturlungs]] period of the [[Icelandic Commonwealth]]. |
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''Sturlunga saga'' mostly covers the history of Iceland between 1117 and 1264.<ref name=Lexikon>"Sturlunga saga", [[Rudolf Simek]] and [[Hermann Pálsson]], ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'', Kröners Taschenausgabe 490, Stuttgart: Kröner, 1987, {{ISBN|9783520490018}}, pp. 339–41 {{in lang|de}}</ref> It begins with ''{{ill|Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns|no}}'', the [[legend]] of [[Geirmundr heljarskinn]], a regional ruler in late 9th-century Norway, who moves to Iceland to escape the growing power of King [[Harald I of Norway|Harald Finehair]].<ref name=deVries308>[[Jan de Vries (linguist)|Jan de Vries]], ''Altnordische Literaturgeschichte'', Volume 2 ''Die Literatur von etwa 1150 bis 1300; die Spätzeit nach 1300'', Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 16, 2nd ed. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1967, OCLC 270854789, p. 308 {{in lang|de}}</ref> The more historical sagas commence in 1117 with ''[[Þorgils saga ok Hafliða]]''. Other sagas included in the collection are ''[[Sturlu saga]]'', ''[[Guðmundar saga biskups|Prestssaga Guðmundar Arasonar]]'', ''[[Guðmundar saga biskups]]'', ''[[Hrafns saga Sveinbjarnarsonar]]'', ''[[Þórðar saga kakala]]'', ''[[Svínfellinga saga]]'' and ''[[Íslendinga saga]]'', composed by [[Sturla Þórðarson]], which constitutes almost half of the compilation and covers the period 1183–1264.<ref name=Lexikon/> The compiler assembled the components in chronological order, added [[þættir]] including ''Geirmundar þáttr'' and ''[[Haukdæla þáttr]]'' and genealogies, and endeavoured to combine them into a single work, usually replacing the beginning and the ending with a linking passage.<ref name=Sverrir845>Sverrir Tómasson, "Old Icelandic Prose", in ''A History of Icelandic Literature'', ed. Daisy Neijmann, Histories of Scandinavian Literature 5, Lincoln, Nebraska / London: University of Nebraska, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-8032-3346-1}}, pp. 64–173, 84–85.</ref> In some cases he broke up sagas to achieve chronological order.<ref name=Lexikon/><ref>For details of all the components, see de Vries, pp. 308–13.</ref> The compilation is often thought of as containing the main texts belonging to the textual corpus (or sub-genre) commonly referred to as the ''samtíðarsögur'' or 'contemporary sagas'. While it has been treated as a purely historical source, recent decades show acknowledgement that these are constructed texts representing a narrativised version of the past.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Úlfar Bragason |url=https://www.academia.edu/104596956 |title=Ætt og saga. Um frásagnarfræði Sturlungu eða Íslendinga sögu hinnar miklu |publisher=Háskólaútgáfan |year=2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tirosh |first=Yoav |date=2017 |title=Feel the Burn: Lönguhlíðarbrenna as Literary Type‑Scene. |url=https://www.academia.edu/36410618 |journal=Średniowiecze Polskie i Powszechne |volume=9 |pages=30–44}}</ref> |
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Sturlunga saga begins with the [[legend]] of [[Geirmundr heljarskinn]], a regional ruler in late 9th century Norway, who moves to Iceland to escape the growing power of King [[Harald I of Norway|Harald Finehair]]. The more historical sagas commence in 1117 with ''[[Þorgils saga ok Hafliða]]''. Other sagas included in the collection are ''[[Sturlu saga]]'', ''[[Prestsaga Guðmundar Arasonar]]'' and ''[[Íslendinga saga]]'', which constitutes almost half the Sturlunga saga and covers the period 1183–1264. |
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Sturlunga saga is the main source of Icelandic history during the 12th and 13th centuries and |
''Sturlunga saga'' is the main source of Icelandic history during the 12th and 13th centuries and was written by people who experienced the internal power struggle which ended in Iceland's loss of sovereignty and submission to [[Norway]] in 1262–64; the descriptions of wounds in ''Íslendinga saga'' are so detailed that they may be based on eyewitness accounts used in compensation claims.<ref>Sverrir, p. 85.</ref> It is also indispensable for the details of social history which it contains.<ref name=Lexikon/> Indirect evidence suggests that it was compiled by [[Þórðr Narfason]] (d. 1308),<ref>de Vries, p. 313.</ref> who may also have written ''Geirmundar þáttr'' and ''Haukdæla þáttr'' and possibly also ''[[Sturlu þáttr]]''.<ref name=Lexikon/> |
