Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis
Encyclopedia
Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis is a late legendary saga
without an apparent historic basis. It is about two children of a jarl, and one of them is Hjálmþér whose evil stepmother commands him to work as a thrall
until he has performed an impossible task.
In its present form, it is overdone and it stacks different motifs on top of each other. However, the various Hjálmþésrímur which appear in the saga reveal that it once had a different structure.
There are many folk tales similar to Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis, including the Northumbria
n tale The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh
(also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh (or Bamborough).
Legendary saga
A Legendary saga or Fornaldarsaga is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the colonization of Iceland. There are some exceptions, such as Yngvars saga víðförla, which takes place in the 11th century...
without an apparent historic basis. It is about two children of a jarl, and one of them is Hjálmþér whose evil stepmother commands him to work as a thrall
Thrall
Thrall was the term for a serf or unfree servant in Scandinavian culture during the Viking Age.Thralls were the lowest in the social order and usually provided unskilled labor during the Viking era.-Etymology:...
until he has performed an impossible task.
In its present form, it is overdone and it stacks different motifs on top of each other. However, the various Hjálmþésrímur which appear in the saga reveal that it once had a different structure.
There are many folk tales similar to Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis, including the Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
n tale The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh
The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh
The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamborough, is a Northumbrian ballad about a princess who changed into a dragon .-Synopsis:...
(also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh (or Bamborough).
Source
- Ohlmarks, ÅkeÅke OhlmarksÅke Joel Ohlmarks was a Swedish author, translator and scholar of religion.He worked as a Lecturer at the University of Greifswald from 1941 to 1945...
. (1982). Fornnordiskt lexikon. Tiden. ISBN 91-550-2511-0