King’s College 2004 v Mistress Gunnvör sílfrahárr
15
Sources: Sagas
Sagas are the prose literature of Medieval Scandinavia, with most being composed in Iceland. They represent a type of
historical fiction or romance, not
history.
vSub-genres and
dates:
wPostola sögur ("apostles' sagas") - the earliest sagas,
beginning ca. 1150
wKonungasögur ("kings' sagas) - ca. 1190-1230
wÍslendingasögur ("sagas of the Icelanders") - most composed
in the 13th c.
wRiddarasögur ("knights' sagas") - prose adaptions of
European romances - 1226 and
later
wFornaldarsögur ("sagas of ancient times") - most 14th c., Saxo based portions of his work on these stories in the 13th c.
vCaveats
wThe transition from oral
history to written history
wRomance and märchen
elements appearing in sagas
wIssues with literature
in translation: translation and normalizing