A page of the Eggertson copy of Heimskringla

Heimskringla is the best known of the old Norse 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 It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179–1242) ca. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician 1230. The name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts (kringla heimsins - the circle of the world).

Heimskringla is a collection of tales about the Norwegian kings, beginning with the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglingas, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177. Members of Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish royal families have been Norwegian monarchs. Ynglings were the oldest known Scandinavian dynasty It can refer to the following clans: The Scylfings ( Old Norse: Skilfingar) the Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Eystein the Maiden, Øystein Øysteinsson Møyla was elected a rival king of Norway at Øyratinget in 1176 The exact sources of his work are disputed, but included earlier kings' sagas, such as Morkinskinna, Fagrskinna and the twelfth century Norwegian synoptic histories and oral traditions, notably many skaldic poems. Morkinskinna is an old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. 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 The skald was a member of a group of Poets whose courtly poetry (Icelandic dróttkvæði) is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic Snorri had himself visited Norway and Sweden. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. For events of mid-12th century, Snorri explicitly names the now lost work Hryggjarstykki as his source. Hryggjarstykki is a lost kings' saga written in Old Norse in the mid-twelfth century and dealing with near-contemporary events The composition of the sagas is Snorri's.

Manuscript history

Gerhard Munthe, Kringla Heimsins, illustration for Ynglinga Saga.

The earliest parchment copy of the work is referred to as Kringla. It voyaged from Iceland to Bergen, Norway and was moved to Copenhagen, the University Library. is the second largest city in Norway. It is located on the south-western coast of Norway in the county of Hordaland in between a group of mountains known as De syv fjell Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city At that time it had lost the first page, but the second (the current beginning of the Ynglinga Saga) starts Kringla heimsins, "the Earth's circle" of the Laing translation. The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. ^[1][2]

In the 17th century copies were made by Icelanders Jon Eggertson and Asgeir Jonsson. Eggertson's copy went to the Royal Library at Stockholm. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the The Copenhagen manuscript was among the many valuables destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1728. The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest Fire in the History of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Translations

By the mid-16th century, the Old Norse language was unintelligible to Norwegian or Danish readers. At that time, several translations of extracts were made in Norway, into the Danish language, which was the literary language of Norway at the time. The first complete translation was made around 1600 by Peder Claussøn Friis, and printed in 1633. This was based on a manuscript known as Jofraskinna.

Subsequently the Stockholm manuscript was translated into Swedish and Latin by Johan Peringskiöld (by order of Charles XI) and published in 1697 at Stockholm under the title Heimskringla, which is the first known use of the name. Johan Peringskiöld was the name of two generations of linguists and antiquarians in the 17th and 18th centuries Charles XI (Karl XI 24 November 1655old style &ndash 5 April 1697old style was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death in an unruly period in This edition also included the first printing of the text in Old Norse. A new Danish translation with the text in Old Norse and a Latin translation came out in 1777-1783 (by order of Frederick VI as crown prince). Frederick VI ( January 28, 1768 - December 3, 1839) reigned as King of Denmark from 1808 to 1839 and as king of Norway An English translation by Samuel Laing was finally published in 1844, with a second edition in 1889. Samuel Laing (1780 &ndash 1868 from Papdale in Orkney was a Scottish travel writer Other English translations followed.

In the 19th century, as Norway was achieving independence after centuries of union with Denmark and Sweden, the stories of the independent Norwegian medieval kingdom won great popularity in Norway. Heimskringla, although written by an Icelander, became an important national symbol for Norway during the period of romantic nationalism. Romantic nationalism (also National Romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of Nationalism in which the state derives In 1900, the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, subsidized the publication of new translations of Heimskringla into both Norwegian written forms, landsmål and riksmål, "in order that the work may achieve wide distribution at a low price". Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar The Storting ( Stortinget, literally "the Great Thing /Assembly" is the Norwegian Parliament, and is located in the capital city Nynorsk (literally "New Norwegian" is one of the two official Norwegian Standard languages the other being Bokmål. Bokmål (lit "book language" or Dano-Norwegian is the most commonly used of the two official Norwegian written Standard languages the other ^[3]

Scope

The Heimskringla consists of several chapters, each one individually called a saga, which can be literally translated as 'tale'. The first of these tells the mythological prehistory of the Norwegian royal dynasty, tracing Odin, described here as a mortal man, and his followers from the East, from Asaland and Asgard, its chief city, to their settlement in Scandinavia. Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. According to Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda, Ásaland corresponds to Asia and is the origin for the Æsir emperors that conquered regions and territories This article is about the realm of Norse Mythology For other uses of the names Asgard, Asgaard and Asgård, see Asgard (disambiguation Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The subsequent sagas are (with few exceptions) devoted to individual rulers, starting with Halfdan the Black, and ending with Magnus Erlingsson. Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c 810 – c 860) ( Old Norse: Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first Magnus Erlingsson (1156—1184 was a king of Norway, probably born in Etne in Hordaland. The saga narrates the contests of the kings, the establishment of the kingdom of Norway, Viking expeditions to various European countries, straying as far afield as Palestine in the saga of King Sigurd the Crusader. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. "Sigurd Jorsalfar" redirects here For the orchestral suite by Edvard Grieg see Sigurd Jorsalfar (Grieg. The stories are told with a life and freshness, giving a picture of human life in all its reality. The Saga of Olaf Haraldsson is the main part. His 15 year long reign takes up about one third of the entire work.

