Fagrskinna
Encyclopedia
Fagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas
, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum
have been preserved. An immediate source for the Heimskringla
of Snorri Sturluson
, Fagrskinna is a central text in the genre of kings' sagas. It contains a vernacular history of Norway from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, from the career of Halfdan the Black
to the Battle of Re (1177), and includes extensive citation of skaldic verses, some of them preserved nowhere else. It has a heavy emphasis on battles, such as the Battle of Hjörungavágr
and the Battle of Svolder
. The book is often thought to have been written in Norway, either by an Icelander or a Norwegian.
Apart from making use of skaldic poetry and oral tradition, the author drew extensively on written texts of the kings' sagas. The following sources have been proposed as having been the most decisive:
Kings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
have been preserved. An immediate source for the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
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 ca. 1230...
of Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
, Fagrskinna is a central text in the genre of kings' sagas. It contains a vernacular history of Norway from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, from the career of Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black was a ninth-century king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway.-Biography:...
to the Battle of Re (1177), and includes extensive citation of skaldic verses, some of them preserved nowhere else. It has a heavy emphasis on battles, such as the Battle of Hjörungavágr
Battle of Hjörungavágr
The Battle of Hjörungavágr is a semi-legendary naval battle that took place in the late 10th century between the Jarls of Lade and a Danish invasion fleet led by the fabled Jomsvikings...
and the Battle of Svolder
Battle of Svolder
The Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies...
. The book is often thought to have been written in Norway, either by an Icelander or a Norwegian.
Apart from making use of skaldic poetry and oral tradition, the author drew extensively on written texts of the kings' sagas. The following sources have been proposed as having been the most decisive:
- a lost work by the Icelandic priest Sæmundr fróði SigfússonSæmundr fróðiSæmundr Sigfússon was an Icelandic priest and scholar. Sæmundr is known to have studied abroad. Previously it has generally been held that he studied in France, but modern scholars rather believe his studies were carried out in Franconia. In Iceland he founded a long-lived school at Oddi...
(1056-1133) - a lost version of Ágrip af Nóregs konunga sögumÁgrip af NóregskonungasögumÁgrip af Nóregskonungasögum or Ágrip is a synoptic history of the kings of Norway, written in Old Norse. The preserved text starts with the death of Hálfdan svarti and ends with the accession of Ingi krókhryggr but the original is thought to have covered a longer period, probably up to the reign of...
(c. 1190) - a lost synoptic work about the earliest Norwegian kings (c. 1200-1220)
- a lost version of the Jómsvíkinga sagaJómsvíkinga sagaThe Jómsvíkinga saga relates of the founding of Jomsborg by Palnatoke, and of the famous Viking brotherhood of the Jomsvikings....
(c. 1200) - Hlaðajarla saga (c. 1200)
- Óláfs saga TryggvasonarÓláfs saga TryggvasonarÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar or the Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason can refer to several different kings' sagas.* Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Oddr Snorrason* Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Gunnlaugr Leifsson...
by Oddr SnorrasonOddr SnorrasonThe Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar of Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a Latin royal biography attributed to a 12th century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyrar monastery ....
(c. 1190) - a lost version of Óláfs saga helgaÓláfs saga helgaÓláfs saga helga or the Saga of St. Olaf can refer to several different kings' sagas.*Oldest Saga of St. Olaf, ca. 1190, mostly lost.*Legendary Saga of St. Olaf, ca. 1210.*Óláfs saga helga by Styrmir Kárason, ca. 1220, mostly lost....
- Knúts saga ríka (after 1200)
- MorkinskinnaMorkinskinnaMorkinskinna is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275....
(c. 1220) - the lost HryggjarstykkiHryggjarstykkiHryggjarstykki is a lost kings' saga written in Old Norse in the mid-twelfth century and dealing with near-contemporary events. The author was Eiríkr Oddsson, an Icelander about whom little is known...
(c. 1150)
Editions and translations
- Bjarni Einarsson (ed.). Ágrip af Nóregskonungasogum: Fagrskinna – Nóregs konunga tal. Reykjavik, 1984.
- Jónsson, FinnurFinnur JónssonFinnur Jónsson was an Icelandic philologist who made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.Finnur graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1878 and went to Denmark for further studies at the University of Copenhagen. He received a doctorate in philology in 1884 with a...
(ed.). Fagrskinna. Nóregs Kononga Tal. Copenhagen, 1902-3. PDF available from septentrionalia.net - Munch, P.A. and C.R. Unger (eds.). Fagrskinna. Kortfattet Norsk Konge-saga. Christiania, 1847. Scans available from sagnanet.is
- Finlay, Alison (tr.). Fagrskinna: A Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2004. [Based primarily on Einarsson’s 1984 edition] ISBN 90-04-13172-8
Secondary literature
- Haraldsdóttir, Kolbrún. "Fagrskinna." In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde vol. 8. Berlin, 1994. 142-51. ISBN 3-11-016858-8
- Ehrhardt, H. "Fagrskinna." In: Lexikon des Mittelalters vol. 4 München. Zürich, 1989.
- Jakobsen, Alfred and Jan Ragnar Hagland. Fagrskinna-studier. Trondheim, 1980. ISBN 82-519-0366-1
- Jakobsen, Alfred. "Om Fagrskinna-forfatteren." Arkiv för nordisk filologi 85 (1970). 88–124.
- Halvorsen, Eyvind FjeldEyvind Fjeld HalvorsenEyvind Fjeld Halvorsen is a Norwegian philologist.He was born in Ringerike. He was hired as a docent at the University of Oslo in 1954, took the dr.philos. degree in 1959 on the thesis The Norse Version of the Chanson de Roland and served as a professor at the University of Oslo from 1962 to 1992...
. "Fagrskinna." In: Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder vol. 4, Kopenhagen 1959.
External links
- 1847 edition (sagnanet.is)
- Finnur Jónsson's 1902-3 edition (septentrionalia.net)
- Extract in Munch's and Unger's Oldnorsk læsebog (1847) (Google Books)