Anonymous, Jómsvíkinga saga [Saga of the Jomsvikings]

Þórdís Edda Jóhannesdóttir (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

First circulation or publication c. 1250

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Prose Fiction Narrative

Resources

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Jómsvíkinga saga is amongst the oldest Icelandic saga texts and has been preserved in four vellum manuscripts from the Middle Ages. The oldest manuscript is AM 291 4to, presumably from the late 13th century and the youngest is AM 510 4to dated to the middle of the sixteenth century. The other two manuscripts are Holm Perg 7 4to from the early fourteenth century and Flateyjarbók (GKS 1005 fol.), written in 1387–1394. Peter Foote argued that AM 291 4to was a copy of a manuscript from around 1220 and some scholars have argued that the saga may originate from around 1200. None of the four manuscripts is a direct copy of the others as they all preserve a different version of the saga. Overall, the saga’s course of events and characters have not changed from one version to another, but…

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1629 words

Citation: Jóhannesdóttir, Þórdís Edda. "Jómsvíkinga saga". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 December 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40731, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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