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The work is preserved in somewhat differing versions in two defective Western Icelandic parchments dating to the second half of the 14th century, the Króksfjarðarbók and the Reykjafjarðarbók (AM 122 a fol. and AM 122 b fol.),<ref name=deVries308/> and in 17th-century paper manuscripts derived from these. The former also contains material from ''[[Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar]]''; the latter contains interpolations from ''[[Þorgils saga Skarða]]'' and also contains ''Sturlu þáttr'' and two sagas which are not usually counted as part of ''Sturlunga saga'', ''[[Jartegna saga Guðmundar biskups]]'' and ''[[Arna saga biskups]]''.<ref name=Lexikon/><ref name=Sverrir845/> |
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==Common Theme of ''Sturlunga Saga''== |
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It has been translated into English by Julia H. McGrew, with the occasional assistance of [[Sigurður Nordal]]. This translation features oddities such as excerpts from a letter or a [[Lorem ipsum]] placeholder in the middle of the text. |
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In the ''Sturlunga Saga'', or the compilation of the [[Sagas of Icelanders]], there is a common theme that revolves around women and the promise of higher social standing when marrying them, in other words—kinship marriages. |
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Kinship marriages have been used throughout history. Marrying off one's daughter to the son of an important family gained one a higher political and social status. Vikings began inhabiting Iceland during the end of the ninth century and in order to elevate the family’s standing, finding the right family to marry into was imperative. |
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Even before emigration to Iceland there was mention of kinship relationships in Viking society. In the ''[[Eyrbyggja Saga]]'', it says, “Ketil Flat-Nose arranged the marriage of his daughter Aud to Olaf the White, the greatest warrior-king at that time in the British Isles.”<ref>{{cite book|last=Palsson|first=Hermann|title=Eyrbyggja Saga|year=1972|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|pages=26}}</ref> Noting that Ketil Flat-Nose purposely married his daughter off to a well-known warrior when he got on the bad side of King [[Harald Fine-Hair]] brings to light the importance of marrying well to protect your family. |
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Once in Iceland, there are plenty more examples of kinship marriages not only for political reasons, but also to bring peace among warring Viking families. For example, in the same saga there is a dispute over land between the Kjalleklings and the Thorsnessings and part of the solution to find peace came with a forged marriage between the two families. The story goes, "that Thord Gellir gave his kinswoman Thorhild, daughter of his neighbour Throkel Meinakur, in marriage to Thorgrim Kjallaksson, who from then on was known as Thorgrim the Priest."<ref>{{cite book|last=Palsson|first=Hermann|title=Eyrbyggja Saga|year=1972|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|pages=37}}</ref> |
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With all of this in mind, women are not always pawns in the politics of men. Modern scholar Audur G. Magnúsdóttir suggests: "[M]edieval women were subordinate to men, to their fathers, brothers, and finally their husbands. However, the sagas show several examples of women who go against their husbands, who take political decisions without consulting them, who divorce their husbands and act independently."<ref>Audur G. Magnúsdóttir, "Women and Sexual Politics" in {{cite book|last=Brink, Price|first=Stefan, Neil|title=The Viking World|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|pages=46}}</ref> The explanation for their acts of independence, she argues, is that these specific women actually elevated their husbands' status rather than the other way around. |
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The use of kinship marriage was an important aspect of Viking society not only for the men, but for the women as well and this is seen throughout the [[sagas]]. |
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[[File:Jokulsarlon lake, Iceland.jpg|thumb|Jokulsarlon lake, Iceland]] |
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{{Iceland-stub}} |
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{{Euro-hist-stub}} |
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{{lit-stub}} |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* [[Peter Erasmus Christian Kaalund|Peder Erasmus Kristian Kaalund]], ed. ''Sturlunga saga efter Membranen Króksfjarðarbók udfyldt efter Reykjarfjarðarbók''. Kongelige Nordiske oldskriftselskab. 2 vols. Copenhagen/Kristiania: Gyldendal, 1906, 1911. {{OCLC| 812627729}} {{in lang|da}} |
