Heimskringla is the modern name for a medieval collection of Old Norse Kings’ sagas, which tell the story of Nordic kingship from mythical times to the late twelfth century. The name derives from the first words of the first saga in the compilation,
kringla heimsins, “the circle of the world”, introducing a section on medieval geography. In modern editions, this collection comprises sixteen individual sagas and is thus the largest extant compilation of Kings’ sagas. Heimskringla was probably composed around 1230 and is often ascribed to the Icelandic chieftain and poet Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241), although no medieval manuscript of Heimskringla mentions his name. Since the seventeenth century, scholarship has focused on Heimskringla in particular to reconstruct medieval…
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Citation: van Nahl, Jan Alexander. "Heimskringla". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 November 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40715, accessed 23 June 2025.]
