Völsunga saga

 belongs to the mythical heroic sagas, a group of Icelandic sagas also known as legendary sagas [

fornaldarsögur

]. The saga is believed to date from the thirteenth century and is based mainly on the preserved eddic poems [

eddukvæði

], i.e., the heroic poems of the Edda. These heroic poems in turn are derived from Germanic heroic legend, and in part on Norse legends about ancient kings and heroes. To a large extent, the saga can be said to be a sort of editorial compilation in which the author has selected material from the ancient poems, arranged it into a coherent sequence, and filled in the gaps. Similar material is preserved in German epic poems such as the 

Nibelungenlied

, which dates from about 1200, and the Old Norse 

Þiðreks saga af Bern

 from the thirteenth…

2319 words

Citation: Guðmundsdóttir, Aðalheiður. "Völsunga saga". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 February 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40710, accessed 28 March 2024.]

40710 Völsunga saga 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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