Anonymous, Ljósvetninga saga [The Saga of the People of Light Lake]

Yoav Tirosh (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

Activity c. 900-c. 1099

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Prose Fiction Narrative

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Ljósvetninga saga

is a medieval Icelandic prose narrative categorised as one of the Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders), chronicling Guðmundr inn ríki Eyjólfsson’s struggles for political dominance in the north and northeast of Iceland in the late tenth and early eleventh century, and his haphazard attempts at avenging an insult to his masculinity. Following Guðmundr’s death, Eyjólfr Guðmundarson continues his father’s struggles against the neighbouring Ljósvetningar family.

The saga is usually dated to the early thirteenth century due to intertextual connections with Brennu-Njáls saga and Morkinskinna, as well as unsubstantiated notions about saga style (Ármann Jakobsson and Tirosh). What can be said for certain is that the first extant medieval manuscript AM 561

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2544 words

Citation: Tirosh, Yoav. "Ljósvetninga saga". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40698, accessed 26 April 2024.]

Save this article