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* Jón Jóhannesson, Magnús Finnbogason and [[Kristján Eldjárn]], eds. ''Sturlunga saga''. 2 vols. Rejkjavík: Sturlunguútgáfan, 1946. {{OCLC|8056161}} {{in lang|is}} |
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* ''Sturlunga Saga''. Tr. Julia H. McGrew. 2 vols. The Library of Scandinavian Literature, [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]]. 9–10. New York: Twayne, 1970–74. {{ISBN|9780805733655}}. |
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* Stephen Norman Tranter. ''Sturlunga saga: The rôle of the Creative Compiler''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Freiburg, 1985. Europäische Hochschulschriften Reihe I, Deutsche Sprache und Literatur, 941. Frankfurt/New York: Lang, 1987. {{ISBN|9783820495027}}. |
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* Lois Bragg. "Generational tensions in 'Sturlunga saga'". ''[[Arkiv för nordisk filologi]]'' NS 112 (1997) 5–35. |
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* Guðrún Nordal. "To Dream or Not to Dream: A Question of Method". in: ''The Fantastic in Old Norse/Icelandic Literature: Sagas and the British Isles''. Ed. John McKinnell, David Ashurst and Donata Kick. Durham: Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Durham University, 2006. {{ISBN|9780955333507}}. pp. 304–13. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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| ⚫ | *[https://books.google.com/books?id=OPwqAAAAMAAJ Sturlúnga-Saga edr Íslendinga-Saga hin mikla: Volume 1.] [https://books.google.com/books?id=wPsqAAAAMAAJ&dq=sturlunga%2Bsaga&pg=PP9 Volume 2, Part 1.] [https://books.google.com/books?id=wPsqAAAAMAAJ&q=deild&pg=PA321 Volume 2, Part 2] Edited with a preface in Icelandic and Danish by Bjarni Þorsteinsson. Published in Copenhagen by Þorsteinn Einarsson Rangel: 1817, 1818 and 1820 respectively. |
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*[https://rafbokavefur.is/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/index.html Digitised edition in modernised Icelandic spelling] at Rafbókavefurinn |
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*[http://sagnanet.is/saganet/?MIval=/SinglePage&Manuscript=100286&Page=11&language=english Sturlunga Saga, including the Islendinga Saga of Lawman Sturla Thordson and Other Works] Edited with prolegomena, appendices, tables, indices and maps by Dr. [[Gudbrand Vigfusson]]. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1878. |
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| ⚫ | *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080725080117/http://www.oe.eclipse.co.uk/nom/Sturlunga1.htm Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns] (Old Norse text based on Gudbrand Vigfusson's edition) translated into English as [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725080432/http://www.oe.eclipse.co.uk/nom/Geirmund.htm The Tale of Geirmund Deathskin] |
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| ⚫ | *[ |
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[[Category:Sagas]] |
[[Category:Sagas]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Medieval history of Iceland]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Sturlungar family clan]] |
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[[Category:History of the Germanic peoples]] |
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[[da:Sturlunga saga]] |
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[[de:Sturlunga saga]] |
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[[es:Saga Sturlunga]] |
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[[gl:Saga Sturlunga]] |
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[[is:Sturlunga saga]] |
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[[it:Sturlunga saga]] |
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[[no:Sturlunga saga]] |
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[[sv:Sturlungasagan]] |
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*[http://www.sagadb.org Icelandic Saga Database] with English translation. |
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Latest revision as of 06:30, 13 September 2024
Sturlunga saga (often called simply Sturlunga) is a collection of Icelandic sagas by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300[disputed – discuss], in Old Norse. It mostly deals with the story of the Sturlungs, a powerful family clan during the eponymous Age of the Sturlungs period of the Icelandic Commonwealth.
