Medieval sagas

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1000-1500

Places

Iceland (Location)

Genres and Modes

Prose Fiction Narrative

Resources

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The prose literature of medieval Iceland blossomed from the early twelfth century well into the fifteenth century and most prose narratives are referred to as sagas [

sögur

in Icelandic]. They include hagiographic narratives such as saints’ lives, romances such as tales about the knights of King Arthur, histories and legends about Nordic kings and heroes, accounts of contemporary power struggles in Iceland and, last but not least, the sagas of Icelanders, which concern the settlers of Iceland and their descendants in the period between 930 and 1030.

The Icelandic word saga [plural sögur] is general in meaning and can be used to refer to any story or tale, oral or written. It has been adopted into other languages, including English, to mainly denote epic narratives, even when related

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1817 words

Citation: Jakobsson, Ármann. "Medieval sagas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 October 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19652, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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