Anonymous, Þorsteins þáttur stangarhöggs [The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck]

Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland)
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Þorsteins saga stangarhǫggs

is among the shortest of the sagas of Icelanders. Often referred to as

Þorsteins þáttr

, it is in fact atypical of the

þættir

since these are mostly narratives from the kings’ sagas published in the twentieth century as independent narratives, whereas

Þorsteins saga

always stood alone, although it is closely linked to other sagas from Eastfjords of Iceland and preserved along with them in manuscripts. 

Þorsteins saga stangarhöggs exists in only a single vellum manuscript, AM 162 C fol. dating from the fifteenth century. Only one page of the episode is extant there, but this preserves over half the episode. The episode’s main manuscripts are two paper manuscripts from the seventeenth century, AM 156 fol. and AM 496 4to. Þorsteins saga can be dated

1020 words

Citation: Jakobsson, Ármann. "Þorsteins þáttur stangarhöggs". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 April 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40995, accessed 12 October 2024.]

40995 Þorsteins þáttur stangarhöggs 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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