Everything about Heimskringla totally explained
Heimskringla is the best known of the old Norse
kings' sagas. It was written in
Old Norse in
Iceland by the poet and historian
Snorri Sturluson (1179–1242) ca. 1230. The name
Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts (
kringla heimsins -
the circle of the world). "Heim" had a dual meaning in old Norse: "Home" and "World". Modern Norwegian "heim" or "hjem" and the English equivalent "home" doesn't refer to "the home of mankind" except as an allegory.
Heimskringla is a collection of tales about the
Norwegian kings, beginning with the legendary Swedish dynasty of the
Ynglingas, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from
Harald Fairhair of the
9th century up to the death of the pretender
Eystein Meyla in
1177. The exact sources of his work are disputed, but included earlier kings' sagas, such as
Morkinskinna,
Fagrskinna and the twelfth century Norwegian synoptic histories and oral traditions, notably many
skaldic poems. Snorri had himself visited
Norway and
Sweden. For events of mid-12th century, Snorri explicitly names the now lost work
Hryggjarstykki as his source. The composition of the sagas is Snorri's.
Manuscript history
The earliest parchment copy of the work is referred to as
Kringla. It voyaged from Iceland to
Bergen,
Norway and was moved to
Copenhagen, the University Library. At that time it had lost the first page, but the second (the current beginning of the
Ynglinga Saga) starts
Kringla heimsins, "the Earth's circle" of the Laing translation.
In the 17th century copies were made by Icelanders Jon Eggertson and Asgeir Jonsson. Eggertson's copy went to the Royal Library at
Stockholm. The Copenhagen manuscript was among the many valuables destroyed in the
Copenhagen Fire of 1728.
Translations
By the mid-16th century, the Old Norse language was unintelligible to Norwegian or Danish readers. At that time, several translations of extracts were made in Norway, into the Danish language, which was the literary language of Norway at the time. The first complete translation was made around 1600 by Peder Claussøn Friis, and printed in
1633. This was based on a manuscript known as
Jofraskinna.
Subsequently the Stockholm manuscript was translated into Swedish and Latin by
Johan Peringskiöld (by order of
Charles XI) and published in 1697 at Stockholm under the title
Heimskringla, which is the first known use of the name. This edition also included the first printing of the text in Old Norse. A new Danish translation with the text in Old Norse and a Latin translation came out in 1777-1783 (by order of
Frederick VI as crown prince). An English translation by
Samuel Laing was finally published in 1844, with a second edition in 1889. Other English translations followed.
In the 19th century, as Norway was achieving independence after centuries of union with Denmark and Sweden, the stories of the independent Norwegian medieval kingdom won great popularity in Norway. Heimskringla, although written by an Icelander, became an important national symbol for Norway during the period of
romantic nationalism. In
1900, the Norwegian parliament, the
Storting, subsidized the publication of new translations of Heimskringla into both Norwegian written forms,
landsmål and
riksmål, "in order that the work may achieve wide distribution at a low price".
Scope
The Heimskringla consists of several chapters, each one individually called a saga, which can be literally translated as 'tale'. The first of these tells the mythological prehistory of the Norwegian royal dynasty, tracing
Odin, described here as a mortal man, and his followers from the East, from
Asaland and
Asgard, its chief city, to their settlement in
Scandinavia. The subsequent sagas are (with few exceptions) devoted to individual rulers, starting with
Halfdan the Black, and ending with
Magnus Erlingsson. The saga narrates the contests of the kings, the establishment of the kingdom of
Norway,
Viking expeditions to various European countries, straying as far afield as
Palestine in the saga of King
Sigurd the Crusader. The stories are told with a life and freshness, giving a picture of human life in all its reality. The Saga of
Olaf Haraldsson is the main part. His 15 year long reign takes up about one third of the entire work.
The saga of
Harold Hardrada narrates his expedition to the East, his brilliant exploits in
Constantinople,
Syria, and
Sicily, his scaldic accomplishments, and his battles in
England against
Harold Godwinson, the son of
Earl Godwin, where he fell at
Stamford Bridge in
1066 only a few days before Harold himself fell at the
battle of Hastings. This saga is a splendid epic in prose, and is also of particular relevance to the history of
England. The first part of the Heimskringla is rooted in
Norse mythology; as it advances, fable and fact all curiously intermingle, and it terminates in factual history.
The value of Heimskringla as a historical source has been estimated in different ways during recent times. The historians of mid-19th century put great trust in the factual truth of Snorri's narrative, as well as other old Norse sagas. In the early 20th century, this trust was largely abandoned with the advent of
saga criticism, pioneered by
Curt and
Lauritz Weibull. These historians pointed out that Snorri's work had been written several centuries after most of the events it describes. In Norway, the historian
Edvard Bull famously proclaimed that "we have to give up all illusions that Snorri's mighty epic bears any deeper resemblance to what actually happened" in the time it describes. A school of historians has come to believe that the motives Snorri and the other saga writers give to their characters owe more to conditions in the 13th century than in earlier times. Heimskringla has, however, continued to be used as a historical source, though with more caution. It isn't common to believe in the detailed accuracy of the historical narrative and historians tend to see little to no historical truth behind the first few sagas, however, they're still seen by many as a valuable source of knowledge about the society and politics of medieval Norway. The factual content of the work tends to be deemed more credible as it discusses more recent times, as the distance in time between the events described and the composition of the saga was shorter, allowing traditions to be retained in a largely accurate form, and because in the twelfth century the first contemporary written sources begin to emerge in Norway.
Contents
The Heimskringla contains the following sagas (see also
List of Norwegian monarchs):
- Ynglinga saga
- Saga of Halfdan Svarte (the Black)
- Saga of Harald Hårfagre (Hårfagre: "finehair") (died ca. 931)
- Saga of Håkon the Good (died 961)
- Saga of King Harald Grafeld (died 969)
- Saga of King Olaf Tryggvason (died 1000)
- Saga of Olaf Haraldson (died 1030), excerpt from conversion of Dale-Gudbrand
- Saga of Magnus the Good (died 1047)
- Saga of Harald Hardråde (died 1066)
- Saga of Olaf Kyrre (died 1093)
- Saga of Magnus Barefoot (died 1103)
- Saga of Sigurd the Crusader (died 1130) and his brothers
- Saga of Magnus the Blind (dethroned 1135) and of Harald Gille (died 1136)
- Saga of Sigurd (died 1155), Eystein (died 1157) and Inge (died 1161), the sons of Harald
- Saga of Håkon Herdebreid (died 1162)
- Saga of Magnus Erlingson (died 1184)
Notes on the text
Further Information
Get more info on 'Heimskringla'.
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