Sturlunga saga mostly covers the history of Iceland between 1117 and 1264.[1] It begins with Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns, the legend of Geirmundr heljarskinn, a regional ruler in late 9th-century Norway, who moves to Iceland to escape the growing power of King Harald Finehair.[2] The more historical sagas commence in 1117 with Þorgils saga ok Hafliða. Other sagas included in the collection are Sturlu saga, Prestssaga Guðmundar Arasonar, Guðmundar saga biskups, Hrafns saga Sveinbjarnarsonar, Þórðar saga kakala, Svínfellinga saga and Íslendinga saga, composed by Sturla Þórðarson, which constitutes almost half of the compilation and covers the period 1183–1264.[1] The compiler assembled the components in chronological order, added þættir including Geirmundar þáttr and Haukdæla þáttr and genealogies, and endeavoured to combine them into a single work, usually replacing the beginning and the ending with a linking passage.[3] In some cases he broke up sagas to achieve chronological order.[1][4] The compilation is often thought of as containing the main texts belonging to the textual corpus (or sub-genre) commonly referred to as the samtíðarsögur or 'contemporary sagas'. While it has been treated as a purely historical source, recent decades show acknowledgement that these are constructed texts representing a narrativised version of the past.[5][6]
Sturlunga saga is the main source of Icelandic history during the 12th and 13th centuries and was written by people who experienced the internal power struggle which ended in Iceland's loss of sovereignty and submission to Norway in 1262–64; the descriptions of wounds in Íslendinga saga are so detailed that they may be based on eyewitness accounts used in compensation claims.[7] It is also indispensable for the details of social history which it contains.[1] Indirect evidence suggests that it was compiled by Þórðr Narfason (d. 1308),[8] who may also have written Geirmundar þáttr and Haukdæla þáttr and possibly also Sturlu þáttr.[1]
The work is preserved in somewhat differing versions in two defective Western Icelandic parchments dating to the second half of the 14th century, the Króksfjarðarbók and the Reykjafjarðarbók (AM 122 a fol. and AM 122 b fol.),[2] and in 17th-century paper manuscripts derived from these. The former also contains material from Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar; the latter contains interpolations from Þorgils saga Skarða and also contains Sturlu þáttr and two sagas which are not usually counted as part of Sturlunga saga, Jartegna saga Guðmundar biskups and Arna saga biskups.[1][3]
It has been translated into English by Julia H. McGrew, with the occasional assistance of Sigurður Nordal. This translation features oddities such as excerpts from a letter or a Lorem ipsum placeholder in the middle of the text.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Sturlunga saga", Rudolf Simek and Hermann Pálsson, Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur, Kröners Taschenausgabe 490, Stuttgart: Kröner, 1987, ISBN 9783520490018, pp. 339–41 (in German)
- ^ a b Jan de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte, Volume 2 Die Literatur von etwa 1150 bis 1300; die Spätzeit nach 1300, Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 16, 2nd ed. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1967, OCLC 270854789, p. 308 (in German)
- ^ a b Sverrir Tómasson, "Old Icelandic Prose", in A History of Icelandic Literature, ed. Daisy Neijmann, Histories of Scandinavian Literature 5, Lincoln, Nebraska / London: University of Nebraska, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8032-3346-1, pp. 64–173, 84–85.
- ^ For details of all the components, see de Vries, pp. 308–13.
- ^ Úlfar Bragason (2010). Ætt og saga. Um frásagnarfræði Sturlungu eða Íslendinga sögu hinnar miklu. Háskólaútgáfan.
- ^ Tirosh, Yoav (2017). "Feel the Burn: Lönguhlíðarbrenna as Literary Type‑Scene". Średniowiecze Polskie i Powszechne. 9: 30–44.
- ^ Sverrir, p. 85.
- ^ de Vries, p. 313.
Further reading
[edit]- Peder Erasmus Kristian Kaalund, ed. Sturlunga saga efter Membranen Króksfjarðarbók udfyldt efter Reykjarfjarðarbók. Kongelige Nordiske oldskriftselskab. 2 vols. Copenhagen/Kristiania: Gyldendal, 1906, 1911. OCLC 812627729 (in Danish)
- Jón Jóhannesson, Magnús Finnbogason and Kristján Eldjárn, eds. Sturlunga saga. 2 vols. Rejkjavík: Sturlunguútgáfan, 1946. OCLC 8056161 (in Icelandic)
- Sturlunga Saga. Tr. Julia H. McGrew. 2 vols. The Library of Scandinavian Literature, The American-Scandinavian Foundation. 9–10. New York: Twayne, 1970–74. ISBN 9780805733655.
- Stephen Norman Tranter. Sturlunga saga: The rôle of the Creative Compiler. Doctoral dissertation, University of Freiburg, 1985. Europäische Hochschulschriften Reihe I, Deutsche Sprache und Literatur, 941. Frankfurt/New York: Lang, 1987. ISBN 9783820495027.
- Lois Bragg. "Generational tensions in 'Sturlunga saga'". Arkiv för nordisk filologi NS 112 (1997) 5–35.
- Guðrún Nordal. "To Dream or Not to Dream: A Question of Method". in: The Fantastic in Old Norse/Icelandic Literature: Sagas and the British Isles. Ed. John McKinnell, David Ashurst and Donata Kick. Durham: Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Durham University, 2006. ISBN 9780955333507. pp. 304–13.
External links
[edit]- Sturlúnga-Saga edr Íslendinga-Saga hin mikla: Volume 1. Volume 2, Part 1. Volume 2, Part 2 Edited with a preface in Icelandic and Danish by Bjarni Þorsteinsson. Published in Copenhagen by Þorsteinn Einarsson Rangel: 1817, 1818 and 1820 respectively.
- Digitised edition in modernised Icelandic spelling at Rafbókavefurinn
- Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns (Old Norse text based on Gudbrand Vigfusson's edition) translated into English as The Tale of Geirmund Deathskin
