Chivalric sagas
Encyclopedia
The riddarasögur, sagas of knights or chivalric sagas are Norse sagas
of the romance genre
. Starting in the 13th century with translations of French chansons de geste the genre soon expanded to indigenous creations in a similar style. While the riddarasögur were widely read in Iceland for many centuries they are usually regarded as popular literature inferior in artistic quality to the Icelanders' sagas
and other indigenous genres. Receiving little attention from scholars of Old Norse literature
many remain untranslated.
of Tristan by Thomas of Britain
. The Old Norse work, Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, is especially valuable since the original poem is only preserved in fragments. Elis saga ok Rósamundu, a translation of Elie de Saint Gille, is similarly attributed to an Abbot Robert, presumably the same man having been promoted within his order. King Hákon also commissioned Möttuls saga, an adaptation of Le mantel mautaillé, Ívens saga, a reworking of Chrétien de Troyes
's Yvain and Strengleikar
, a collection of ballads principally by Marie de France
.
Works in similar style, which may also have been commissioned by King Hákon, are Parcevals saga, Valvens þáttr and Erex saga, all derived from the works of Chrétien de Troyes. Karlamagnús saga
is a compilation of more disparate origin, dealing with Charlemagne
and his twelve paladins and drawing on historiographical material as well as chansons de geste. Other works believed to derive from French originals are Bevers saga, Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr, Flóvents saga and Partalopa saga.
Pseudo-historical works translated from Latin are Alexanders saga (a translation of Alexandreis
), Amícus saga ok Amilíus (based on the Speculum historiale), Breta sögur (a translation of Historia Regum Britanniae
), Klári saga
(the original is lost but the prologue of the saga states that it was a Latin metrical work which Jón Halldórsson
Bishop of Skálholt found in France) and Trójumanna saga (a translation of De excidio Troiae). Also pseudo-historical, Þiðreks saga af Bern is unusual in having been translated from German.
Norse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
of the romance genre
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
. Starting in the 13th century with translations of French chansons de geste the genre soon expanded to indigenous creations in a similar style. While the riddarasögur were widely read in Iceland for many centuries they are usually regarded as popular literature inferior in artistic quality to the Icelanders' sagas
Icelanders' sagas
The Sagas of Icelanders —many of which are also known as family sagas—are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.The Icelanders'...
and other indigenous genres. Receiving little attention from scholars of Old Norse literature
Old Norse literature
Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to ca. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings.See:* Old Norse poetry* Edda* Norse saga* Icelanders' sagas* Kings' sagas* Legendary sagas...
many remain untranslated.
Terminology
The term riddarasögur (singular riddarasaga) occurs in Mágus saga jarls where there is a reference to "Frásagnir...svo sem...Þiðreks saga, Flóvenz saga eðr aðrar riddarasögur", "narratives such as the saga of Þiðrekr, the saga of Flóvent, or other knights' sagas". Another technical term sometimes encountered is lygisögur (singular lygisaga), "lie sagas", applied to fictional chivalric and legendary sagas.Translations
The first known Old Norse translations of European romances occurred under the patronage of king Hákon Hákonarson of Norway. The earliest dated work is a 1226 translation by one Brother RobertBrother Robert
Brother Robert was a cleric working in Norway who adapted several French literary works into Old Norse during the reign of King Haakon IV of Norway . The most important of these, Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, based on Thomas of Britain's Tristan, is notable as the only example of Thomas' "courtly...
of Tristan by Thomas of Britain
Thomas of Britain
Thomas of Britain was a french poet of the 12th century. He is known for his Old French poem Tristan, a version of the Tristan and Iseult legend that exists only in eight fragments, amounting to around 3,300 lines of verse, mostly from the latter part of the story...
. The Old Norse work, Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, is especially valuable since the original poem is only preserved in fragments. Elis saga ok Rósamundu, a translation of Elie de Saint Gille, is similarly attributed to an Abbot Robert, presumably the same man having been promoted within his order. King Hákon also commissioned Möttuls saga, an adaptation of Le mantel mautaillé, Ívens saga, a reworking of Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
's Yvain and Strengleikar
Strengleikar
Strengleikar is a collection of twenty-one Old Norse prose tales based on the Old French Lais of Marie de France. It is one of the literary works commissioned by King Haakon IV of Norway for the Norwegian court. The collection is anonymous...
