Anonymous, Þorvalds þáttr víðförla

Alessia Bauer (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL)
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The short narrative,

þáttr

, is named after an Icelander who left Iceland to see the world (hence his nickname “the Far-Travelled”), came back accompanied by a German bishop and tried to Christianize his countrymen in the late tenth century. After having failed in their mission, Þorvaldr and the bishop left Iceland and the Icelander ended his life in a monastery in Ladoga. 

The narrative was probably composed around 1200 by the Icelandic cleric Gunnlaugr Leifsson (†1218 or 1219). It is preserved in two different versions – the longer A-redaction (AM 61 fol) and the short D-redaction (AM 62 fol and Flateyjarbók) – both of them integrated in the fourteenth century compendiae of Ólafr Tryggvason, Óláfs saga in mesta. Within the larger narrative frame, the protagonist of the

176 words

Citation: Bauer, Alessia. "Þorvalds þáttr víðförla". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 October 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41022, accessed 06 October 2024.]

41022 Þorvalds þáttr víðförla 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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