The saga of Harold Hardrada narrates his expedition to the East, his brilliant exploits in Constantinople, Syria, and Sicily, his scaldic accomplishments, and his battles in England against Harold Godwinson, the son of Earl Godwin, where he fell at Stamford Bridge in 1066 only a few days before Harold himself fell at the battle of Hastings. Harald Sigurdsson (1015 &ndash September 25, 1066) later given the epithet Hardraada ( Old Norse: Haraldr harðráði, roughly translated Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Harold Godwinson, (c 1022 &ndash 14 October 1066 also known as Harold II, is widely regarded as the last Anglo-Saxon King of England before the Godwin of Wessex, also known as Godwine Goodwin Godwyn or Goodwyn (c The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066 shortly after an invading The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England. This saga is a splendid epic in prose, and is also of particular relevance to the history of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The first part of the Heimskringla is rooted in Norse mythology; as it advances, fable and fact all curiously intermingle, and it terminates in factual history. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland

The value of Heimskringla as a historical source has been estimated in different ways during recent times. The historians of mid-19th century put great trust in the factual truth of Snorri's narrative, as well as other old Norse sagas. In the early 20th century, this trust was largely abandoned with the advent of saga criticism, pioneered by Curt and Lauritz Weibull. Curt Weibull ( 19 August 1886 &ndash 10 November 1991) was a Swedish historian Lauritz Ulrik Absalon Weibull ( 2 April 1873 &ndash 2 December 1960) was a Swedish historian These historians pointed out that Snorri's work had been written several centuries after most of the events it describes. In Norway, the historian Edvard Bull famously proclaimed that "we have to give up all illusions that Snorri's mighty epic bears any deeper resemblance to what actually happened" in the time it describes^[4]. Edvard Hagerup Bull (1855&ndash1938 was a Norwegian politician for the Conservatice Party. A school of historians has come to believe that the motives Snorri and the other saga writers give to their characters owe more to conditions in the 13th century than in earlier times. Heimskringla has, however, continued to be used as a historical source, though with more caution. It is not common to believe in the detailed accuracy of the historical narrative and historians tend to see little to no historical truth behind the first few sagas, however, they are still seen by many as a valuable source of knowledge about the society and politics of medieval Norway. ^[5] The factual content of the work tends to be deemed more credible as it discusses more recent times, as the distance in time between the events described and the composition of the saga was shorter, allowing traditions to be retained in a largely accurate form, and because in the twelfth century the first contemporary written sources begin to emerge in Norway.

Contents

The Heimskringla contains the following sagas (see also List of Norwegian monarchs):

1. Ynglinga saga
2. Saga of Halfdan Svarte (the Black)
3. Saga of Harald Hårfagre (Hårfagre: "finehair") (died ca. Members of Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish royal families have been Norwegian monarchs. The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c 810 – c 860) ( Old Norse: Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c 931)
4. Saga of Håkon the Good (died 961)
5. Saga of King Harald Grafeld (died 969)
6. Saga of King Olaf Tryggvason (died 1000)
7. Saga of Olaf Haraldson (died 1030), excerpt from conversion of Dale-Gudbrand
8. Saga of Magnus the Good (died 1047)
9. Saga of Harald Hardråde (died 1066)
10. Saga of Olaf Kyrre (died 1093)
11. Saga of Magnus Barefoot (died 1103)
12. Saga of Sigurd the Crusader (died 1130) and his brothers
13. Saga of Magnus the Blind (dethroned 1135) and of Harald Gille (died 1136)
14. Saga of Sigurd (died 1155), Eystein (died 1157) and Inge (died 1161), the sons of Harald
15. Saga of Håkon Herdebreid (died 1162)
16. Saga of Magnus Erlingson (died 1184)

Notes on the text

References

• Monsen, Erling (1990), “Introduction to the Translation of Snorre's History of the Norse Kings”, Heimskringla or the Lives of the Norse Kings: Edited with notes by Erling Monsen and translated into English with the assistance of A. H. Smith, Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. , ISBN 0-486-26366-5 . A reprint of the 1932 Cambridge edition by W. Heffer.
• Bagge, Sverre (1991), “Society and Politics in Snorri Sturlusons Heimskringla”, Society and Politics in Snorri Sturlusons Heimskringla, Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-06887-4 

External links

• Heimskringla in Old Norse from "Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad" Norway.
• Berkeley page on Snorri Sturluson's text