, a collection of ballads principally by Marie de France
Marie de France
Marie de France was a medieval poet who was probably born in France and lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an undisclosed court, but was almost certainly at least known about at the royal court of King Henry II of England...
.
Works in similar style, which may also have been commissioned by King Hákon, are Parcevals saga, Valvens þáttr and Erex saga, all derived from the works of Chrétien de Troyes. Karlamagnús saga
Karlamagnús saga
The Karlamagnús saga, Karlamagnussaga or Karlamagnus-saga was a late 13th century Norse prose compilation and adaptation, made for Haakon V of Norway, of the Old French chansons de geste of the Matter of France dealing with Charlemagne and his paladins...
is a compilation of more disparate origin, dealing with Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
and his twelve paladins and drawing on historiographical material as well as chansons de geste. Other works believed to derive from French originals are Bevers saga, Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr, Flóvents saga and Partalopa saga.
Pseudo-historical works translated from Latin are Alexanders saga (a translation of Alexandreis
Alexandreis
Alexandreis is a medieval Latin epic poem by Walter of Châtillon, a 12th-century French writer and theologian. A version of the Alexander romance, it gives an account of the life of Alexander the Great, based on Quintus Curtius Rufus' Historia Alexandri Magni...
), Amícus saga ok Amilíus (based on the Speculum historiale), Breta sögur (a translation of Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
), Klári saga
Klári saga
Klári saga is one of the chivalric sagas. Ostensibly derived from a Latin poem which Jón Halldórsson Bishop of Skálholt found in France, it became a prototype of the maiden king medieval Icelandic bridal-quest romances: it seems to have been the earliest of these, and was followed by many more...
(the original is lost but the prologue of the saga states that it was a Latin metrical work which Jón Halldórsson
Jón Halldórsson (bishop)
Jón Halldórsson was a Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the bishop of Iceland . He served in the diocese of Skálholt. He grew up in Norway as a friar of the Dominican order and has been assumed to have been of Norwegian birth, though since his mother's name, Friðgerðr, is unknown outside...
Bishop of Skálholt found in France) and Trójumanna saga (a translation of De excidio Troiae). Also pseudo-historical, Þiðreks saga af Bern is unusual in having been translated from German.
Original compositions
The following is a partial list of original Icelandic chivalric sagas which have been published.- Adonias saga
- Ála flekks saga
- Blómstrvallasaga
- Bærings saga
- Dámusta saga
- Dínus saga drambláta
- Drauma-Jóns saga
- Ectors saga
- Flóres saga konungs ok sona hans
- Gibbons sagaGibbons sagaGibbons Saga is one of the Icelandic chivalric sagas. It is one of a very few sagas to feature a magical flying object - in this case a piece of cloth, amongst many other magical objects. It also features dwarfs and giants. It was written in the fourteenth century.-External Links:*...
- Grega saga
- Hrings saga ok Tryggva
- Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns
- Kirialax saga
- Konráðs saga keisarasonar
- Mágus saga jarls
- Melkólfs saga ok Solomons konungs
- Mírmans saga
- Nitida sagaNitida sagaThe Nitida saga is a fictional late medieval Icelandic romance saga thought to have been composed in Iceland in the fourteenth century. This saga is about a maiden-king named Nitida, who rules over France, and who is pursued by kings and princes from such faraway places as Constantinople, India,...
- Rémundar saga keisarasonar
- Samsons saga fagra
- Saulus saga ok Nikanors
- Sigrgarðs saga frækna
- Sigrgarðs saga ok Valbrands
- Sigurðar saga fóts
- Sigurðar saga turnara
- Sigurðar saga þögla
- Valdimars saga
- Viktors saga ok Blávus
- Vilhjálms saga sjóðs
- Vilmundar saga viðutan
- Þjalar-Jóns saga